GUEST POST from Arlen Meyers
The Society of Physician Entrepreneurs was created as a 501 (c) 6 non profit biomedical and health innovation and entrepreneurship membership association in January, 2011. Created by 3 physicians and a medical society executive, we started with 50 people. Part of our vision was to make SoPE the home for a community of stakeholders interested in advancing biomedical and health innovation and entrepreneurship in an effort to get ideas to patients by offering education, resources, networks, mentors and experiential learning. We created a linkedin group to build the community of interest along with other social media sites on Facebook and Twitter@SoPEOfficial.
Since our founding, the membership of the site has grown substantially. Likedin groups serve many purposes, but ours was to primarily use the site to create awareness, increase membership, and create a platform for discussion, information and education. As the “owner” of the group, here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Content is king. You can almost never be overexposed or offer too much information. In addition, repetitive posting acts like a trigger that prompts new readers to engage. The information also needs to be redundant and relational to other communications platforms like websites, blogs, webinars, You Tube videos and podcasts on other sites that can leverage your reach. In fact, content is the most effective way to generate leads and, in our case, subsequent members.
2. You need to build a relationship with your audience and engage them in the conversation.
3. Controversy helps, but only to a point. There is a line and if you step over it, you loose points to say nothing of members. Be careful about using the platform to fight culture wars
4. Recruit other site managers to help with content and keeping the site uncluttered with unwanted posts or comments.
5. A Linkedin group site takes almost daily care and feeding and is a significant commitment of time and effort
6. Some other Linkedin group owners are not interested in sharing information or posts.
7. You need to be selective about who you allow to join since some are only interested in selling or finding a job. Exclusivity promotes sharing and the desire to join.
8. You need to know your audience and how a Linkedin group adds value. Cyberspace is an extremely cluttered and noisy place and users need to have a good reason to go there on a regular basis. The owner is responsible for “protecting” the site from unwanted intruders.
9. Use video, graphics and other media to supplement text.
10. Use the site as a crowdMOOC to primarily educate and inform and showcase people and their stories.
11. Most doctors are Linkedout.
12. You social media sites are just part and parcel of your overall web strategy.
Here’s how some others have created online communities that generate sustainable revenue.
Your Linkedin group should be but one part of your marketing and communications strategy to convert leads to customers or members. Other include your website, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, testimonials, and face to face meetings all orchestrated by a marketing operations platform that can coordinate and execute the different parts. Here are the 7Rs of content marketing.
When you take ownership of a Linkedin group, you accept the responsibilities of a digital engagement editor. That requires multiple skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies.
Most social media sites include mostly gawkers, about 9% talkers and 1% walkers and ours is no exception.
There is a debate about whether, for the average medical practitioner, using social media is useful or a waste of time. Factors include independent or employed status, targeting cash paying patients or those with third party insurance payers, the skills, knowledge and abilities of doctors, the impact and return on investment of social media interaction with patients, legal and regulatory issues and the cost-benefits and return on investment of using it.
Creating and building a Linkedin group takes time, commitment and writing and social media skills. When done properly, it is an extremely powerful way to build a decentralized collaborative innovation network that can drive your mission and help realize your vision.
The past decade brought many of the technical tools that were necessary to build communities. In the next decade, collaboration with customers will become both easier and more vital. To not just respond to this shift but to embrace it, here are the three crucial lessons to consider:
Lesson 1: Be willing to trust your customers.
Lesson 2: Start with “who,” not “what”
Lesson 3: Consider a sustained collaboration, not a short-term investment.
Also, remember that if you want to do crowd funding, you need to start with a big enough crowd to meet your goals. Building a crowd requires that you take the necessary STEPPS: social currency, triggers, emotion,public,practical value and stories.
Building a Linkedin group is part of building a community using various platforms, not a product.
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