How Social Media is Changing 7 Industries

Social media is playing a significant role in how consumers participate and share information online.  Instead of our weekly video on the top 7 stories, we’re taking a closer look at how 7 different industries are creating new opportunities and relationships through social media.  Law firms, healthcare, action sports, real estate, travel/tourism and colleges are all examined further.  If you’re in any of these industries, we encourage you to provide additional examples or share insights in the comments below.

LAW FIRMS: As expected, lawyers are in an intense debate about social media, especially when it comes to Twitter.  Many have embraced it and find tremendous value in communicating directly with clients through this community.  Lawyers USA covered the opportunities and reservations about Twitter here: “Attorneys flocking to Twitter for marketing.”  Want a list of lawyers on Twitter? JD Scoop has a growing list of more than 500.  Need an attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin or just need to fact check a law in this state? Follow @moanderlawfirm

David Harlow, a health care lawyer, recently gave a presentation at the Law Practice Management Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association and shared insights on “social media as a set of tools for marketing a legal practice, focusing on blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.”  His slides are available here.

YouTube is also a key marketing channel for many law firms.  Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, “a preeminent plaintiff firm that handles serious personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits across the nation,” (disclosure: a friend works here) posts videos of the various TV appearances of its attorneys as well as animated videos that are used in trials.  It’s most watched video, an attorney discussing a jet crash in Aspen, has more than 44,000 views.

-Nick Mendoza

HEALTHCARE: Whether its patients checking for information on WebMD, or doctors talking to each other about the latest developments in online chat rooms, healthcare has embraced the internet and social media strongly over the last several years.  Physicians in particular have taken to using social media as a way to connect with both their patients and each other.

A recent study by Manhattan Research shows that at least 60% of physicians are active on social media sites or plan to join one soon (as an interesting corollary, they also found that these physicians were more likely to write prescriptions than those not on social networking sites).  In particular, doctors have been drawn to specialized, physician only, social networking sites (like Sermo and Medscape Physician Connect) that offer an isolated and functional community suited more closely to their needs.

My take on the next trend to look for: pharmaceutical and medical supply companies reaching out to doctors and engaging them through social networking sites.  What we won’t see: doctors on mainstream sites, because do you really want to be “poked” by one of your patients or have to do a “wall-to-wall” diagnosis?

-Alex Miller

ACTION SPORTS: From surfing the waves to the World Wide Web, the action sports industry is doing a nice job integrating their content into the social sphere.  Virtually every action sports magazine, Transworld Surf is one example, has an affiliated Web site and blog, and action sports enthusiast blogs are popping up everywhere, in every niche imaginable.  Video podcasting is also a growing trend in this area, with everything from mountain resorts to sponsor brands pushing out content on a regular basis.  Don’t have a TV or want to see exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage?  Head on over to Fuel TV (you can watch Red Bull Snowscrapers this Thursday!)  Or perhaps you are learning to surf, but have no idea where to start?  Learn to surf on YouTube!

Many traditional action sports-related brands are also hosting a flurry of contests to engage enthusiasts online.  There’s Burton’s Snow at Home Contest, Totino’s Roll into the X-games Contest, and many more.

- Andrea Nowack

REAL ESTATE: Home, tweet, home! What is a real estate agent to do in a recession?  The demand for homes is stagnant, but the interest in reaching potential buyers through social media is growing fast.  Relationships are a critical component in real estate leads and smart agents are seeking connections through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.  Armed with the knowledge that 9 out of 10 buyers research homes online (according to the National Association of Realtors), shouldn’t all real estate agents be actively pursuing contacts online?  A few notable individuals in real estate:

Andy Kaufman, a REALTOR with Keller Williams Realty in Berkeley, blogs and has 4,588 followers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/andykaufman

Daniel Rothamel in Palmyra, Virginia is a REALTOR who blogs at Real Estate Zebra and shares insights on the real estate market through a podcast, Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/realestatezebra

As social media expert Chris Brogan commented, “The first and most obvious thing I think the real estate world can (and should) be doing is buying video cameras and shooting their own walkthroughs.” A quick real estate scan on YouTube results in 3,200 channels (see above).  Additional suggestions are featured on Brogan’s blog.

-Nick Mendoza

TOURISM/TRAVEL/HOSPITALITY: The travel and hospitality industry is very active on social media with multiple airlines, hotels, travel sites and even cruise ships offering deals, customer support, tips, reviews and more.  Thinking of going to Vegas? Why not follow Vegas.com on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vegascom You’ll quickly learn that May 2 is the grand opening of Sapphire Pool and that Flight of the Conchords is playing at the Joint on May 23.

If you want to stay at the MGM Grand, explore this profile first: http://twitter.com/mgmgrand Flying to Vegas?  Southwest Airlines is fully engaged with communications and promotions filtering through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Flickr.  Taking a cruise?  Learn more about an entire community dedicated to passengers on Carnival Cruise Lines at http://www.carnivalconnections.com.  Prefer to stay on land? Follow the “suite tweets” of Fairmont Hotels: http://twitter.com/FairmontHotels

-Nick Mendoza

COLLEGE CAMPUSES: The market where Facebook originated, college students are a natural target for social media campaigns as they live more integrated lives now than ever before.   This is why many colleges and universities are using social media to connect with students and help them connect with each other.  If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?

Auburn University is a great example of a school that is doing an outstanding job stepping outside the traditional Intranet to engage with students in a way that meets their needs.  The school its own Facebook page, Twitter feed, blog for releases, and YouTube channel.  Robert French (@rdfrench), PR professor at Auburn, has taken social media one step further by requiring his students to be actively engaged in a variety of different social media channels, from creating Web sites to using Wikis.  His department has its own social network (only for students and alumni) that is used to call out events, scholarships, videos, job & internship postings, and more.

Similar to Robert French, Kelli Matthews (@kmatthews) at the University of Oregon blogs frequently about topics students might be interested in, and also requires her PR students to start blogs and twitter accounts.  Many of her students have gone on to continue writing even after the ten week class, turning their class project into a long-term hobby (and in some cases, finding a career from it!)  The school’s career center also has a great blog.

University of the Sciences, a smaller University in Philadelphia, interacts with students via Twitter (many schools are also jumping on board), and plans to create student blogs aimed at prospective students soon.  Have a question about the University?  Ask a current student!

-Andrea Nowack

THE AUTO INDUSTRY: Car companies are going through a host of changes right now (as anyone who has been alive for the last several months knows) and part of that change has been an adoption of social media to reach out to and connect with consumers.  A number of manufacturers are among the first “old” companies that are realizng the true value of social media and hiring people to interact with these communities (note I said interact with, not throw up a facebook page promoting their product and call it a day).

A great example comes from Ford; back in December, Ford was threatening to sue an enthusiast website, The Ranger Station, because they were selling knockoff products using the Ford logo.  Merits of the case aside, this was a PR disaster waiting to happen - TRS has tons of very dedicated and very engaged members who felt a loyalty to the site and were willing to defend it.  Fortunately for Ford, their social media “guru” saw the controversy unfolding and immediately responded: promising to investigate and get to the bottom of the issue.  His quick actions helped diffuse the situation before it had a chance to blow out of proportion (he also managed to work out a compromise between Ford Legal and TRS).  This serves as a great example of why its so important that your social media team is actually a part of the networks that they are engaging (as I blogged about earlier during the MotrinMoms controversy).

-Alex Miller

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