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Do you think teenagers and college students are the only ones using sites like Facebook? Think again!
One of the biggest concerns we hear from our members and prospective members is this:
"How do we know we are reaching people who could qualify as our clients?"
That's a great question and I think some recent research from The Pew Research Centers Internet and American Life Project might help provide some answers for you.
First, understand that almost 80% of American adults use the Internet and almost 60% of those people use at least one social networking site. This percentage has doubled in just the last two years. And...before you dismiss social networking as a playground for the young adults, realize that the average age of a social network user is now 38 and over half of all social networkers are over the age of 35. In addition, 56% of them are female.
In other words...your clients and prospective clients are spending time online and on the social sites!
Where are they? Well, 92% of them are on Facebook! MySpace still gathers about 1/3 of all social network users and LinkedIn and Twitter trail with 18% and 13 % respectively. So...having a presence on Facebook is now essential for you to reach out to your clients.
This is not news to most of you as fully 70% of our VNN members already have created Facebook pages for their hospitals! What you may not know is that YOU are way ahead of the curve. Our research and conversations with individuals well versed in social media (like our own Brenda Tassava, CVPM, CVJ) has shown that less than 15% of veterinarians across the country engage with people on Facebook or in any social media setting.
So, you are doing the right thing by having a Page, now what? Well, further research by Pew shows that more than half of Facebook users and a third of Twitter users use the platform at least once daily. And, the average Facebook user has 229 "friends", so standing out in their busy news feeds will be a challenge!
Our advice? You should also be updating your page or Twitter account on a very regular basis! I would recommend at least once daily. If you want to update more frequently, use one of the scheduling tools available in TweetDeck, HootSuite or various other applications to schedule posts at different times of day. It will save you time and increase the potential to connect with your clients. Follow our pages (Veterinary News Network, PetDocsOnCall.com and the American Society of Veterinary Journalists) for ideas, news stories and other fun updates that you can share.
One final word of advice: don't post and forget about it! Be interactive and respond to comments and questions that your fans might post. Try to engage your fans by asking questions in the original post. The more they engage with you and the more you reciprocate, the more often your hospital will show up in their news feeds, which, of course, increases your potential to be seen. And that is the return on your time investment in social media.
As always, never hesitate call or email if you have questions or concerns about your Facebook page or any social media. We are happy to help!
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