Blog, Tweet, What?

If you are over 40, ask your kids…

Met with my groups face to face, presented a topic and had open time for questions

Emailed the information once a week to Moms that attended the groups

The written information was current, but not very interesting

Where did all that information end up??

The “Old Way”

Times are changing…or already have! Moms love their children, and of course their smart phone!

Moms started bringing questions in from Facebook postings from others

Moms were following blogs, some from sources that were not very reputable

Moms were “taking notes” during the groups on their phones

Moms craved connection with other Moms when going back to work….often that is only through Facebook, blogs, and online groups

I had a ready made audience…Moms currently coming to my groups

You need to have a target group so the information is specific to that group

Social media allows you to reach your audience and their “friends” too, don’t underestimate the numbers you can reach!

Your Target Audience

A blog is very easy to set up, there are many blog sites that walk you through step by step

The way the information is presented is the key

The message must be pertinent, current and evidenced base

Link the evidence

Sending the message

Posting shorter blogs over several days on an important topic drives your audience back to the site day after day

Post often, several times a week at least. This encourages your audience to visit the site frequently. They will look for your posts!

Be creative with the titles, say it like it is

Categorize your posts logically so your audience can find topics easily

Tag your posts so your audience will be driven to your blog with search engines

Titles, categories, and tags

Ask questions and opinions

Encourage sharing of ideas and stories

Request feed back

Answer questions

Comment on their ideas

Have a conversation!

Engage your audience

Link the blog post…everywhere

Blog posts are posted on the Raising Kids with Love Facebook page

Moms receive the blog, but also short updates and personal thoughts through Facebook

Moms interact with each other and connect with me through messages and questions

Facebook connects your audience to you and your blog

Moms who “like” a post or comment spread the word about the blog

Views on the blog increase dramatically when an update on Facebook is popular

Facebook grows the audience

Face to face is still best

The generation that we are reaching is very comfortable with social media

Moms need a place to go that has information that is evidenced based, accessible, and allows personal interaction with a medical provider.

Too impersonal…or just different?

The message must be written with a personal touch

The reader must “know” you to trust your message

Sometimes my post is merely a few words of advice or a thought, enough for Moms to connect to me personally

Make it personal

Twitter allows you to follow trending topics for Moms

Following reputable people and organizations gives quick access to evidenced based pediatric updates and parenting trends

Tweets with the blog links or short parenting tips are another way to reach an audience

Why tweet?…140 characters of what?

# # # # Hash Tag???

Hash tags are like tagging a blog

There are “trending” topics that have hash tags

You can create your own too!

#Moms #breastfeeding #organic

How to of #hash tagging

What a difference 13 months makes!

• Raising Kids with Love blog was started January 2012

• As of April 2013 the blog has had 42,000 views

• 8000 of those views are international

• Raising Kids with Love Facebook page started in June 2013

• Currently a weekly reach of over 1200, with a potential reach of 77,000 who are connected as “friends”

Raising Kids with Love Twitter account started June 2013

Currently 120 followers

It is our responsibility to meet our Moms where they are…..even if that means changing the way we meet them…..

How many more Moms can be reached?