Respect your flock … with TwitterSheep

Did you ever wonder about your Twitter followers? Who are they? What do they do? Why are they following you?

Well now you can find out … TwitterSheep is a fun tool that allows you to see all this in visual cloud of keywords extracted from your followers biography.

To generate a cloud of your own just enter your twitter name and within minutes you can have your own keyword cloud that you can choose to tweet out to your “flock.”

So it is not rocket science but it did allow me to realise that my Twitter followers are professional associates. Check it out  … and remember to respect your flock!

A majority of e-patients access user-generated health information but few are actively writing or creating new health content:

This is a great opportunity for us, as healthcare marketers to lead patients and provide quality health information …

*  only 6% of e-patients have tagged or categorized online content about health or medical issues.
* only 6% of e-patients report that they have posted comments, queries, or information about health or medical matters in an online discussion, listserv or other online group forum.
* only 5% of e-patients say they have posted comments about health on a blog.
* only 5% of e-patients have posted a review online of a doctor.
* only 4% of e-patients have posted a review online of a hospital.
* only 4% have shared photos, videos or audio files online about health or medical issues.

Data extracted from Pew Internet and Life Project Report

How to :: build links through social media

If you have a new website or blog or are just interested in utilising new distribution platforms to gain additional traffic this blog post is for you …

Like me, if you work on a blog you will need to do something with your posts in order to deliver some links and traffic to your website. Many people dont realise that a blog can be significantly leveraged through a variety of communities, not just to deliver traffic but also build a loyal following. If your content is good and your audience is accurate blog posts will act like a fishing rod to bring in traffic.

Here are some tips which I will be sharing at the Strategic Social Media for Healthcare Conference next week in NYC.

Blog Commenting ::

First advise is not to worry about follow and no follow links. I have seen no follow links show up in Google webmaster tools blog. A link doesn’t have to just be looked at as “link building” but it should be viewed at as a bridge to your business or blog. If a link is there you are giving people an opportunity to find you.

By commenting on other related blogs you are endorsing the receiver and also creating an opportunity to market your own blog. Bloggers welcome feedback and comments and will usually return the favour – in time increasing visibility to you and your blog.

Social Media ::

Blog posts are one of the most visible ways you can get social media traffic over to your website. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are superb places to pull in highly targeted audience traffic from a strategic manner. Taking each blog post and distributing it through a variety of social channels you are connected with will bring a steady stream of interested inbound traffic. Someone sooner or later is going to also link to that blog post making it even more important to be in this space. I distribute my favourite posts on a series of marketing and health-related LinkedIn groups which I can track with my analytics package. It is worth the effort from a networking and data sharing perspective.

Share Buttons ::

You don’t need a share button for every social book marking website. Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz are important to distribute your content into every single time you write. Consistency is key with internet marketing efforts. ShareThis is also a great tool for tracking and ease of use.

Social Bookmarking ::

Social bookmarking is not be as popular as it was but we should not avoid it. Sites like Digg and StumbleUpon can still bring sizable traffic to your website which is why it is still important to be visible on their platforms.

Social media marketing is a very powerful force that can really help a business become successful online. With that said it requires applying all the tools with a strategic approach aimed at delivering not just traffic but targeted traffic to your website. Good Luck!

Bi’ curamach, and remember what we are!

Today’s marketing sits in an entirely different sector of blog posts, tweets & status updates. We are now “content marketers”

Content marketing is the idea of distributing relevant and beneficial content to engage potential patients and provide them with something of value. Yes, you read that correctly! Nowhere does it say anything about pitching your services or promoting your hospital. Instead, content marketing focuses on delivering information and services that inform your target markets and enables them to become more intelligent buyers.

5 twitter tips for hospital marketers

[1] HIPPA compliance :: Dont mention information which can identify patients. Dont write anything where a patient could identify themselves.

[2] Share information :: If you find a good article share it! ReTweet blogs or relevant information. Respond and acknowledge mentions … you have earned them!

