360DigitalInfluence

Cougar lost the edge in Top Gun, and Maverick and Goose took advantage. They had “the edge” – that little bit extra that let them come out on top (yes, Ice Man won Top Gun, but just go with me on this).

For brands on Facebook, that little bit extra is an understanding of EdgeRank – the formula that Facebook uses to determine how high your content appears in your fans’ news feed, and ultimately increased impressions. continue reading

Earlier this month, Facebook launched a page for journalists intended to serve as an ongoing resource for the growing number of reporters using Facebook to find sources, interact with readers, and advance stories.

While the opportunities for media outlets to expand their social footprint beyond Twitter and on-site share functionality is clear, I see larger implications in the impact of more individual journalists leveraging Facebook for the development of stories.

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This week marks the beginning of arguably the most exciting sports event of the year – the NCAA Tournament. From frantically preparing brackets, diehards planning out their wardrobe to optimize their sporting of team colors, to heated discussion on who will be this year’s Cinderella team, March Madness is one of the most social sports experiences around.

Last year, social media was the talk of the tournament, and it will continue to play a major role in how Americans experience the madness. In fact, research released by IMRE Sports found that nearly a quarter of online American adults (23%) plan to use some sort of social media to follow this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament.

The more interesting finding of this research is that 27% of those who will use social media plan to use a mobile application, and those with higher household incomes ($75K+) and college graduates are even more likely to use mobile applications and Twitter to catch the action.

In 2010, 8.3 million unique viewers watched or listened to 11.7 million hours of online streams of the NCAA tournament, and those numbers should increase this year. Turner Sports has seen these two trends and has taken an exciting step to continue to drive viewership of the tournament through their NCAA’s online platform – FREE March Madness On Demand for iPhone and iPad (goodbye productivity at work!).

The app – did I mention that it’s now free? (last year, this app would run you $9.99) – allows users to watch live streaming games, provide enhanced statistics – but more importantly, fully integrate their social media life into their tournament experience. One of the things I was most excited to see (other than the games, of course) was that the sharing functionality is front and center in the interface - and conveniently positioned next to the second most important element…My Bracket.

As we see more media networks investing in this trend toward mobile capabilities, I expect we’ll see social networking get continually higher billing.

No matter how you plan to follow the action this year, one thing is clear. It’s going to be “Awesome, with a capital A!”

Headline image courtesy Sports Chump

How many mobile devices do you think the average adult carries? One? Two? Not quite. The average adult carries 2.5 phones. That’s pretty amazing when you think about how the growth in number of voice minutes used by consumers has stagnated in recent years. continue reading

They are an undeniable part of our culture. From “The Man in the Hathaway Shirt,” to The Most Interesting Man in the World, to the GEICO Gecko, you can’t deny that - when done right - fictional brand characters can live well beyond a campaign and become a memorable part of our lives.

And with the rise of the social web, we’ve seen a number of these characters try their hand at becoming a part of our online lives as well. The question is…can that be effective? continue reading

It’s no secret that pharmaceutical companies had a lot of regulatory issues to consider when marketing – and no marketing channel is more hotly discussed right now than the internet. From the highly anticipated guidelines on social media usage to the FTC’s proposed do-not-track list, there’s definitely a lot to keep track of these days.

Below are three regulatory issues that we here at 360 DI are monitoring closely. continue reading

Recently, the CDC released a new resource to help health communicators utilize social media for communicating health data – the Health Communicator’s Social Media Toolkit. This new tool is a great asset for the public health community to establish a framework for utilizing social media.

Similar to the public health/government agency community, the pharmaceutical industry’s highly regulated nature makes similar “tool boxes” a great way for companies to keep their efforts in line with how they can and should be using social media. Here are three key “tools” that every pharmaceutical marketer should integrate into their tool box.

