During SMX West 2009 Andy did a great job live blogging the sessions he attended, and a comment came through on one of the posts he did asking for ideas, or “out-of-the-box” marketing tactics that could work for physicians offices:
Creative Marketing Tactics for Physician Offices? I would like to know of any creative “out-of-the-box” marketing tactics that anyone has used when marketing services to physician offices, medical facilities, etc. Thanks in advance.
Here goes: The thing you must realize about viral marketing ideas in regards to any specific business is that it does not have to be a perfect match. Services that a physician offers in itself is not the kind of content that is worthy of “going viral”.
Social Media
digg, reddit, Social Media Marketing, Stumble Upon, Twitter, viral, Viral Marketing
Making Friends!
I have been reading so much lately about social media in 2009, and how everybody thinks the rules are changing. I have to throw in my two cents because I think most of this talk (and what I read) is garbage! IMO, social media can easily be summed up by this one statement – If you are good at making friends offline, you will be good at social media. You may have to learn a few rules, but its simple to understand – If you can make friends offline, you can make friends online.
Social Media has not changed
I have been using social media pretty heavily for the last 4 years, and nothing has changed in the “core” way I have been using it. I also continue to make good money because of social media marketing, and every year it just keeps getting better!
Social Media
friends, making friends, Social Media, Social Media Marketing
I have a neighbor that is an amazing web developer and is so immersed in what he does, that until recently (after chatting with me) I rarely saw him do anything with social networks. A few months ago I got him on Twitter, taught him the ropes, and he experienced immediate power and success with it. This was a great testimony to him because when I was first explaining Twitter to him I could tell he was scratching his head saying “huh? micro-blogging? powerful? WTF??”
I am amazed that more web designers and developers are not more familiar with the power of social networks – especially Facebook. I love Facebook because people are trying to find YOU, they want to see what YOU are doing and what YOU are up to. If you have your profile set up correctly, using the tools Facebook gives you to add RSS feeds to your profile etc. the people who are trying to find information about YOU will do just that, and that is why you need a Facebook page! It is the easiest sell you will ever make.
Facebook
Facebook, Social Media Marketing, Twitter
This week alone I have read at least 5 different articles talking about so-called social media experts, and if you can really call yourself a social media expert in such a new field. Only one of these articles I read made a point worth mentioning here, and that was Michael Gray who pointed out:
So when I read a post titles like “9 Ways your can explode your number of twitter followers” and I look at the persons profile, and see 320 followers, half of which are people like robert scoble auto follow bots, I wonder if they have any clue what they are talking about, or are just really good at building a network of reciprocating blind voting friend networks.
Social Media
Social Media, social media expert, Social Media Marketing, Twitter
A couple days ago I got some new business cards in the mail, and I am really pleased with how they turned out. Business cards have been a form of offline marketing for as long as any of you can probably remember, but as I was designing my new ones I really wanted to find a way to still connect with my online communities. I know it is not something that is usually done, but then again, social communities are still rather new.
Bringing the offline and online marketing communities together:
Social Media
LinkedIn, offline marketing, Social Media Marketing, Twitter
Cameron Olthuis
I appreciate my good bud Cameron Olthuis taking the time to answer some questions about social media that many of my readers have either sent me via email, or are always asking me. Also, this is a great opportunity for me to ask an expert some of the social media questions that have been on my mind. Cameron owns his action sports media network, as well as a action sports online community – 5ones – where he blogs about, and interacts with others as passionate about surfing as he is. For those of you that may not know much about Cameron, he is a regular social media expert speaker at conferences like SMX, SES, Pubcon and others, so this is a treat today!
1. How do you know which social networks to focus on, and which ones do you focus on?
Social Media
cameron olthuis, Social Media, Social Media Marketing
The Social Fear:
When I am teaching clients (or consulting new to Internet business owners) about social media, and starting to dive deeper into social media marketing with them, the very first thing I try to help them understand is the “social” side of it. If you are not able to be social with individuals, or are worried about what people will say or think of you, then you will not do very well with social media. Being social is the most important key element to any successful social media marketing campaign.
I know this sounds kind of no duh, but you would be surprised how often these concerns come up with clients, especially the new ones that have never done any kind of online marketing – including social media marketing.
Social Media
cameron olthuis, matt cutts, Matt Siltala, rebecca kelly, smx seattle, social communities, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social networks
If you have not yet heard anything about the seriously tragic US v. Drew case, it may be difficult to answer this question. Here is a short recap of the facts in the case:
Lori Drew is a mother accused of helping to create and use a fake MySpace account (of a 16 year old “stud” named “Josh”) to torment a female teen who later committed suicide. Drew allegedly considered the plan a clever and comical way to deal with a teen-girl (Megan Meier) who she thought was spreading ugly rumors about Drew’s daughter. The plan was authored by Drew’s employee, 20-year-old Ashley Grills. Megan Meier eventually hanged herself after receiving an email from “Josh” which read “the world would be a better place without you.”
Drew is charged with of violating the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act by providing false information to MySpace to establish “Josh’s” account, violating MySpace policies by obtaining information about Meier, and using the account to “intentionally inflict emotional distress” on the teen.
David Mink, Legal, Social Media
Social Media Marketing, US v. Drew