[3] Think easy & simple :: Try not to use medical jargon. Patients dont always understand. Dont use a big complicated word when a shorter and simpler one will do. If you need to clarify a complex procedure link to your blog or healthcare website.

[4] Know your patient base :: Determine who your follower will be before you start your blog or website. Aim your posts or articles to align to what they would like to hear. Your twitter account may rank high in search engine results so you want to ensure your messages are appropriate and relevant.

[5] Be engaging :: Work with the superstars in your hospital, your doctors, nurses, researchers, to get more evidence based positive health messages out. Follow, retweet posts and engage them in conversations by replying to their posts.

Social media is competitive so follow the tips above to stay on your game and in front of your patient base. If you dont already have one, create your Twitter account and follow @nicolaziady for updates, tips and health related news.

Doctors and Twitter Podcast

Listen to interviews with 2 physicians discussing how & why they use Twitter

– plus some advise on how to do it safely

Listen to the full podcast “Doctors & Twitter“

Social Media Day

Today I am celebrating “Social Media Day”. Thank you Mashable!

I regard this as a revolution of marketing and media becoming more personalised and interactive.

Today honours the technological and societal acceptance and advancements that have enabled us to hold a dialogue, connect and engage – other marketers and even each other!

There are more than 600+ meetups in 93 countries today with thousands of attendees. So join me and 153 other social buzzers in downtown Cleveland to celebrate in person.

To keep social Tweet #smday hashtag .. and join in the party!

“sharing” :: the new ROI metric in social media?

I discussed a case study on Mederma this week at the 2nd Annual Healthcare New Media Marketing Conference in Chicago.

I choose this company as they are did something beyond the “traditional”, if we can use that term for any new media strategy yet … regardless, Merderma went further than usual keyword and online banner campaign. They utilised the “ShareThis” technology in their coupon sharing tactic.

Smart.

Mederma is a healthcare company selling scarring ointment but its marketers went further …

They discovered that 12.5 million people share information about skin ailments online. So Mederma developed an interactive campaign specifically targeting these coupon cutters and directing them to a page to download the pharma brand.

Brilliant!

Social media has struggled with tracking and success measurement but Tim Schigel, of ShareThis.com believes “sharing” is the new and most important metric for ROI in social media.

Schigel said clickthroughs no longer are a sufficient metric for measuring the effect of brand advertising and marketing on the Web, but sharing might be. And he’s got results to prove it.

But prove it.

Traditional online display advertisements that run on premium sites generated 8% conversion rates for Mederma coupon download, paid search did a little better with 26% conversion but the biggest “influencer” was an audience predisposed to share and targeted from Organics social media analytics.

Schigel stated that the key is “finding both the senders and the receivers” in sharing-based campaign strategies, and “messaging to them appropriately.”

Check out the strategy in action :: Mederma Coupon Download

Just how do we measure ROI from social marketing?

A recent survey from Omniture, May 2010,  showed that marketers were unable to effectively measure marketing effectiveness.

When asked which analytics would give them the most valuable insights, marketers said the importance of marketing cost, orders, average order size and conversion rate. But they had the greatest ability to measure visits, page views, page views per visit and click-throughs.

Only 41% could measure social marketing conversion.

Overall, 80% said it was important to measure ROI from online activities, but just 31% could effectively do so.

Epsilon study shows what online patients want

Patients engage in healthcare social media for rational and emotional reasons.

:: Emotional healthcare social media users want support from people who are going through a similar experience.

:: Rational social media users are searching for information about their specific conditions and symptoms.

“Our research shows that social media is a valuable forum for patients to discuss their health issues and concerns while connecting with others facing similar circumstances,” said Mark Miller, senior vice president, Epsilon Strategic & Analytic Consulting Group.

“This participation provides reassurance and intimacy, and many of the individuals who are highly engaged in social media feel better equipped to manage their health.”