Social media is becoming a larger part of every medical company’s marketing mix and the book on best practices is still being developed. The major player in B2B social media is LinkedIn. Here is part two of three in a series of posts based on my interview with Los Angeles-based Copywriter and Internet Marketing Consultant, Derek Rudnak, who discuss the role LinkedIn is playing with his medical device clients.
What is the real key to using LinkedIn to generate leads for your clients?
Derek Rudnak – To attract doctors and nurses you really have to provide them with useful content. But the key is to realize that things move slowly. People have to come to trust you. Advertising is immediate, and it gives you a response pretty quickly.
However, using LinkedIn is different because promoting your brand and generating leads is a slow process. People have to get use to seeing you in Group discussions, and they have to become comfortable with you, so that when you do post something new they will actually look at you and not be as quick to flag you.
Bottom line, you have to build and nurture relationships and give people time to get to know and trust you. The key is to not get flagged because LinkedIn Groups are carefully moderated and they will not hesitate to pull your postings if your material is not in the Group’s best interest.
What else are you hearing in the field about social media?
Derek Rudnak – When I tag along with sales representatives and go to hospitals, I’ll talk to nurses and other people and ask them how they feel about social media. What I’m finding is that other than LinkedIn, what’s really crucial is using YouTube for video because it’s a great way to provide instruction about how medical devices work.
Nurses are definitely coming to expect this. However, they don’t want to see long, overblown infomercials. They just want to see how to use your product, so they can get back to work. Being tight and concise is critical.