Category: #HCSM

I received this email today and it made me mad.

I run several blogs and get emailed pitches on a daily basis. The majority of these pitches are ill-thought-out and go straight into the Junk folder without ever being read. It’s clear from the first line that these emails are generic –  the writers haven’t taken any time to actually read the content of my blog to see if their pitch is a good fit. In the example above, the pitcher didn’t even bother to specify a blog – just “wordpress.com”! (According to the latest WordPress stats, there are 76.5 million blogs on WordPress so I am not sure which of the 76.5 million blogs hosted by WP she is even referring to.)

I don’t normally single out a bad pitch like this, but this is one is so woefully lazy and spammy, it actually made me angry. This person is writing to me representing an addiction clinic and is doing damage to that clinic’s reputation by reaching out in this poorly-executed way.  This is what happens when you “do” social media the wrong way. This is why I say to clients if you aren’t going to approach social media as you would any other aspect of your business (ie in a professional manner). then it’s better to stay right away from social media.

How To Do Blogger Outreach The Right Way

Ok, rant over!

For those who are serious about their social media outreach here’s a checklist for reaching out to bloggers.

1. Identifying the right bloggers is the first step in your outreach strategy. Use a blog directory tool like Alltop or Technorati to help you search by topic for blogs related to your topic or niche.
2. Always address the blogger by their first name.
3. Reference something from the blog that makes it clear you actually read it.
4. Become familiar with the blog’s readership and how it matches your offer. If it’s not a natural fit, then please don’t waste the blogger’s time.
5. Introduce yourself in a personal and friendly way. Provide a brief background on you and your brand, client, product or service.
6. Explain how exactly you would like to work with the blogger. Make your pitch as concise and clear as possible.
7. Provide hyperlinks to your website, product or service, so the blogger doesn’t have to search for you online.

Over To You

I’m curious to know if blogger outreach is part of your social media strategy and if so, do you have any best practice tips to share with us? Or do you think we should be over this kind of strategy? Is it a practice that has had its day?

Featured Image: Gratistography

Recommended Reading: 4 Steps to Create Enviable Guest Blogging Success

 

 

One of the questions put most frequently to me when I speak to healthcare professionals is how to handle trolling on social media.

It’s an important question.

To answer the question, I’ve turned to Matthew Katz MD and his tutorial on dealing with Trolls, Malware and Spam.

Let’s define what we mean by trolling

Dr Katz begins with a reality check.

• Trolls are not people who disagree with you.
• Expect debate on Twitter.
• Be open to being wrong.
• When conversations get heated and emotional, show respect so you aren’t considered the troll

He goes on to define the different types of trolls we might encounter online.

And provides sensible advice for dealing with trolling behaviour.

How to deal with negative comments on social media

As I was writing this post today, I came across an article on this same topic at Social Times. It cautions against blocking or banning negative comments too readily, which echoes Dr Katz’s reality check – don’t label everyone who disagrees or complains as a troll.

Comments should not be removed if they refer to genuine customer-service issues. Know the difference and listen. Sometimes people just want to be heard.  

If you become the target of rumors or misinformation, then fight back with facts. If you make a mistake, then admit it and show how you will fix the mistake.

While this advice is based on patience and understanding through communication and conversation, it does not apply to persistent trolls and those intent upon abusing you.

Develop A Policy For User Comments

The article points to the need for organizations to have social media guidelines in place which details the kind of comments you will allow (for example, no racist or abusive comments) and then take action against those in violation of those guidelines.

These policies should clearly detail what kind of comments are allowed and be outlined on your website and social media accounts. Here’s an example from the Content Marketing Institute. 

Not sure whether to ban or block trolls? Dr. Katz has some pointers for you.

If you have a problem with trolling on Facebook, here’s a practical tip from social media expert, Guy Kawasaki:

When trolls commented on my Facebook posts, I used to delete the comments and sometimes ban the user. I found that deleting the comments often caused the troll to post another comment complaining about the deletion – often citing “freedom of speech.” Banning the user deleted the comment and prohibited the user from posting again; however, I was often emailed with a “Why did you ban me?” complaint. Both options caused me more work and likely fostered hostility. Now I just “hide” the comments. When you do this, only the person who made the comment and his followers can see the comment. From their perspective, the comment is still there but other people can’t see it.

