Posts Tagged ‘social media’

Content Is Top trumps When It Comes To Social Media

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

The blog this week is simple. How do you use social media to your advantage in practice? Well the way most people are doing it is not the right way.

Lots of people are setting up social media accounts. Few look to be delivering the type of content a pet owner might want to see.

Great content has been, still is and will always be the route to successful online marketing. Social media hasn’t changed that one tiny little bit. Except that perhaps it has allowed some people to become distracted from the hard part – which is creating content – thinking that social media itself is the game. They’re wrong. Wait and see. The real winners will be those who deliver unique, amazing and compelling content.

What social media has undoubtedly done (and what gets me excited about it) is supercharge your ability to get content out there to your clients and potential clients. And it has done this without costing you a penny. Facebook, email, YouTube, Twitter…the list is long and they are all unbelievably powerful tools. But only if you deliver what your audience wants.

To put things simply, if you have a great story but no voice people won’t be able to hear about you. On the other hand, if you have a megaphone but no story then people will just find you annoying and leave.

The key to using today’s technologies is combining good quality content (the story) with social media (the megaphone). Only when you get this balance right will success follow.

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Double Bay Vet Clinic Launches Social Media Site

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Today marked an historic day, the publication of my third generation vet website. A site that I hope will allow vets to benefit from the astonishing and rapid development of social media, arguably the most important communications advance in history.

Readers may not be aware, but this blogger has been researching and managing websites for over a decade. In fact if you have a website built by one of the largest mainstream vet website providers then you’ve probably been benefiting indirectly from my consulting input for years.

In the early days (1998-2002) the web was seen as something weird and techy for most vets. As a conservative profession, we failed to see the potential business benefits of being online. But a brave few did venture into cyberspace, which was largely a trip into indulgent ego land. But at least they were playing with a new idea.

Vetsite One – Promotional

Version one then was about turning the clinical and sales language around and learning to give useful, understandable information that clients found engaging and useful. It was about ‘stickiness’ and ‘eyeballs’ or, put another way, getting clients to come back for more.

We took things a step further and introduced email collection forms and an email newsletter. And it worked! New clients began to register with the practice and seemed happy to give out an email address. Though it was hard to measure an impact on the business the general feeling was that the site was a worthwhile investment.

Vetsite Two – Supporting

Parkvets.com 2008Three years down the line, version two was slicker but simpler. Better structured, this site was all about supporting the crucial roles of the business. From generating new clients, to handling feedback it complimented the core objectives. We even added ecommerce. This time we hired a designer to bring the plans to life. The advent of new technology allowed better monitoring of performance, so we could measure the impact and demonstrate a return on the investment. X new clients per month. Y additional product sales through the ecommerce site.

Vetsite Three – Being Connected

Double Bay Vet Clinic June 2010So what’s new? Two words – Social Media. (Yes they do deserve to be capitalised.) There are some out there who still doubt that the Internet is even useful to vets. They will either change that opinion or stop work soon (either through retirement or lack of business).

Most accept that the Internet is a normal part of life. Few, however, have yet noticed that the rules have changed again. But if you choose to investigate you’ll find that they’ve changed for the good.

How Social Media is Changing the Rules

Think about this. When could a practice ever have afforded to make its own videos? (Let alone broadcast them to the world for free.) When would it have taken ten minutes to send out a traceable newsletter to your clients without involving the mass printing and stuffing of envelopes? When was it possible at the click of one button to potentially engage millions of pet owners with images, sounds, videos – all for free?

The answer is never. The ability to connect with millions of people at zero cost has always been the promise of the Internet. Social media is simply the set of tools that has finally unlocked this power. It may be a source of irritation to find nurses and vets (even on occasions yourself) distracted by sites like Facebook. But what these huge networks of people are doing is talking with friends and colleagues about things that affect them.

They’re talking about holidays and eating out. They’re talking about pubs, clubs and sports events. They’re sharing clinical info. They’re collaborating, planning, building, even destroying…..all with the minimum effort taken to log on. And your vet business isn’t immune. Treat staff badly, it’ll be on Facebook. Treat your clients and pets well and they might just Tweet about it.

