The best of digital – 2011
As we glance in the rear view mirror at 2011, it is worth noting that the year brought us some shining examples of practical and perky applications, websites and platforms that can keep us engaged nearly 24/7. While I believe that we stay too connected to our techno-gadgetry, I find that a recap of the best of the year is worthy of a quick audit.
The following is a compiled list of the “best of” 2011 in several categories.
The 50 Best Websites of 2011 – TIME Magazine
The 50 Best iPhone Apps of 2011 – TIME Magazine
The Best Blogs of 2011 – TIME Magazine
Top 10 iPhone Medical Apps for 2011 – MobiHealth News
Apple’s Top 5 iPhone & iPad Apps of 2011 – iMedicalApps
Top 10 Marketing Sites, Apps and Tools of 2011 – Larry Chase’s Digest
Top iPhone Apps for Online Marketing – Business Marketing Blog
22 Social Media Marketing Management Software & Services – TopRank
Enjoy!
Social media war rooms (and why you need one) – iMediaConnection.com
How do you keep a million posts and retweets from doing irreparable damage to your brand? Follow these five steps to stay ahead of the bad news. Learn more.
Communicating via new media to students
“Blanket Email Syndrome” : The numb communicational state that students develop after receiving a series of mass emails, in which, the majority of the content is irrelevant…
Read more about “blanket email syndrome” and relevant communication techniques for any organization interested in reaching Gen Y and Z.
via http://blog.orgsync.com/2009/college-student-communication/
The new marketing hybrid
Integrating Traditional Skills with New Media Savvy
As hospital marketing departments address evolving new media channels, new skill sets are needed to supplement traditional marketing expertise. This may mean reconfiguring the responsibilities and job description of an existing staff member, or if the budget allows, hiring a new staff person solely dedicated to new media. Elizabeth Scott, President and Principal Strategist, Raven New Media and Marketing, Louisville, KY, shares the following insights for developing and deploying this new “hybrid marketer.”
- Define the role: This person will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the organization’s new media strategy. That includes creating and managing web-based content in new media formats, in accordance with usability principles for content and navigation, site standards, and posting policies.
- Identify the required skills: Skills are specific and dynamic, and include expertise in creative writing; online project management; e-business; search engine optimization; CRM; microsite development; and web monitoring, metrics, and analysis. When work includes social media, expert-level experience with blogs, communities, wikis, RSS, mobile media platforms, multimedia online film and audio management, and other social media tools as they emerge is also required.
- Create an appropriate job title: Consider web-themed titles such as “Interactive” or “Online” Marketing Manager; those focused on media types such as “Multimedia” or “New Media” Manager; or those targeted at social media such as “Social Media” or “Community” Specialist. Avoid using the term “manager” for social media titles since, by definition, social media or communities are not managed internally by the organization.
- Recruit candidates from non-traditional sources: Experts in this field are “wired” so look for them on web job boards, social media user groups, and networking sites like LinkedIn. They are attracted to creativity, fun, and a gaming mentality, so consider posting a recruitment video on YouTube. And don’t assume that anyone with a MySpace page is fluent in new media—work with an expert to develop a skill test for this role.
- Invest in ongoing training and education: “Groom and grow” your expert by engaging a consultant with new media expertise or a seasoned expert from another health system as a coach or mentor. Have your staff person attend conferences or complete online courses. Sites such as eMarketer.com are also helpful.
- Integrate the new role into the department: Make it clear that this is a collaborative role that feeds and supports other marketing team members. Create “share” sessions with colleagues on a regularly-scheduled basis and don’t allow silos of information. Insist that the new role demonstrate value to the system quickly and regularly in order to maintain and grow the program.
Source: Elizabeth Scott can be reached at escott@ravennewmedia.com
The State of Social Marketing Integration – eMarketer
There are now hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide using social networks, blogs, microblogs, online forums and video-sharing sites, and marketers have followed them there. Social media marketin
Socializing with the Fortune 500 – eMarketer
A longitudinal study from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research shows steady uptake of social media marketing activities by Fortune 500 companies.
The rising stars of mobile marketing – Mobile social networks – iMediaConnection.com
Keep your eye on these companies as mobile marketing makes a big move in 2010.
The Apple tablet will be a giant version of the first iPhone
This is the future hybrid of the iPhone and the tablet PC. Learn more about the latest mobile business tool.
Posted using ShareThis
How can marketers create campaigns that break the “healthcare mold” but still resonate with consumers?
Most health care marketers follow one or more of the following themes:
- Attractive doctor telling the story of how he or she is “just like you;”
- Lineup of “star” doctors with a voiceover paraphrasing, “you deserve the best and we have the best doctors around;”
- Patient giving a testimonial stating that they had given up hope until they found XYZ hospital and their capable doctors;
- Artistic shots of high tech equipment or research prowess; or
- In the case of children’s hospitals, photo shots of kids with obvious aliments, smiling and happy as they receive treatment in the hospital or resuming their normal lives.
All can be effective.
While many campaigns are good, very few health care campaigns are great. They fade quickly — leaving us to scramble for the next creative concept designed to capture three seconds of attention we are often allotted by the consumer.
Where are the health care campaign equivalents of “gecko” ads or Mac vs. PC ads? Can hope and healing become so captivating that it goes viral and becomes a YouTube phenom? Possibly.
So how can we breakout and create effective and memorable campaigns? Currently, we spend a significant amount of our advertising funds on concepts, designs and production.
- Consider engaging with an out-of-market research group with no ties to your system or your agency to conduct consumer preview testing. Do not get too concerned with local participation. Local audiences come to the research table with their own biases. Health care consumers often align with community demographics – rural, inner city, or suburbs, etc.
- Use advertising to build your brand and increase awareness. Advertising is rarely the influential factor in health care decision-making. Effective marketing to health care consumers requires a complex combination of traditional advertising, public relations, community participation, physician support, new media and patient advocacy.
- Your breakthrough, experimental “playground” is new media. Try applying formulas that are successful in other industry verticals and test it with consumers through new media.
- Bring in fresh ideas by engaging with local college marketing, communication or advertising students in campaign development or formal brainstorming. Let them have creative license to think about creative messaging. It is a fertile ground for new perspectives.
Break the mold and perhaps you’ll be the one to take hospital marketing to the next level.
Elizabeth L. Scott
escott@ravennewmedia.com
Raven New Media & Marketing
9 digital trends to watch in 2010
Marketing in 2010 is shaping up to be even more dynamic than this year. But what changes and trends are poised to make a major impact? Take a look at a few predictions. –iMediaConnection.com
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