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Featured Article
As mentioned in previous newsletters, our newest video blog is available at MyVNN.com and at our YouTube Channels (PetDocsOnCall and MyVNN).
Coming up later this month will be a print only story that discusses how our pets are helping find cures for cancer. Our next video blog is scheduled for release on May 1st and will focus on those pesky parasites...the fleas!! |
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Featured Article
Congratulations to Dr. Katy Nelson of Virginia, the newest Certified Veterinary Journalist!
In case you have missed the announcements, you can now apply to become a Certified Veterinary Journalists through the American Society of Veterinary Journalists.
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Dear VNN Reporters:
The coming of spring is usually an exciting time around veterinary hospitals. Business picks up and, of course, everyone feels better with the warmer weather and the bright sunshine. But, did you know that this is also a great time to approach local media?
Think about it...spring time means the return of ticks, mosquitoes and fleas...all GREAT animal health stories that you can discuss on your local TV station, during your call-in shows on radio, or even in that print column you do for the weekly shopper paper. Other popular spring time topics include severe weather dangers, pets and landscaping issues and even disaster preparation for pets. The best news is that you can find resources for all of these topics by logging in to www.MyVNN.com.
But, beyond the traditional media (or even in conjunction with it),  consider using your social network to help educate pet owners and enhance your image as a pet expert. Blogging or even simply posting updates on your hospital's Facebook Fan page can attract attention to you and your hospital. AND, more importantly, you are giving information to pet owners that will help promote better pet care!
And, just in case you need something to make you smile these week, check out Mashable's Top Ten Cat Videos! |
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Facebook Tip of the Week!
 Can you see the value in Facebook but you get frustrated with the Farmvilles, Mafias and ever expanding lists of baby zoo animals that need YOUR help??
Here's a little trick I learned that can help clean up your news feed and maybe assist you in finding some of the important news on Facebook. Create Friend Lists!
From your home page, click the Friends button on the left hand column. When the page reloads, you can see a listing of all of your friends (which includes Fan Pages) with a "Create A List" button in the top right corner. Click this button and a small pop up window will appear asking you to name this list. After you name the list, you can then select your friends who belong in that list. As an example, I made lists for my family, my high school friends, my son's band booster organization and, of course, anything related to VNN and PetDocsOnCall.
After you create these lists, go back to your home page and back to the Friends button on the left hand column. Now when you click that button, you will see your lists appear below. Choose the list that you want to see (for example, your VNN list or a similar veterinary medicine list) and only those people (or pages) on that list will show up in the news feed. This will remain until you navigate away from that page in Facebook.
By creating lists, you can fine tune what you are looking at and maybe find the gems and news items that are important to you!!
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VNN Annual Media Report, Upcoming Phone Calls and Recent Mailing
Anyone who has been part of VNN for more than 6 months knows that finding out our audience reach is vitally important. Just like any media outlet, we have to do ratings reports to show how many "eyeballs" are seeing our resources.
I bring this up today because it is time for another round of phone calls. As you know, I try to call or email every single one of our 400 reporters on a quarterly basis. This connection enables us to find out what your media needs (or concerns) might be and gives you the chance to pose questions to us or even to let us know some thoughts on story ideas. You can even let us know what resources might be more helpful to you!
The key here is that we connect with you in some way, via phone or email! To help with this project, we have identified a Veterinary News Network Leadership Group who will be helping with some of these calls. We already have six committed veterniarians who will be calling 10-15 of our VNN members and we expect that another 8-10 VNN reporters will add their assistance to these calls.
SO...starting next week (April 12th), our group will start our calls and we will be looking for the following information:
1) Any media that you have done since the start of 2010. We need station ID (or print publication name), days you appeared, times and the topics you discussed. If you know that you will be appearing some time before the end of May, let us know that too!
2) We also want to know if you are involved in social media in anyway. Do you have a Twitter account or Facebook fan page?
3) Do you have any stories where the use of VNN resources enabled you to be better prepared when the local media called? DId VNN Resources help get you a local media "gig"?
4) And finally, what questions or concerns do you have for us? How can VNN help you educate and inform pet owners about animal health stories?
Please be aware that these calls (from me or a fellow VNN member) will be happening soon. We want to hear from you and we NEED to hear from you so that our media ratings report will be as complete as possible.
Finally, last week I was in Colorado with Dr. Jim analyzing some new editing capabilities for VNN and we put together a small package that was mailed to you on April 2nd. If you have any questions about the contents of the mailing, please feel free to contact Dr. Jim or me via phone or email. |
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WELCOME to our newest VNN Reporters from Indiana and North Carolina!
Remember, Dr. Jim and I are available if you have any questions about social media or how to get started. You can call Dr. Jim at 719-495-2100 or email him at dr.jim@myvnn.com. My contact information is below. You can also connect with Dr. Jim at LinkedIn...just send him an invite!
Our goal is to continue to provide you with the highest level of media resources and information to grow your practice through publicity and PR.
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Sincerely,
Thomas Dock, CVJ
Veterinary News Network
317-281-8658
Dr. Jim Humphries
President
Veterinary News Network
719-495-2100 Direct Line
888-254-9946 Fax
719-963-6852 Cell
Executive Director
American Society of Veterinary Journalists
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