Why online advertising is important for hospitals.

By: Kelly Hocutt and David Michaluk

Are you still reluctant to advertise your hospital on the web? Maybe you’re bound by tradition. Or maybe you think healthcare is too private for the web — and people seek information only from people they can trust. But research by OTX and Google shows that adding search and web advertising to your marketing mix is more than just helpful — it’s essential.

That’s right. Consumers are increasingly going online for hospital information. 41% go to the Internet before seeking advice from healthcare professionals or friends and relatives. When these information-seekers get to the Internet, 76% go to hospital websites, 62% to search engines and 56% to health websites. They’re using more than one destination — which means if you’re not using search engine ads and ad networks, you’re missing a sizable audience. If they don’t see you, you don’t exist.

Putting social networking to work...literally.

Yammer is a simple way for employees to connect and share by posting messages. As more employees participate, it becomes a corporate social network, discussion board and knowledge base. Yammer is like a combination of Facebook and Twitter. Your company can create a profile that mimics the look of Facebook: picture, wall posts/messages, an information page, etc. Your company also has a “network.” And the Yammer is protected, permitting only people from your company to join by requiring your company’s domain (@yourcompany.com). The homepage resembles Twitter — members of your company can post messages about what they’re working on or post questions to coworkers.

But what happens when employees start spending more and more time chatting on Yammer? Will it be a time-waster? Or a morale-booster? Only time will tell.

Things have really changed in the online world.

I’ve become a big fan of the publication Mediaweek, despite the fact that I’ve never planned nor bought any media — ever. Yet, for some reason, I’m sent a copy of this magazine every week, so who am I not to read it? It’s funny how certain publications find their way to your mailbox. For example, I also look forward to my weekly dose of Modern Manicurist. There’s nothing quite like an article centered on the finer points of nail sculpture.

But getting back to Mediaweek, their recent “Best of the Decade” issue offers some interesting statistics about online-related trends over the last ten years. I love interesting statistics. (Perhaps Mediaweek realizes this and that’s why they’re sending me their magazine.) Here’s the first online fact: “Americans who said they used the Internet in 2000-01: 53%. Americans who use it today: 75%.” That’s three people out of every four. Not totally surprising. How about, “Total daily time Americans spent online in 2000: Less than 30 minutes. Time they spend on the web each day now: 4 hours.” No wonder we’re all so chunky! What were we doing with the extra 3? hours not spent online in 2000, power-walking? And perhaps the most astounding online statistic of all, “Number of text messages sent in 2005: 5.4 billion. Estimated number of text messages sent in 2008: 1+ trillion. That’s “trillion” with a “tr.”

Next up: I offer some hot tips on the do-it-yourself reverse French manicure.

Celebrating the holidays with silver and golds!

AB&C was honored with four gold awards and one silver in the 35th Annual JASPER Awards competition. Sponsored by the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA), the competition drew more than 265 entries.

Our work with St. Joseph’s Healthcare System Children’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ, won gold for outdoor billboard advertising, print poster material and print brochure, and silver for magazine advertising. We also received a gold award for newspaper advertising created for Underwood Memorial Hospital, Woodbury, NJ, highlighting maternity care.

It’s always great to be recognized with our clients for our combined creative efforts. We’re happy to share this good news with you.

Creating a new way to Twitter for your business.

The “Contributors” feature from your friends at Twitter, currently in beta testing, will enable your company to have multiple contributors to its Twitter feed. Each Tweet will include the writer’s byline. In addition, “Contributors” promises two different levels of access: Enhanced and Partial.

Enhanced Access will allow contributors to view the account dashboard and it may include data and analytics about your Twitter feed, followers, etc. Partial Access allows them to write Tweets but not see the entire dashboard. Other business-specific features are in development as Twitter makes a concerted effort to address business needs. How will this change the Twitter game? Watch and see for yourself.

Dashboards can help drive marketing strategy.