• Governing Guidelines: This may sound obvious, but with FDA guidelines on social media usage pending (expected as early as December, says Pixels and Pills), a clear set of governing principals for how companies utilize social media will be key to their success in the space. Once the FDA issues their guidance, the current “trial and error” approach to social media will no longer be acceptable. In the meantime, companies should be planning for how they will utilize the “safer” avenues for engagement such as podcasts and YouTube.
• Educational Resources: As pharmaceutical companies expand their investment in the social web, there will be a need for broader education on how each company is engaging in social media – walls will need to be broken down. Companies should define a set of educational resources that define how they are using the platforms they chose to utilize and how each of them function. Mayo Clinic’s Center for Social Media is a great example of this type of effort, but many companies can scale it down for their needs – from the 101 level for broad organizational education to in-depth training for employees that are actively involved in the company’s social media efforts.
• Database of Best Practices: Keeping your organization informed on your initiatives is an important practice to integrate into your organization’s efforts. Many large companies can experience the “silo effect” and miss out on their own company’s experiences with what does and doesn’t work for their needs. Keeping a database of best practices and case examples like Dose of Digital’s Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki can go a long way in sharing the wealth of knowledge in any organization.

And, of course, the box itself is a key component of any tool set. With what seems like daily developments in the social media world, find a format that is easily to update and build upon. Whether it is a wiki or a shared folder, choosing the right format and location for where your tool box lives is important in making sure your organization is nimble.

These are just a small collection of practices that can lead to social media success for the pharmaceutical industry. What tools do you have in your tool box?

Image courtesy threeminds.organic.com

When considering a foray into social media with your organization, you might find yourself asking some pretty tough questions. What the heck do we have to say? How are we going to keep generating content? How do we keep our audience coming back for more?

These can be daunting questions that can paralyze any organization, and make you decide to “forget it.” The truth is that there are a number of ways that you can keep your content fresh and relevant.

3 Simple Ways to Keep Content Coming

• Establish Ongoing Series: Like an ongoing column in a newspaper, identifying key areas that you can regularly focus on can help hone your thinking (we do it here with Medical Mondays and Facebook Fridays). Identify any ongoing initiatives and plan posts focused on those efforts at regular intervals so your readers know when “the doctor is in.”
• Focus on Timely Health Issues: Think about the topics that are at the top of your audience’s mind at certain points throughout the year. If you are creating content for a hospital, you may want to consider seasonal health issues such as staying healthy during flu season, or avoiding injuries during the active summer months. The more you can connect with what your audience is thinking about at that time, the more compelling your content will be.
• Mix up Your Media: Don’t limit yourself to text and images. Video content can provide your content with a fresh delivery, and help your audience connect with your staff. Identify topic experts on important issues – how to prepare yourself for surgery, how to stay safe from hospital-acquired infections, or a nurse’s perspective on gaining patient trust - and interview them on-camera. This can easily become a staple of your content schedule, like it has for Asia Digital Map’s Red Chair Interviews.

Whether you’ve been managing your organization’s social presence for a while, or you’re just trying to get started, these types of exercise can help you get your content fresh in a flash.

These are just a handful of ways to keep your content creation manageable. What strategies do you use to keep putting out great content?

Image courtesy gregisenblog.com

This past week I came across some interesting new research that suggests that when it comes to online social networking, people are more likely to change health-affecting habits when encouraged to do so by online conversations with friends they already know well and with whom they are in close contact. In essence, the research suggests that the “redundancies and repetitiveness that characterizes interactions among close groups of friends is a central driving force behind encouraging people to change their health behaviors.”

This aligns with word of mouth statistics showing that recommendations from a friend or family member are the most trusted sources of information. Similar to the impact of close personal relationships, local community businesses have the opportunity to utilize their proximity and relationship with their local community to serve a similar role. continue reading

This week, the Mayo Clinic announced the launch of its very own Center for Social Media – a first-of-its-kind social media center focused on health care. “Through this center we intend to lead the health care community in applying these revolutionary tools to spread knowledge and encourage collaboration among providers, improving health care quality everywhere” said Mayo Clinic president and CEO John Noseworthy, MD.

This announcement is a great step in the further acceptance and application of social media to advance patient health, and it got me thinking about the concept of leadership. continue reading