Fodder from a discussion on LinkedIn that showcases appropriate application of Social Media
Original post: Physicians vs. Social Media: What’s your experience?
Talking with physician clients about adding social media into their marketing strategies … there has been more resistance than acceptance. Some of the resistance seems to be a lack of knowledge about the tools with questions like “What’s Linked-In?” Another issue is perceived value versus the time spent.
I would appreciate hearing experiences of others with professional clients (business owners) like physicians and attorneys. What are the pros and cons you have encountered with this type of client, what is deemed success or failure, or are your professional clients open to utilize these tools and if so, why? Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Designated Editor’s Take
Depending on the physician’s specialty and goal, it may be a complete waste of time. What’s the underlying motivation as business owners or professionals?
An example that is more likely to yield results:
A doc who’s trying to build a practice: Ask satisfied patients to post a review on Yelp.
I know everyone preaches goal-setting and tracking results. For my clients, that equation looks something like this:
- How much time/funds do you have to devote to social media/blogging?
- Who are you trying to reach?
- Where is your targeted audience already congregating?
- What outcome are you pursuing?
Social media isn’t a magic pill to solve underlying strategy issues, although it can be a tool to help identify stumbling blocks and to problem-solve.
It’d be great to others’ perspectives as well!
About Suzanne McDonald
Hi,
I’m not sure that this is exactly the type of experience you were looking to be shared, but …
I think success with sociual media strategies depends an awful lot on your business model. And perhaps even the social platform you use.
For example, I did a campaign not too long ago with StumbleUpon, and after a little effort managed to get a few thousand uniques from the site. But, all we actually got in terms of revenue was a few pennies from advertising on the site that was receiving the traffic. We did get a few Rss subscribers too, though.
I think this is because Stumblers are just looking for something cool rather that looking to buy a product or anything else.
But like I said, with a diferent platform our campaign might have been more successful.
Regards
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. Ultimately, we can help our businesses or clients by being forthcoming and collegial as professionals. Granted, there will always be people who abuse this … just reading:
What You Don’t Know About SEO
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/february/204594.html
It’s essential to understand SEO before you spend thousands hiring consultants you may not even need.
But perhaps this is a way to distinguish ourselves and help the industry mature, as in grow the heck up and stop ripping people off.
So thanks for sharing and best wishes in your successes!
Suzanne
I think social media adds a lot to any form of internet marketing campaign, it’s a growing power but surprisingly there are still a lot of online business owners that don’t see things that way. Those people need to be informed better as social medial will soon become a mainstream in internet marketing. As for the outcome I think it’s wiser to measure it on long term.
are your professional clients open toutilize these tools and if so, why? Thanks for sharing yourexperiences.
Hi Suzzanne, Maybe you should consider adding additional videos or charts to your weblog posts to make the visitors more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire post and it has been really great but since I’m more of a visual learner. Nevertheless, the topic here is really worth pondering about. Thanks again.
I agree absolutely! Taking a merchant’s perspective, a year ago, social media was seen as some crazy thing kids did online. Now that Dunkin Donuts, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue (to name a few) have shown successes with it, people are starting to take it more seriously. I completely understand, a year ago, the economic picture was still extremely murky. Now that things are brightening up, though, things are changing.
Seems, too, a lot of agencies are starting to realize they need to plan integrated campaigns … several conversations with traditional marketers who are looking to provide a fuller complement of services.
Thanks for contributing!
Hi and thanks for asking! Which tools did you have in mind? Blogging and social media or one/the other?
My clients initially started out only seeking blogging help (from ghostwriting and posting to polishing). Now that social media plays a greater role and is poised to overtake the likes of Google, there’s more to consider, right? Facebook is now considered Google’s biggest competitor. I advise clients: It’s good to have a presence where their clients/customers congregate. There are a LOT of people on Facebook, and if you’d like to advertise there, Facebook offers specialized audience segmentation.
And, of course, social media platforms can boost your visibility. It is important, however, to provide a foundation where people can access more information, such as a website that’s updated frequently or a blog. There’s only so much you can say on Twitter or Facebook and the people who have migrated along are more engaged. Best to hold their attention with relevant content, no?
Thanks again,
Suzanne
Hi and thanks for your comment! I recently bought a Flip and keep forgetting to bring it with me to places! Hopefully, your comment will make me remember!
Hey marketing is one of the important aspect in todays world….one cannot run their business without marketing…this is must in every industry…I competely agree with article…
It’s only normal that people are not to enthusiastic about new things that they know little or even nothing about and this includes social media marketing. But, never the less, social media is an ever expanding medium that needs to be covered and exploited by advertisers.
Woo-hoo thanks for the endorsement
-Suzanne
Very true! That’s one thing I say to clients: Human beings don’t change (that much), they just adapt to the tools available to them. It’s only natural it takes time to catch on, but Facebook is tough to ignore! Thanks for adding that insight, Suzanne
I own a business in visual marketing and advertising. My online shop was doing good but not great. That until I discovered social media advertising. It’s a great market and should not be forgotten by anyone who wants to have success.
Every time you press a keyboard key you’re leaving a digital snail trail online. Recognize that every online and social interaction you make is forever leaving a mark online. Those that do so in public forums may be haunted for years or as long as the internet is available.
Too true, we were just discussing this on the boat trip!
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I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I love the way you write post!
Hi and thanks for taking the time comment and for the positive support! Glad we can help … don’t forget to subscribe
-Suzanne
thanks for showing so much interest in this,i was searching this information from a long time.
vedic math blog
I Like your Writing Style. Do you have more Posts Like These in your Blog.
I agree when the person is hardworking he can achieve anything at anytime….marketing requires lot of communication skill one should be perfect…success comes to those who believe he/she can do……
This is very nice site and i am going to bookmarked it for the further references.
Thanks for your post and the reminder that ROI refers to Money In versus Money Out and not to metrics.The challenge for marketing folks is to understand metrics relating to reach and impact are important to ROI – but as leading indicators of potential financial results.
Thanks much for the compliment!
You might find some of the OMMA posts interesting as well. I’m headed to OMMA Social on 6/17/10.
Also, I’m trying to get the blog migrated to WordPress, so it’ll be easier to find related content and posts — and keep reading and reading and learning.
Thanks again!
Suzanne
Aim for perfection, but achieve balance. There’s always room for improvement.
Hi and thanks for sharing your thoughts!
This is all so new, 2 years ago when I left The Boston Globe, it seemed the average person had no idea search marketing existed.
That said, we have to remember for most people this is all really new. Now there are some best practices and successes to guide us.
Just want to say thanks for all your great blogs!
Cheers for the article – nice to have something to read that helps me decide the correct Social Media avenues.
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