Like it or not, people are talking and if you want to have your say then you need to learn about social media.

Dave’s Tuppence-worth

Having a Facebook page or twitter account won’t make your practice cool or hip or better any at fixing pets. But it will help you engage with and deepen relationships with new and existing clients. In other words it will help bond your clients – more effectively in my opinion than any promotional or cost based gimmicks you attempt. Humans are programmed to seek out and interact with each other. Social media allows this without travel or expense.

The Double Bay Vet Clinic website is more than just our e-brochure, it’s our cyber handshake. It’s our Google pumping, client-engaging relationship machine. I’ll keep you posted. But in the meantime why not sign up as a friend either of Double Bay Vet Clinic (to get tips) or follow me (@dave_nicol) on twitter.

Learn More…

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Posted in Communicating, Facebook, Twitter, Website, social media, vet business, vet management, veterinary business, viral marketing | No Comments »

Hats Off for the Hospice Storms Social Media

Saturday, January 30th, 2010


So, who doesn’t believe in the power of social media beyond lunchtime chatter between the nurses? If you don’t then ask yourself this; why did I just give a person living on the other side of the planet, who I am aware of with but don’t know well enough to call a friend, a sizeable donation for a cause that doesn’t affect me directly?

George Cooper has a tragic story to tell. Recently losing his wife to cancer, George wanted to repay a debt of gratitude to the hospice that cared for his wife during their final weeks together.  Before the advent of social media it is unlikely that support would have been raised from far outside the hospice locality or close group of friends and colleagues.  Today though we are all connected so much closer and in the past few days George’s campaign has smashed through an impressive fundraising target of almost £14,000 and, unbelievably, will soon reach £20,000. By any standards this is a really impressive feat. But how is it that it has been achieved?

The answer is that George and his group, The Hat Band, have got all the elements you need for viral marketing campaign to spread. And spread most wonderfully it has.

How The Hat Band Hit the Spot

1. They have a very compelling message – you can’t fail to be moved by his story.
2. The use of two online social media sites to reach people they would not otherwise have had a chance to promote the message to – Facebook (or facepuke as George himself calls it!)  and YouTube.
3. Remarkable content – the free video clips of old shows are great and George is regularly interacting with his fan base keeping the momentum moving forward. Plus there’s pictures from the recent gigs plus a very sweet and hooky little logo to change your profile picture to.
4. A call to action – the thing that converts clicks into cash – buy a ticket, click the video link, donate to the fund…it’s all there.

Put together it isn’t hard to see why The Hat Band’s campaign is a runaway success. 

I don’t know George especially well. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting his wife Sally. I don’t live near, nor am I ever likely to, Herefordshire, the focus of the campaign. So why did I donate? 

Well firstly because George reached out across the social media-sphere and found me (and hundreds of others in a remarkably short space of time). Second, his story is a heartbreaker and my heart goes out to both band members who have had such painful experiences. Thirdly, his band is actually very funny (or at least I think so). But I’ve never seen them, I watched the clips of old performances posted on YouTube. 
Finally, having been through some experiences that can only be described as shit house, one of the things that gets you through is the knowledge that you are absolutely not alone. It matters to look after each other.

So George, I’ve changed my Facebook photo, joined the Facebook fan club and made my donation.  I tip my big red digital hat in the direction of you and your band. Congratulations on smashing your goals and good luck with your new quest to promote the work of all the hospices across the land.

And for everyone else, if you were in any doubt about just how useful social media can be just ask The Hat Band. Or better still buy a ticket for their gigs.

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How Social Media Could Leave Egg on Your Facebook

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

The use of social media is becoming more and more important in the way we communicate. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and LinkedIn allow far closer connections between friends and family. But also between business and customer. 


In a recent articles series, US vet business advisor Jason Canapp, writes an excellent nuts and bolts series entitled ‘How to Get Your Hospital on Facebook’. If you haven’t read them then you can click here to learn about setting up your site.

I thought I’d run with this topic and see if I can help develop the learning a little further. For the proactive veterinary practice (or indeed any business) this change in the way we are communicating opens up some exciting possibilities.

However this new medium comes with new rules. The business or individual that doesn’t take the time to learn and respect them, runs the risk of at best becoming irrelevant, at worst (as Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir found out) suffering some very real reputational damage.

