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Veterinary News Network Media Insider
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Greetings!
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I think that many of us are anxious for the change of seasons happening right now. I have always found Fall to be one of my favorite times of year!
Over the next 7-10 days, your VNN team will be away from the offices, but don't worry. We will still have access to email and, of course, many of you have our cell phone numbers. Dr. Jim is currently doing some CE on dentistry with our local board-certified veterinary dentist and then he will be off to Kansas City for meetings. I, on the other hand, get to be a little more relaxed and jaunt off to Orlando for a week at Disney with the family!
If you have ANY needs, concerns or questions, PLEASE still feel free to connect via email. If your need is more urgent (crisis communications), call the main VNN office (719-495-2100). If you have to leave a message, please be assured that we will get back to you as soon as is possible.
Who all is going to the Colorado VMA Convention, Oct 4-7th? VNN will be there with our Social Media Wet Lab and "social-casting" the whole event! Come say hi if you are attending!
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Animals, Veterinarians and VNN Members in the News
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 Who Sees Your Facebook Posts?
 Thomas Dock, BS, CVJManaging Editor, Veterinary News Network
Board of Certification, American Society of Veterinary Journalists
Over the last couple of days, I have realized that despite many of our members being involved in social media for more than 3 or 4 years now, there are still a lot of unknowns about how sites like Facebook work. This "epiphany" came about as Dr. Jim and I were discussing the Promoted Posts function at Facebook and when I saw a blog about Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm this morning, I knew that I needed to spend some time reminding our members of a few key things.
First, it is important to understand that once someone "likes" your Facebook page, they are rarely, if ever, going to return to the page. 96% of people never go back to your page, BUT THAT'S NOT A BAD THING! It simply means that they are interacting with your page via their NewsFeed.
Next...believe it or not, every single post you created is not seen by every single person who likes your page!! In fact, I think the number is actually closer to only 20% or so.
Finally, people will spend a little less than 30% of their time on Facebook scrolling through their NewsFeed. All told, we spend more time in our NewsFeeds on Facebook than on sites for MSNBC, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Yahoo News, ABC and CNN COMBINED! More than 2.8 BILLION minutes per day!
So, being visible in their NewsFeed is crucial and that's where the EdgeRank comes into play.
Facebook knows that you would much rather see information from a close relative or friend in your NewsFeed than from someone you barely know. So, the first part of the EdgeRank algorithm has to do with "Affinity". Essentially, the closer the relationship (defined by the interactions between two people or a person and a page), the more weight is given to showing your post in their NewsFeed.
Next, the type of post that you create is also weighted. Posts involving pictures or videos are the most heavily influential, followed by links and then plain text posts. BUT...a plain text post that has multiple likes and comments will outweigh a picture with no comments.
Finally, there is a time decay...if someone is only logging into Facebook once per week, they will see multiple older posts versus those of us who never log out of Facebook! This is Facebook's method of keeping your NewsFeed fresh and current.
Now that you know about EdgeRank...what can you do to improve it? Again, we have mentioned things in previous newsletters, but here's a short reminder.
1) Don't post long drawn out paragraphs...shorter is always better. Remember, this is being seen in the NewsFeed and most people will skip over very long posts. Keep your posts to under 250 characters whenever possible...I personally try for less than 150 in most posts.
2) Don't be afraid to post pictures and videos!! People love the visual aspect...I would encourage you to ALSO make a short comment or ask a question with each picture post.
3) Ask questions or do a "fill in the blank". These types of posts consistently get 90% more interaction than simple statements.
4) Post daily...remember, your fans are not coming back to your page. Being seen in their NewsFeed is really the only consistent way to reach them.
5) Be relevant...as veterinary hospitals, our pages should be focused on animals and veterinary medicine. It's definitely ok to occasionally offer remembrances (like the recent posts about 9/11), but going too far astray will cause a loss of interest among your fans.
6) Review your Insights and find the best times for posting. See which of your posts garner the most interaction and look at the times you are posting. If you find that one time is more active, try to post regularly about that time each day. And yes, it might be after normal business hours!
7) Finally, and this is strictly from me, not the blog, interact when people comment on your posts or post on your page. It's very frustrating to get excited about a page only to see that they never respond or even thank people for commenting.
VNN is here to help you with this sort of activity. Not only are we posting regularly throughout the day so that you will always have a good source of stories/information to share, but our archives of story resources and messaging can help you with ideas for your own posts. ANYTIME you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
Until next time...
Tom
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New at MyVNN.com
Last weekend we released a print only story on the continuing discussion about how the Toxoplasma parasite has the ability to affect brain chemistry and even behavior. " Are Cats Plotting Against Us?" simply reviews what has been said in the news media about cats and toxo and then gives you and your clients some real world advice about the risks. Remember, our goal is to often CALM public fears and I believe that this story will do just that.  On October 1st, another print only story will be released. As mentioned above, the on-going chicken (and duck and sweet potato) jerky treat issue has frustrated many people. We are looking at what has transpired to date and then, again, offering some real world solutions to help people avoid the wrong treats and give viable options. Look for this story on October 1st. We are also planning two great video stories for release in October and November. One is a look at our hard working technicians and veterinary assistants and how they are so crucial to the operation of a veterinary hospital as well as to good patient care. The second story looks at a new medical therapy known as canine platelet enhancement therapy and whether or not this can help our dogs with joint issues. Once we finalize video shoots, I will let you all know the exact timing on both stories. Have you seen the Message Point Library recently? Last week, we added messaging on the upcoming October observance of Adopt a Dog/Adopt a Shelter Dog Month and this week I am proud to announce that new messaging on Anesthesia and our Pets is now available. Thanks so much to Dr. Ann Hohenhaus of the Animal Medical Center in NY for her assistance with the points. WELCOME to Dr. Becky Niedfeldt and her team at Sheeler Road Animal Hospital in Apopka, FL. They are the newest members of VNN!As we transition from summer into fall, be sure to review our VNN Calendar of Animal and Veterinary Events for upcoming holidays, celebrations and observances. This monthly calendar is a great resource for thinking ahead and planning any publicity or marketing. AND...if you have something we need to add, just email me and I will make sure it is included! |
 American Society of Veterinary Journalists
Our organization designed with a goal of bringing professionalism back to journalism involving veterinary medicine and animal care is continuing to grow!! Are you someone who should be credentialed as a Certified Veterinary Journalist or do you know someone who should be??
If you would like to know more about becoming a Certified Veterinary Journalist, visit http://asvj.org. We highly encourage all VNN members to get their certification!
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At VNN, we are here, 24/, to help you with your media needs. Please don't hesitate to contact us whenever you need help!
Sincerely,
Thomas Dock
Managing Editor
719-445-7065 (office)
317-281-8658 (mobile)
tomdock@MyVNN.com
Dr. Jim Humphries
President and Founder
719-495-2100 (VNN Main Office)
719-963-6852 (mobile)
dr.jim@MyVNN.com
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As I was finalizing this today, I found an interesting story on the results of a non-scientific online study on breed identification done this summer. Maddie's Fund posted