verve: in bloom

I was recently invited to give an overview of social media to a small nonprofit that was launching a blog. At the end of my presentation, the management discussed at some length what the process would be for responding to a negative comment.The solution they came up with - involving several layers of approval - was one that would take about seven days.

At that point I told them if it took that long, they may as well not bother. Not only would they missed the opportunity to have a conversation with that visitor and others that might share their opinion (after all, they took the time and energy to give you feedback), but depending on the circumstances, a blog storm could be in full swing.

A week on the Internet is truly an eternity.

Think about a negative comment as an opportunity to correct a misperception, understand your customers’ problems and to be human.

There’s an old school attitude that if you ignore comments, you don’t validate them. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. By not responding and engaging, the negative feedback and the source gain credibility - after all, if you don’t tell your story, someone else will.

If you must deal with negativity, either on your own blog or somewhere else online, my best advice is to address it as quickly as possible and to do so constructively. Admit if you’re wrong and offer a solution. Of course, this means you need to always be listening.

When customers believe that you genuinely care, you’re more likely to get the benefit of the doubt. Quick response with a solution will neutralize the negativity and even turn some frowns upside down.

According to Paul Gillin’s book the Secrets of Social Media Marketing, there are a few reasons that negativity concerns are overblown.

• Chances are, your organization is making a good product or providing a good service and has generally happy customers. The number of disgruntled are small and can be handled.
• By listening and providing a solution, unhappy customers can be turned around and even made into fans.
• Criticism can be useful and helps you understand your customers better. It can be scary, but it can also be tremendously helpful if you just listen.
• Most feedback is positive. Active bloggers, reviewers and commenters are more likely to leave positive reviews. In fact, research from Bazaarvoice and Keller Fay Group show the average rating is 4.3 out of 5.

(check out Paul’s book for more info on these reasons)

What makes you most nervous about participating in social media?

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I spoke recently at the Healthcare Communicators of Oregon fall conference. What a fun groups of folks! If you’re interested in healthcare communications (and you’re in Oregon), this is the group to be part of.

My topic was on social media and building relationships with your key audiences online. You can check out the slideshow via Slideshare if you’re interested or click here to download the PDF with my speaker’s notes.*

In prepping for the conference, the thing that really struck me was that healthcare has a unique opportunity to create a magic moment with patients and consumers that is different from other industries. Let me explain.

According to research, between 60 and 80 percent of healthcare consumers search online for information about health and wellness. This number rivals those who get information straight from their physician. iCrossing provides this data from How America Searches: Health and Wellness.

If you look at another set of statistics that show what sources consumers consider the most trustworthy, the chart looks a little different. People may use the Internet the most of any source, but they trust their primary care physician. Internet is about the middle of the pack.

One more bit of information: the average person searching online for health data will leverage five different sources to get information, confirming and reconfirming as they go along their search.

What if you can combine these three ways of getting information? What if you could be two of the sources that your consumers turn to? Or even three? Imagine the powerful relationships that you could create by combining the search habits of consumers, with the trusted voice of primary and specialty care providers.

Southwest Washington Medical Center is doing just this with YourBabyYourWay.com. Marketing director, Sarah Mottram, and her team have launched a very creative online portal for women at any stage of motherhood from preconception through delivery and into parenting.

I will be thinking about this idea more in the near future. How can organizations create local networks and build relationships with consumers for cardiac prevention and care or to support caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients or around wellness topics like diet and exercise? Seems to me to be a tremendous opportunity that few are taking advantage of.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your ideas.

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Recently I needed to find more info about a business in another city. In fact, I wasn’t sure where the business was located. But this particular organization had won an award and I was hoping to get more information on the services they offered.

So I did what most people do these days - I Googled them. Got nothing. I tried Googling with quotes and included their industry. Nothing. The only result was a press release from the organization that issued the award.

I was shocked.

In this “day and age” (to borrow a cliche), it’s remarkable that a company would not have a Web presence. The Internet has been around a while.

Of course, beyond a simple Web presence, being conscious your digital footprint is crucial to managing your online brand. What if you don’t know where to start? Here are the basics:

• Have a Web Site. The more interactive, the better. You want to give people a reason to come back over and over. Have good content and be a resource.
• Listen to What Others are Saying. Google alerts are easy breezy to set up and let you know if anyone is talking about you on their Web sites, blogs, Twitters, e-newsletters, etc. etc. Create an alert for your company name, your management names, industry, major competitors, and trends or issues you’re facing.
• Think Objectively. What are your objectives for communicating online? Whether it’s sales leads, building community, sharing knowledge or creating awareness, there are online tools that will help meet those objectives.
• Meet Your Audience Where They Live. Think about your audience (customers, community leaders, media) and what online tools they use. Find a smart, meaningful way to engage with your audience on their turf without being obnoxious.
• Participate. Leave comments on blogs that you find interesting or relevant to your work, have discussions on forums, create LinkedIn profiles for management (and build your network).

Need help with any of these ideas? Let us know!

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Nice people who do good work - our favorite!.

McKenzie River Clinic is a rural health clinic in Blue River, Oregon. It is the only clinic between Eugene-Springfield and Sisters. The Clinic treats an average of 2,300 patients a year - a combination of residents and the thousands of visitors to the area. The rural clinic depends on mid level providers - like family nurse practitioners - to keep the costs low and be able to provide high quality service. The family nurse practitioners see all patients and the Clinic is able to treat complex conditions, help manage acute and chronic illnesses or injuries and prescribe medication - all with compassion and individual attention rarely found in the health care system.

The clinic receives no federal money. So they came to Verve to design a professional brochure and launch a simple Web site to reach the community, visitors and potential donors.

Brochure: The brochure is a 4-fold with a tear away donation panel that can be sent in with a check or credit card information. Our photographer, Jason Miller, took photos of McKenzie River patients, staff and friends, giving the brochure a personal feel. Even the local mailman got to play “model” for the piece.

Web Site: Everyone is online! The clinic folks weren’t sure if they needed - or could afford - a Web site, but they loved the idea of being able to update it with news and events. We built their site on a Wordpress template, making all the pages easy to edit and keep current. The news page will keep visitors current on what’s going on at the clinic and in the area.

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We met through Twitter and just a few short weeks later, we’re bitching up a storm. bitchy betty has tapped Verve to help with media outreach (traditional and social), as well as help maintain the bitchy betty blog.

What is bitchy betty? (from the “about” page)

What is bitchy betty?

Got a problem? Bring it! Lay it all out. What do you want to change about your world? How would you do it? bitchy betty is the platform to define problems, share solutions and find support and comradery.

What is a ‘betty’?

A ‘betty’ cares about what is going on around them. A ‘betty’ is not afraid to speak out when things aren’t right. A ‘betty’ will kick *ss and take action to make things better. Simply put, a ‘betty’ gives a damn!

Why ‘bitching’?

“Bitching” is not politically correct. It doesn’t need to be polished or eloquent. Bitching comes from the soul; it’s passionate, emotional and authentic.

bitch is a verb. And that implies action. You’re welcome to bitch just to bitch, of course. But the loudest, fiercest bitches come from the soul and inspire others to move.What do you want to change? How are you going to get there? How can your community help?

So how can you change the world? Be a betty and find out.

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