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Dear VNN Member:
How are you holding up through this summer heat?
Hopefully, many of you are experiencing a little relief. Our thoughts and concerns do go out to the ranchers in Oklahoma and Texas as they continue to contend with drought conditions. Many won't be able to rebound from this latest disaster.
 Fall isn't that far way...have you started considering how your media efforts and your editorial calendar will change as we move away from hot temperatures and summer time safety for pets? Take a look in our VNN Archives and you will find many stories and resources that are "evergreen"...meaning that you can use them at almost any time of year. We have messaging on hunting dog safety, autumn dangers for pets, Halloween safety and so much more! Can't find what you are looking for? Just let us know and if we don't have it, we will get it for you!!
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| Animals in the News This Week |
 The issue we are hearing most about this week comes from inside the veterinary profession. As you have probably heard, Immiticide is now unavailable for the foreseeable future due to technical issues with the preparation of the final product. This has cause a great deal of concern among veterinarians and even some shelter/rescue groups. We have developed some messaging for you in case your local media comes calling, clients have questions OR you wish to post in your social network.
Remember, fanning the flames of speculation is never helpful. Whether or not this was a preventable problem from the manufacturing standpoint is not the issue...people want action steps. For now, the best course of action is to follow the American Heartworm Society's guidelines. These are included in the Message Points at MyVNN.com and can be found on the AHS Facebook page and website.
This is also a great time to REINFORCE the need for heartworm prevention in all pets! Use this story as a lead in on your local media segment and then talk about what people CAN do to prevent this disease. Remember, there are many resources about heartworms at our site. For routine updates on newsworthy stories and potential social media items, make sure you and your hospital follow our Veterinary News Network Facebook page. Many of these stories can be found on our "Wall".
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Hot Facebook Marketing Tips
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I realize that in past columns and suggestions, we have firmly discouraged constant marketing of your business through Facebook or any social media. That's not why people are visiting your network.
BUT...your social presence IS a form of marketing, it's just a lot more subtle than offering free vaccines as a status update. So, what can you do to increase the level of interaction in your social network (especially on your Facebook page) and encourage those people to visit your business?
First, remember to stay on topic. Whether you are posting the updates yourself or if you have someone else doing it, make sure that your posts are relevant to animals and/or veterinary medicine. Your followers aren't interested in seeing updates about politics (unless it relates to pets in some way), so steer away from non-animal related topics.
If you notice that a specific update is getting a lot of attention (you can see this in your Insights on your page), consider re-posting it with an update. Examples include cases with great outcomes, a lost pet that is found, etc.
Next, ask questions!! I have mentioned this numerous times in the past and it is a great way to encourage visits and interaction on your page. Make sure the questions are easy to answer... "what was the name of your first pet?" or "Will your next pet be a mixed breed or purebred?" are examples that encourage people to answer.
If they answer...be sure to respond. Let them know that you are out there listening to them. This, above almost anything else, will generate repeat visits, encourage conversion and has the greatest potential for gaining new business for you.
Utilize those fans to give you feedback...thinking about decreasing or increasing hours? Ask your fans on Facebook. Give them reasons to WANT to come to your page to see what you and your hospital are doing today!
These are just a few of the tips that come from experts in social media. You can read the entire list at Social Media Examiner.com.
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| Upcoming Events and Reminders | |
On Monday, August 15th, our new story featuring veterinary dermatologists and the topic of ATOPY will be released. This should be a great resource for many of your clients as so many pets suffer from this condition. Many thanks to Dr. Jackie Campbell of Colorado Springs for helping with the video production.
And, to reiterate what was mentioned above, we have created Message Points detailing with the Immiticide shortage.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Although this is a "human medicine" initiative, it would make a great introduction to tie into the importance of vaccinating pets.
At the end of this month, Tom will be at the Heartland Veterinary Conference in Indiana speaking about social media (Aug 27th) and Dr. Jim will be speaking at the Mid-Continent Association for Agriculture, BioMedical Research and Education on August 26th in Olathe, Kansas. Please let us know if you are at EITHER of these events as we would love to say hi!
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Sincerely,
 Thomas Dock, CVJ
Managing Editor
tomdock@MyVNN.com
719-445-7065
Dr. Jim Humphries
President/News Director
dr.jim@MyVNN.com
719-495-2100
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Keeping You Up to Date!, type
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This past weekend you should have received an email with instructions about our new TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.
This will enable us to keep you up to date with breaking news and important issues. It's just another way that VNN is working hard for you!
I am pleased to report that already more than 20% of our members have "opted-in" for this service.
If you have not had the opportunity or if you did not see the email, you can join the list by texting "VNN" to 85378 or you can visit www.addacall.com type "VNN" into the search box and input your cell number at that site.
If your cell number is not in our database, you might receive a confirmation text asking for your name. This is expected and is OK!
As always, we value your time and your privacy. Your cell number will not be used for any purpose other than VNN communications.
THANK YOU! |
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Enough is ENOUGH! Will Social Media EVER Stop Growing?
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We said it three years ago and it is just as true today as it was then...there are too many social media tools!
How do you choose between using LinkedIN or Facebook's new BranchOut? Where does Google+ fit into the situation and should your videos live at multiple sites instead of just YouTube?
It's enough to make your head spin!
Thankfully, here at VNN, we are trying hard to stay ahead of the curve so you won't need to. We are spending time researching the latest sites, new functionality on the older sites and putting it altogether for you. Use us to be your social media guides!
To that end, we will be re-engaging our webinar series in the next 30-60 days. We are discussing potential topics with internet guru, Kevin Knebl and he is looking forward to connecting with our VNN members again.
Stay tuned and be sure to let us know what questions you have!
If you need ANY assistance at all in connecting with or using any of our resources, please feel free to call or email us at any time!
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VNN Member Blogs and Ideas!
| Check this space in every newsletter as we will share great ideas and popular blogs or sites from our VNN members.
Today's blog comes from VNN member, Brent Toellner (KCDogBlog). In it, he asks if we are loving homeless pets to death. His concern is that some rescues and shelters are putting up increasingly difficult barriers to adopting and rescuing pets. What's your thought?
We also shared this same topic at our PetDocsOnCall blog and Scott West and Tom will discuss this very issue on Monday morning's Daybreak USA on the IRN Radio Network. | |
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