social media for veterinarians - ebms international
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation I gave on August 25, 2011 to a group of EU and UK equine veterinarians at the EBMS International Conference, at the Bartley Lodge Hotel in the New Forest, UK. I was very impressed with the discussions we had and the willingness the attendees had to implement social media in their veterinary practices. I gave them all a challenge to become dedicated users of social media in their businesses, otherwise there will be a real risk that their vet practices might not exist as they know it in the next 5-10 years. I truly believe that social media is the best opportunity we have as veterinarians to combat the numerous challenges facing our industry.TRANSCRIPT
Veterinarians & Social Media
Mike Pownall, DVMMcKee-Pownall Equine Services
EBMS International
Social Media
Strengths and weaknesses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpMZbT1tx2o
Socialnomics 3A Summary of Social Media
• Why Social Media?• What are they doing?• What are our successes?• Why aren’t they doing it?• How can you do it?
Vets & Social Media
What is Social Media?
“Social media is the use of technology combined with social interaction to
create or co-create value.” www.ducttapemarketing.com
Why Do I Need Social Media?
Why Do I Need Social Media?
Why Do I Need Social Media?
Challenges in equine practice• Economy• Competition• Internet
Why Do You Need Social Media?
People Do Business With People They
Trust
Social MediaWhy is it Different?
Social MediaWhy is it Different?
• Conversational• Collaborative• Selective• Immediate• Transparent
Social MediaWhy is it the Same?
Strategy
Strategy
• What is our goal?
• How are we going to do this?
• How do we know we are successful?
Strategy
• Facebook is not strategy• Facebook is a tool.
• Herd health is a strategy to minimize the spread of a virus
• A vaccine is a tool
4Es of Social Media
• Educate• Entertain• Engage• Evangelists
Social Media Universe
Web Site
Blog
Social Media Universe
Web Site? ?
Social Media Universe
Web Site?
Social Media Universe
Web Site
Website• Hub• Reservoir of stored info• Landing spot & feeder
www.equinevetbusiness.com
www.equinevetbusiness.com
Vets & Twitter?
What is it?• 140 characters
• Unique language
• Immediate updates
• Share links, photos, videos
• Twitter now has >200,000,000 users
• 7% of Americans
• 10% of UK
#ebms
Will It Blend?iPhone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI
?
What are vets missing?
What if people say bad
things about us?
“Our brand isn’t what we say it is.
It’s what the search engines say it is.”
Mitch Joel
www.yelp.com
Google Alerts
Responding to Criticism
Social Media in the Work Place
• Work vs Personal• Personal Brand• Social Media policy
The Personal Brand
Social Media Policy
http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html
The 3 reasons vets fail at
Social Media
The 3 reasons vets fail at
Social Media
Too old, too busy, too cautious
Too Old
How do I find time to do it?
Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor, not an
Artist
Strategy
• What?• How?• What?
What Are The Challenges/Goals?
• Relationships?• Prospects?• Sales?• New service?
How
• Which platforms?
• What content?• Who is going to
do it?• Time?• Budget?• Buy in?
Can We Measure It?
Website
Facebook• Employees 4 % • Friends 5.5 % • Prospects 43 %• Clients 33 % • Unrealistic 8.6%• Unknown 5.9% • Prospects to clients as of November 22/10
Facebook• Employees 4 % • Friends 5.5 % • Prospects 43 %• Clients 33 % • Unrealistic 8.6%• Unknown 5.9% • Prospects to clients as of November 22/10
0.90%
Facebook• Q1 2011
o 115,000 post views• 152% improvement over Q4 2010
o 197 post feedbacks• 37% increase
• 50% increase as source to website• 20% increase in new visitors to website
• The more we tweet the more followers we get
• The more interesting we are the more followers we get
• The more we follow others the more followers we get
• Retweets• New Users• Mentions• Interactions• Searches
YouTube
295% increase in 3 months• 1118 to 4418 views
YouTube
YouTube
5/2011 8/2011
YouTube
5/2011 8/2011
67%
Newsletters
The deworming newsletter • Opened by 30%• 15% click through to links• 2% of total newsletter recipients saw the video or
47% of those who clicked through• 40% registrants for the webinar came from
newsletter• 50% increase in fecals
Preventative Health Plan newsletter• 70% click through to PHP on website
Newsletters
Preventative Health Plan
2010 2011 % $NMKT 8 26 225% 8100CB 14 26 86% 5400NG 0 7 3150
16,650
Webinars• Average percentage of attendees that are clients
73% • Where people hear about the webinars:
o Newsletters 60.30% o Website 4.40% o Facebook 5.90% o Twitter 4.40% o Office 5.90% o Other 19.10%
Management
• Who is going to oversee it?
• Internal/External• www.hootsuite.com
Simple Plan• Facebook• Twitter• email that ends with your practice (not gmail or yahoo or aol.)
• One hour/day• Strategy/Schedule• Use new associates, interns, office staff
• Monitor, Measure & Adjust
Task 3Smith Equine
• How will it get done?• How will you know it worked?
717%
12%
The person doing Social Media at a vet practice
is as important
as the person who answers the phones
June 2011• 6500 web page
views• 28,000 FB
Impressions• 3000 phone calls
Social Media and Me• 519-856-8225• 519-856-8277• 519-826-1770• www.mpequine.com• [email protected]• mpownalldvm@gmail.
com• facebook/mikepownall• twitter/MckeePownall
• skype/mpownall• facebook/McKee-Pownall• linkedin - mpownall• equinevetbusiness.com• twitter/eqvetbusiness• facebook/
equinevetbusiness• facebook/aaep-business-
education
Books
• 6 Pixels of Separationo Mitch Joel
• Crusho Gary Vaynerchuck
• Real Time Marketingo David Meeram Scott
• Trust Agentso Chris Brogano Julien Smith