Looking for an easy way to gauge your client’s driving forces? Ask what’s on his or her dashboard.

Dashboards are a businessperson’s CliffsNotes®, condensing tomes of information into readily digestible nuggets. Where do overall profits stand? Any new leads from the northeast territory? Is maternity patient volume up? Dashboards provide a snapshot of the key metrics your client needs to succeed.

Which brings us, as usual, to marketing strategy. Knowing what’s on a client’s dashboard enables you to customize a plan that speaks to his or her exact needs and goals. And that’s a plan you can get some serious mileage from.

Changing the way they advertise.

Everyone wants to reach the top. Mountain climbers have always set their sights on conquering Mt. Everest. Baseball players have always aimed for the World Series. Big companies have always budgeted to advertise during the Super Bowl.

Until now. Pepsi is ending its 23-year run as an advertising staple during the most watched television event of the year. According to the Wall Street Journal, the soft-drink powerhouse is moving its advertising dollars online to kick off the “Pepsi Refresh Project” that will “award grant money for community projects proposed and selected by consumers, such as helping high-school students publish books to develop their writing skills.”

Take a break for the holidays!

The holiday season may seem a little less jolly for some of us this year. Stress levels are high and there are plenty of reasons to feel a bit like a scrooge — lousy economy, job pressures, family needs, etc. It doesn’t help that we’re constantly receiving or sending electronic communications every minute of every day — emails, text messages, blogs, Twitter and Facebook, to name a few.

It’s a good time to remember to take a break. Unplug — and unwind — this holiday season. Here are some tips:

Get out. Take a walk. Take your children to the park.
Reconnect. Visit a friend. Call someone you haven’t seen for years.
Be a kid again. Grab a board game. Play tag or hide and seek with your children.
Be creative. Draw or paint a picture. Learn how to knit. Take up scrapbooking.
Be old-fashioned. Write a poem, a love letter or a thank-you note.
Learn something. Read a book, newspaper or magazine.
Give back. Donate food or clothing to those in need. Volunteer at a local nonprofit.
Test your culinary skills. Bake, grill, sauté, roast. Try a new recipe.
Dance to the music. Put on your favorite CD. Play an instrument. Go to a concert.

But most of all, enjoy yourself. And reconnect with family and friends. Happy holidays!

Social Media Strategy and Success Stories

About to plan your social media marketing strategy? Wondering about the return you’ll get on your investment? Check out Socialnomics: Social Media ROI. This short video showcases success stories, plus some interesting facts. For example:

• More than 300,000 businesses have a presence on Facebook; about a third of these are small businesses.

• A Wetpaint/Altimeter Study found that companies that are heavily into social media blow away their peers in both revenues and profits. The study also found that companies using social media the most increased sales by 18%, while companies with the least social activity saw sales decline 6%.

• Dell sold $3,000,000 worth of computers on Twitter.

• eBay found that participants in online communities spend 54% more money.

What’s your social media strategy?

Tiger should have taken advice from a PR professional.

Everybody’s weighing in on how Tiger Woods should have handled his recent scandal. Public relations professionals argue that he should have gotten ahead of the tabloids and issued a statement right after his accident. Lawyers and agents maintain that the man has the right to keep his personal life private and is not obligated to comment on these issues.

Clearly, Tiger had something to hide. As a PR professional, I knew that if and when he decided to talk, his very personal problems would become very public. And when US Weekly announced that it was releasing voicemail messages that proved his “transgressions,” Tiger finally took advice from PR people and came clean.

In this day of the 24-hour news cycle, Tiger would’ve been better off admitting his “sins” a week ago. The story would be over by now. But because he remained mum, reporters continued to dig and to speculate — and his silence became part of the story. Now that the truth is out, Tiger has taken control of the message and the worst is over for his public image. His sponsors are standing by him and he will still go down in history as the world’s greatest golfer. Let’s see if he can find a PR professional who can help him on the home front.