JANUARY WRAPUP: 4 Tips From Cleve Clinic’s Digital Guru

By Paris Wolfe

1)  Move over Facebook. “LinkedIn is rising in importance now as a go-to source for news,” Amanda Todorovich, the Cleveland Clinic’s manager of digital engagement, told three dozen communicators at an IABC Cleveland lunch program in late January. That should make Facebook junkies a little uncomfortable and keep business communicators stretching to be in this emerging digital space.

“We have to be there,” she says of the business-focused platform. She sees new functionality developing which will make the channel more relevant to the brand development pursued by organizations like the Cleveland Clinic.

Being there is more than a running feed or a “scrapbook” brag sheet of olden days. She cites going into groups, Alzheimer’s-related for example, to post relevant, original information.   “We want to become a trusted source of information to help consumers solve problems,” says Todorovich.

2)  LinkedIn’s trajectory doesn’t diminish Cleveland Clinic’s brand-building efforts in other social media channels.  Facebook is still high on the Clinic’s agenda. That’s because Facebook users mirror the demographics the  brand team wants – women of a certain age. 

Staying on top of this medium means six posts per day. And these have elevated creativity standards. In fact, to engage today’s consumer Cleveland Clinic has ditched text posts in favor of infographics, lists, slideshows, videos and galleries.

3) Email marketing still trumps sexier social media. With an average open rate near 40%, the Clinic’s BeWell email newsletter has close to a 60% click through. That further drives engagement with the Clinic’s branding. Click here to subscribe.

4) Still, much of the Clinic’s efforts originate with the organization’s nearly two-year-old HealthHub blog. Updated 3 to 5 times daily, the innovative news source is parsed into bits to leverage original health and wellness content among all channels.

During her presentation Todorovich talked about how The Cleveland Clinic uses Twitter,  Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and more. If you missed the presentation, you missed a lot.

Don’t miss any more development luncheons from the Cleveland Chapter of IABC. Sign up for February 27’s Writing and Marketing Secrets of Three Fabulous Independents. A panel of successful freelancers -- John Ettorre of Working with Words, Kate Rein of Wolf Creek Publications, and Kavita Sherman of Sherman Communications LLC -- will discuss topics important to writers, from independents to those in larger organizations.

Networking and lunch begin at 11:30am, and the panel discussion runs from noon – 1:30pm. The program will be held on the second floor of the Cleveland State University School of Business, 1860 E 18th St. #220, Cleveland, OH 44114. The cost, which includes your choice of boxed lunch, will be $10 for IABC members, students, and professionals-in-transition, and $15 for non-members. Parking includes on-street meters, surface lots nearby, and RTA lines that stop near the business school. 

Take 5: A Few Minutes Talking with Social Media Guru Amanda Todorovich of the Cleveland Clinic

By Paris Wolfe

The Cleveland Clinic is having wild success in its social media channels. Learn more from Amanda Todorovich, the Clinic’s manager of digital engagement, at an IABC Cleveland lunch program, Thursday, January 30. IABC’s co-vice president of marketing – Paris Wolfe -- recently caught up with Todorovich to talk about her work.  

Q. What do you do in this role?

A. I oversee social media, our Health Hub blog and email marketing. I’m currently working to launch a new physician-facing blog platform.

Q. What social media channels are you using?

A. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest.  We’re not using any uncommon channels at this point, but we’ve always got our eyes out for new opportunities. Our current focus is on getting the most out of the channels we are using.

Q. What channel has the broadest reach/greatest impact for The Cleveland Clinic?

A. Facebook, hands down. We’ve grown our fan base on Facebook significantly – we have more than 800,000 fans and hope to hit the 1M mark this year. Our Facebook posts, by design, drive people to our Health Hub blog. Health Hub is focused on providing useful and relevant health information to people all over the world. We generate 3-5 new posts every week day, and we use those blog posts as the focus of our social media strategy. We post on Facebook six times per day.

Q. How does measurement change what you do?

A. Everything we do on social media is driven by data. My team is in our measurement tools all day long. We are constantly evaluating content performance and where traffic is coming from – and why. We are always tweaking and adjusting our methods to reflect what we see working or not working.

Q. What advice would you give other organizations?

A. Have a content strategy and focus on creating great content that falls within it. Don’t get distracted by the nuances of each channel. Be helpful and relevant to your audiences and the rest will come.

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Register here to learn more enhancing your social media efforts. Lunch and networking begin at 11:30, with the professional development program running from noon - 1:30 p.m. The program will be held at the Crown Plaza Cleveland – South at 5300 Rockside Road, Independence. Parking is free.

Early-bird registration is $15 for IABC Cleveland members, professionals-in-transition, and students; $20 for non-members. It runs until January 20. After that prices go up $5 to $20 for IABC Cleveland members, non-members, and professionals-in-transition, and $25 for non-members. Registration closes Monday, Jan. 27. 

When registering, be certain to make your lunch selection in the "Additional items" option.