So before you rush headlong into the digital age let’s have a conversation about some things to be aware.

The Uninvited Guest

Back in 2000, a group of brainy, techno-whiz, marketing-types penned what I believe to be one of the best texts on the use of the web in business ever written. It’s called ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto’.

If you are into social media and you haven’t read it then firstly you are crazy. Secondly, you’re in for a treat. To quote one of the seminal paragraphs,

“Markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can’t be faked.

“Most corporations, on the other hand, only know how to talk in the soothing, humorless monotone of the mission statement, marketing brochure, and your-call-is-important-to-us busy signal.”

This advice seems even more relevant today than it did a decade ago.

Then, only a few people had email and ‘networking’ was still something only people in suits did. Now, everyone is connected online through a variety of sites.

If you doubt it then watch your nurses/vets at lunchtime. By and large they jump onto their favorite social networking site and chat to their pals. If even my mum and mother-in-law use these sites then you know they’ve penetrated deep into the mainstream!

In short, there is a massive conversational party going on in the ‘socio-sphere’. Indeed you may yourself be part of it. So what’s the problem? The problem is that ‘business’ isn’t on the invite list.

Party Poopers

For once, this is a medium that is controlled and governed, not by the businesses that operate them, but by the people who use them. And that really is a crucial thing to understand.

The analogy of being an uninvited guest at a party is an excellent one because your business’s encroachment into the social media world will be viewed potentially with suspicion. People will not be naturally inclined to sign up to hear/read yet more marketese and spin. Especially not as this is their domain.

A business that sets forth into the social media world using the same old sales messages is akin to those attractive folks who wander round bars and clubs in revealing outfits, flirtatiously trying to sell tequila chasers. They have no interest in a relationship exchange with you; they just want your money. It’s a painfully obvious ploy and clients, existing or potential, will see right through it.

Because this how businesses are viewed as well, the direct ‘buy my product’ message just isn’t going to work. Why, for example, would I want to sign up to your Twitter feed or Facebook updates only to get the same uninspiring flea and worm messages I regularly ignore on your website? The answer is I don’t and I won’t.

Talk, Don’t Sell

What’s required is a different approach. This is a communication tool, not a sales tool.

The power of social media is that you can get involved in conversations, add value to discussions. Forward useful information. Post and share pictures. Be funny. Be sad. Be human!

The real value is that if you can interact socially and usefully with people online, then you’ll be building a great relationship, one little tweet (twitter posting) at a time. Then, when the time comes and a client needs your ‘real’ service, you’ll be the first person they call. But not because you told them to, better than that, because they trust you and all because they got to know you better and you had time for them online.

Done well, social media can bring a practice, staff and clients together – closer than ever.

Two ‘Old’ Online Rules that still Apply

In your excitement to get online and get chatting there are a couple of old rules that will always apply.

1. Content is still king – Fresh, well written content regularly published is as important with social media as it was with “old” websites. If you don’t update your Facebook pages regularly, or your ‘tweets’ are vapid rubbish then expect no followers at all. You must offer a reason to read on.

2. Relevance still matters – If your practice is in York, then followers from Sydney really are just a waste of time. I’m not a fan of twitter-based applications that claim to sign you up hundreds of new followers. For me the only followers that matter are the local followers, because this isn’t a popularity contest. If you’re spending time on this as a serious business activity then you should still expect serious results. Don’t waste your time.

Dave’s Tuppence-worth

Social Media has the power to build strong bonds between your clients and your staff. But practices need to adopt a new way of talking.

Out are the old style direct sales messages. In are the softer, less contrived, added value conversations. New skills of writing are needed, and new levels of trust allowing staff the ability to communicate directly with clients in this dynamic environment are required.

Due to the lack of control over conversations, there are risks involved in exposing your business so publicly in this way. But well implemented, successful practices can expect this medium to become as important as the booster reminders or website.

If you have more to add then please just drop a comment below. Or feel free to add to the article and I’ll publish it below. Get involved in the conversation!

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Posted in Facebook, My Space LinkedIn, Twitter, social media, vet practices | 1 Comment »