Don’t Feed The Trolls

If you’re in the online world, you’ve dealt with a troll. If you haven’t, you very likely will.  I’ve had my fair share of criticism online, but thankfully I haven’t yet had to deal with any trolls. I am aware though of how nasty things can turn online and it pains me to see this darker side of social media.  The best piece of advice I’ve ever read is quite simply “Don’t Feed The Trolls”.

When under attack, respond as calmly as you can and in the case of trolls, remember that sometimes the best response is no response at all. Hootsuite

Trolls want attention.  Simply ignoring a troll could be your best tactic  – according to the Pew Research Center, 60% of respondents opted to ignore online harassment.

Have you had to deal with social media trolls? How have you handled it? Please share your tips and thoughts in the comments below. 

Related Reading

• Stanford Research Shows That Anyone Can Become An Internet Troll
• The Complete Guide to Understanding and Dealing With Online Trolls
• How to Deal With Social Media Trolls  

I’m a real geek when it comes to social media particularly when it comes to its evolution.  It still blows my mind how relatively recent a phenomenon social media is in our lives – relative that is to our age. If like me you are of the Gen X generation than you can easily remember a time when “social networking” was just something you did at parties. For later generations, social media is not so revolutionary.

Social media as an industry is continually evolving, with new networks, updates, and features constantly developing. This continually-changing landscape challenges us to keep up with trends and be ever-more creative in capturing the attention of audiences.

Here’s a cool infographic which charts the rise and rise of social media since the first social network launched in 2002. As you can see LinkedIn preceded Facebook by two years.   I can’t wait to see what the next decade holds for social media!

 

Infographic by Digitalinformationworld

What is a social media community and why should we care about creating one?

A  social media community is a group of people who share a strong common interest, form relationships and interact online. It’s important we draw a difference between a “social following” and a “social community” because sometimes people confuse the two.  Whereas a following is an audience that interacts with you, a community is an audience that interacts with you – but even more importantly with each other.

According to Meltwater, “If you don’t have a community, you don’t have anyone listening to you, and if there’s no one listening to you, it’s difficult to build brand awareness and deliver ROI.”

Want to learn more? My slide-deck from a recent talk on this topic is now available to view on SlideShare. 

I’ve just returned from beautiful Sitges, just outside Barcelona, Spain where I gave the joint opening keynote with Fabian Bolin, Founder of War on Cancer, at the HIMSS Europe Conference.

I speak at and attend many, many conferences across the globe, but this was a stand-out experience for me. It wasn’t just because there were interesting sessions  – let’s be honest, we could get a lot of this information from watching a webinar – it was those conversations that happen outside the main auditorium that interest me the most.

With Pablo Barredo, founder, La Fundación Diario De Un Cuidador and Erik Gerritsen,  Secretary General of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (note: you cannot replicate the charisma and dynamism of these two online!)

I met some amazing people who are passionate about digital transformation. I arrived with no great expectations – a little conferenced out even this early in the year – but I returned with renewed energy and hope for the future of healthcare.  I made some really great connections in terms of future work collaborations, but more importantly to me, they are people whose vision for a better future for patients I share.

The location this year in Sitges was stunning. It’s a beautiful coastal town and I am already planning a return visit to explore it some more.

The fact that the conference took place in a purpose-built hotel was unique to me and it worked really well in making the experience more relaxed and intimate.  Congregating in the delightful garden made it feel more like a gathering of friends than a sterile conference hall ever could. More conferences should do this and if I ruled the conference planning world, they would!

A shout-out to Pascal Lardier and Kim Mancha for being so accessible and approachable to new ideas throughout the planning process. Consummate professionals, I  loved working with them and their hard-working behind the scenes team.

Finally, at the risk of this sounding like some kind of cheesy Oscars acceptance speech, I also want to send out a special mention to the wonderful patient advisory board, Shane, Pierre-Mikael, Mitch, Dee, Emilie, Victor, Fabian, and my two co-conspirators Mitch and Pablo.

I arrived at HIMSS to attend a conference, but I left with so much more. Here’s to new friendships, fruitful collaborations, and renewing acquaintances again next year.

See you in Helsinki!