TWITTER, Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Linkedin and Plaxo are just some of the names in the world of online social networking which no doubt you will have heard of.
It will be a safe bet that most people, yourself included, would say that they use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends and family. But as these sites become more widely accepted,they are also being used to promote businesses. You too can jump on this bandwagon.
Just spend a little time searching online and you’ll find that many businesses are creating an online presence, whether that is to publicise products, events or their brand.
Go to Facebook, for example, tap in “veterinary practice” and you’ll see – at the time of writing – 90 groups that match your search. Those creating sites,such as London Veterinary Clinic or Simply Cats Veterinary Clinic, have millions of potential visitors who can view business contact information, links to their website, detail on events and photos and videos of, say, products or premises.
The real bonus here is that followers of each site can discuss common matters of interest. You could do the same. Attending or promoting a show? Create a Facebook page – that’s exactly what the organisers of the London Vet Show have done.
But there are other ways of going online: blogging is one good example. With free online tools such as WordPress, you can create a comment or chat-orientated site on the web. By going down the paid route with WordPress you can get a personalised WordPress address, extra storage and the ability to post video.
Blogging sites are great at creating a community where the site owner becomes the moderator and, in effect, creating an industry name for the owner. You too could use a blog to talk about your practice.
Blogs are worth considering – there are over 1,600 blogging sites on WordPress alone that have postings relating to veterinary practices, including those talking how to become a strong veterinary practice leader and how to practice veterinary medicine in the US (if you are considering emigration).
There are plenty of alternatives to WordPress – just Google “blogging sites” to find them.
Maybe Twitter is something that you want to consider. Unlike a website or the likes or Facebook, Twitter is much simpler in that is only allows users to post 140 character messages. Tweets – the messages – can be used to create huge followings. Again, just tap in “veterinary practice” on Twitter and you’ll find thousands of relevant messages. Anyone of which you can repost to your followers.
Another way…
Alternatively, you can contact the original poster of the message via “direct message”. Either way, Twitter is another way of you reaching potential customers as they follow your regular messages. For example, Trends Research has postings on Twitter on how to double your veterinary profits in six months. There are also tweets on using antibiotics on farms as well as jobs for vets posted by Vetclick.
Social networking goes beyond discussing issues or comparing notes. With other sites such as Linkedin or Plaxo, you can keep in touch with colleagues, past and present. Aimed more at “professional” rather than “social” relationships, once registered you create a profile which lists your career experience and contact details. From here you search for people you know whilst seeing their connections to other like minded people.
As Linkedin says, you can use the service to “develop the relationships you need to grow your own business”. In this context, you might find it a good method to find new products or staff. It’s rather like joining your local chambers of commerce, but online and with people with something more in common than being local. Again, examples are easily found by searching, via Google, for “vets on linked-in”.
Blogs and social networking sites have a number of benefits over anything on paper. Most notably, they are all indexed and searchable. In other words, anyone can find you – and your rivals –with a few keystrokes.
Next consider that all of these sites can be updated whilst you on the move. The iPhone and Blackberry, in particular,have dedicated applications for these sites. You can also use these sites as a recruitment tool.
Followup
Indeed, many firms use social networking sites to look for staff and to check upon staff that they are hiring. A February 2010 report by HR Magazine1 said that 41% of HR managers questioned have rejected a candidate based on their online presence. You too could follow up a CV by doing the same. However, be careful that you reject a candidate for fair reasons though. Candidates have rights too.
So when it comes to actually updating your site, don’t blast your followers with piles of adverts or reams of self-serving information about you. Social networking sites, in a business context, should be used to show followers what you can do for them.
So aim to get followers engaged with interesting news, developments in your business, promotions you might be running and soon. You could have a “deal of the month”which features on your networking as well as your business website.
Also, why not involve followers by asking for, and acting upon, feedback? Everyone who offers constructive comments could get a discount voucher. You get comments and repeat business. They get to air their views and a discount.
Many say that the online world should carry a caution sticker. Reports in September 2009 circulated stating that staff from PC World and Currys2 had apparently set up a Facebook page and the posted comments were found to be less than complimentary about customers.
On a different tack, businesses need to be careful about staff usage of online sites; Portsmouth City Council had to ban access to social networking sites because of time wasted online – they lost 71 days in July 2009 alone.
But whatever you do online, ensure that you follow the law regarding copyright, trademarks and defamation. You need to be proactive in monitoring any comments posted on your sites; it could cost you dear if you allow a discussion or you post a negative comment that someone considers to be untrue.
Remember, social networking won’t make bad products or services better. What they can do is spread the word when you build a reputation. However, that ought to be a catalyst to betterment – bad news travels just as quickly as good news.
Amazon.co.uk features several books that may be able to help you take advantage of social networking. Search for “social networking” in books.
But don’t forget the various veterinary-specific or veterinary-only sites and forums. By far the biggest and most active is www.vetsurgeon.org: well over 4,500 veterinary surgeons and fellow professionals have signed up for this one. In addition to topical forums, events and jobs are listed there, along with a special area on referral practices and a whole lot more; it’s also where you will find this and past issues (27 of them) of Veterinary Practice.
- www.hrmagazine.co.uk/News/ MostRead/980596/Candidates-onlinereputation-becomes-new-CV-almosthalf-HR-directors/.
- www.itpro.co.uk/615340/the-dangerof-social-networking-to-business.
