What better excuse do you need to come visit us, right?
Benefits:
it’s our hometown – and you know you miss us
we’ve got SUN – nearly always
we’ve got FUN – Courtney and I will make it so
Aaaand we’ve got the 2nd Annual Social Media Marketing World conference
Save $450 when you register by this Friday – October 25th!
Just check out this sweet video…
(if you can’t see it, ‘refresh’ your browser)
Okay… now for the deets (ask your kids)
Join 60+ Social Media Experts at Largest Social Media Marketing Conference
March 26, 27, 28, 2014
Social Media Marketing World 2014 is a conference designed to help you master social media marketing (brought to you by Social Media Examiner). Join Chris Brogan (co-author of The Impact Equation), Mari Smith (co-author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day), Michael Hyatt (author of Platform), Jay Baer (author of Youtility), John Jantsch (author of Duct Tape Marketing), Amy Porterfield (co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies), Mark Schaefer (author of Tao of Twitter), Michael Stelzner(author of Launch), Steve Farber (author of The Radical Leap),Laura Fitton (co-author of Twitter for Dummies), Lee Odden (author of Optimize), Joe Pulizzi (author of Epic Content Marketing), Simon Mainwaring (author of We First), Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, Marcus Sheridan –just to name a few.
Let’s say you are a brand… let’s say ChapStick for example… and your marketing department decides it’s time for a funny ad campaign. The top brass signs off and the campaign is posted in social media sites such as Facebook. So far – nothing too unusual. And Facebook, the heart and soul of social media, seems like the perfect place for a hip & lighthearted ad, right?
Well, not always…
Check out the article from AdWeek (link below) for an example of how sometimes it’s not the creative that gets you in the most trouble, it’s howyou react to your customers’ comments that could do the most damage to your brand.
In social media we have what I like to call Monique’s Social Media High T’s. They are the four components of a successful social media strategy and all of your posts and campaigns should take them into consideration.
Image Source: EverydayTenacity.com
This is the second post in a series called Social Media High T’s – Read Week # 1 here
This week we’ll explore the second High T: HIGH TRANSPARENCY
We know what you may be thinking… I hear this buzzword all the time, but what do they mean by transparency?
The issue of online transparency really came about in blogging’s early days when less than honest bloggers would post rave reviews of products and services in exchange for payment or “free stuff”. Of course, it’s a little hard to keep things impartial when you have payola involved (at least in my experience). Combine this with corporate and government greed in the news, and all of a sudden, the public got wise and became much less trusting of what they read. This culminated in a big backlash and a big emphasis on transparency and authenticity.
But as an online marketing participant, how can you incorporate the idea of transparency in your patient communications?
I have a few ideas for you…
Be Humble: No one likes a snooty, “I know more than you, therefore I’m better than you” physician. We know you went to med school and have a wealth of knowledge to share. But share it from the heart to help people, not to prove how much you know. Have someone read over any blog posts you write to make sure they feel like the “real” you (even if you didn’t write them -which in itself isn’t authentic but I’m just being realistic).
Be Authentic: This comes down to being yourself… flaws and all. Give them a peek behind the scenes in your office, a typical workday, or some photos from your latest weekend hike. When you are yourself, you will actually be much more approachable to your patient base. In turn, they will feel a stronger kinship and tie to you which leads to higher patient retention (translate – loyalty) and referrals.
No Hidden Agendas: Post information to help people better their lives, not pad your wallet. Don’t get me wrong, we all need to make a living, but trust me when I tell you that we consumers can see right through even the best-disguised sales pitch.
Be Credible: If you make a mistake, own up to it… publicly. Let’s say you have a post on your Facebook wall from a patient who had to wait 45 minutes to see you at her last post-op appointment. The worst thing you can do is delete it (trust me on this one- the backlash to a deleted post can do more harm to your credibility than the original complaint). Instead, face it head on. Post something like this: “Our office strives to be on time for each and every appointment. Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, our schedule dosen’t always go as planned. We value our patients’ time and do our best every day to live by The Golden Rule – treating our patients the same as we would like to be treated.”
Be Influencing versus Controlling: Not every conversation online will go exactly the way you want it, but you can help steer it in the right direction. It’s okay to disagree, just do it in a humble manner. Remember – what you post on the internet is “forever” and you can’t take things back or have “do-overs”.
Feel free to give us your opinion in the comments section below! We’d love to hear your input. Next week we”ll discuss High T number three… High Touch… so stay tuned!