ROCs: more power with your marketing?
Jinfo Blog

13th December 2010

By Joanna Ptolomey

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Jan Knight tells it like it is when using social media as marketing tools – and thanks for reminding us to think carefully (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e31648). But what to choose? What is right for your organisation and what will bring the best returns on investment (ROI)? Twitter versus FaceBook – but are we asking the right question? Should the question be more about the possible ‘returns on connections’ (ROCs) when thinking about using social media as marketing tools? My experience comes recently from the STM field – but don’t let that hold you back from pulling the ideas into your own business sector. This includes the pharmaceutical industry which has marketing down to a tee – and the news is they are changing their tactics and making good inroads to changing their marketing practices through social media tools. They are beginning to realise the power of ‘connectedness’ and, yes, they are getting good returns. Throughout 2010 I have written and reviewed so much content and products around the use of social media. To me the power in social media technology is that it provides ‘connective tissue’ that can pull and connect people and ideas in a way that was not possible before. Whilst reviewing BiomedExperts.com earlier this year (http://digbig.com/5bdcab), I realised that not only does this product have a richness and usefulness in many business sectors but what makes it really work is in the power of the people and return on connections. Another opportunity came whilst sharing experiences at DigiPharm conference in October (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e30816). There was lots of talk and case studies from different parts of the healthcare sector on engaging with social media, ‘managing conversations’ and managing your business with integrated social media tools (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e31061). The main theme again was the ability to harness the power of the connectivity and stay in tune to what really is the story (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e31062). In marketing, the story that comes back to you is just as important as the message you are sending out. So whilst I do agree that ‘returns’ are important – perhaps we should focus on a slightly different kind of return. Get connected and harness that power – messages are two way, especially in marketing. And in case you are looking for some further evidence then you should look at the FUMSI Use contribution for this month – ‘Community is a six letter word’ (http://digbig.com/5bdcae). This case study presents the journey of Hcsmeu (health care social media EU) – a community of healthcare stakeholders working together to harness the power of ‘connectiveness’ and get returns for their own employers and ultimately for the industry as a whole.

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