Two of our campus multimedia gurus are going to be putting together a one-hour workshop of tips and tricks for web-based video. The workshop will be free and open to the campus community. We are looking at some tentative dates in the next few weeks. Once we nail down details, we’ll send the information out.
Sep 07
Follow the money
The Internet is not friendly to the status quo. Remember Netscape? AOL? MySpace? Digg? (Insert many other “hot and hyped” web properties that withered). I was thinking of this the other day as I read about Facebook investor Peter Thiel’s sale of a majority of his stake in the social media juggernaut, and of similar declines after early investors bailed on Groupon, Angie’s List, and others. (Conversely, Yelp’s investors’ are holding on to their shares, possibly anticipating greater things to come?) The economics of online success are complex; consumers are finicky; the next “big thing” is always around the corner. Three years from now, is Facebook going to be a Google or an AOL?
Jun 26
Defining and Nurturing “The Brand”
I came across a great article recently and wanted to share it. We’ve spent a lot of energy and effort over the past few years developing a UTMB brand, something I’ve always heard defined as “a promise to our customers.” We tend to think of it as a thing, represented by artwork and associated with a specific typeface and defined colors, that you put on signs and business cards and t-shirts.
The article below reminds that a brand is nothing in/of itself; it is a byproduct of 1) having a great product/service, and 2) communicating that product/service well to people. The brand is not the product. Here’s the trippy part: The real brand is not owned by a company; it’s a notion (good or bad or nonexistent) that lives in people’s heads.
This article doesn’t get into social media, but when you talk communities, social impressions and interactions that flavor consumer opinion about us, it all comes full circle (the value of the promise/product, the service and communication).
May 22
The Big McD and control of social media
Whether you love or love to hate McDonalds, few can argue with the corporation’s success (kazillions served). It should come as no surprise that McD has a sophisticated social media strategy in place. And in spite of their expertise and resources, things often don’t go as planned, even for them. Part of a successful strategy is understanding that control isn’t part of the equation. I found a lot to like in this article in Ragan’s PR Daily.
May 16
YouTube moving toward quality over quantity
According to a recent article and some data in AdAge, YouTube is getting smaller in a metric that used to mean everything: views. The new focus in engagement; the move is likely to help content providers like UTMB, where we tend to have information-rich content that (hopefully) is more “sticky” than a kitten playing with yarn. From AdAge:
Since December, views on YouTube have dropped 28%, and March views are only slightly above what they were a year ago, startling for a site accustomed to breakneck growth.
It’s an intended consequence of the Google-owned site’s shift from a video search engine filled with snack-size content to a full-fledged, couch-potato-optimized entertainment destination. At YouTube, the “view” is out and “engagement” is in.
After investing $100 million to create content channels, YouTube’s focus has shifted from directing viewers to videos of skateboarding dogs to enticing them into longer, more engaging videos—the kind that are, not incidentally, more appealing to advertisers.
On March 15, YouTube altered its recommendation system to make the time spent with a video or channel a stronger indicator than a click in determining which videos to surface to a user.
http://adage.com/article/digital/youtube-s-video-views-falling-design/234735/
May 14
On the heels of Mother’s Day
We all love our moms. As a recent report by Nielsen says, “moms are at the center of their family’s offline life, so it’s little surprise that they’re also at the center of many of the biggest trends online as well.” Mothers are often the decision makers when it comes to family health decisions, so we really like to know where they are getting information, tips, researching reviews and generally spending time.
Apr 23
Vanderbilt Social Media Toolkit
My thanks to Richard Foy for passing along a link to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s social media resource site. It offers an interesting inside look at how another medical center set up their policies, practices and user resources. There’s a lot of of information to go through, but if you invest a few minutes you’ll undoubtedly learn a thing or two. Visit VUMC social media toolkit…
Mar 30
UTMB Health Facebook page goes Timeline!
Since Facebook is supposed to change all pages to Timeline format TODAY (3/30/12), I finally bit the bullet!
I like our new cover image, and I hope y’all do too—all thanks to Pep Valdes! (www.facebook.com/UTMB.edu)
I haven’t taken a deep dive into the new timeline format, and it’s going to take some getting used to, but it offers interesting new features.
I attended a webinar about FB Timeline earlier this week by Shoutlet. They provided a great Q&A guide.
Shoutlet’s Facebook Timeline Q&A
So, if you haven’t already taken the plunge, don’t be a sissy like me. Go ahead, start clicking and have fun! If you run into trouble, post questions here or email me at mmccollu@utmb.edu. We’re all in this together! : )
Myra McCollum, social media manager
UTMB Health Public Affairs
Mar 22
Fans leave Facebook pages that post too frequently
A recent post by Saurage Research shared statistics revealing why fans ultimately “unlike” company pages on Facebook.
The leading reason (44%): the company posted updates too frequently. Compared to the percentage of fans who stop following pages based on life circumstances(12%), the percentage of fans who opt out because of frequent posts seems staggering. A close second reason (43%): wall too crowded with marketing posts.
You can see a chart with additional stats and read the full article on Chron.Com’s Factistics…
Mar 19
Soliciting input on our social media plan
In December 2011, the Clinical Enterprise Marketing Committee (CEMC) requested a review and recommendations related to social media activity at UTMB Health. A draft plan was presented to the group on March 7, and also shared with the Health System Web Task Force and about 40 other individuals who provided input as part of a work group on social media.
We’re currently soliciting input on the plan. You can access it at the link below, and send comments in via the feedback on this blog post, or directly to pvaldes@utmb.edu.
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