With social networks popping like weeds right now, healthcare firms need to make sure that they have a solid strategy for determining which network to join and when. Each week new social outlets emerge for different lifestyles, hobbies and careers – including ones for the healthcare industry.

So with new niche social networks starting every day, should you try to incorporate every single one into your social media strategy? If not, how do you go about determining which ones are worthy to pursue?

Although you are not always going to know which network is the next Twitter, there are a few tips that can help you pick the right network for your goals and objectives:

• Keep up with the outlets available: There are so many outlets our there now that knowing all of them would be difficult, if not impossible. However, by reading industry trends and watching your clients’ moves, you will have a good idea about the direction your industry is headed. In healthcare, the medical providers have access to a variety of outlets such as Sermo and Nurse Connect – both serve as forums for healthcare providers to discuss medical issues and practice management ideas. As these networks grow, vendors may eventually be able to join too, but without watching the industry, you will never know that this resource is out there.
• Know who will use the social network: MySpace is in the middle of a giant rebranding project, which could help it weather the dramatic drop in usage. However, they are still trying to target a younger market that is looking to connect with bands and/or musicians. This type of audience will not typically contain the C-level healthcare executives that healthcare vendors want to reach – so why devote time and money to a place that will not show any return? That understanding of who uses the network will be a huge deciding point to know if it is worth including in a social media plan.
• Understand what the social network does: As more networks show up on the Internet, they become more and more specialized. Flixster <www.flixster.com> is one of the best examples. This new network is for people who want to share their review of movies so that others can know what to watch. Although this is a great venue so that I never go see a bad movie, I would not want to waste valuable time marketing my company or a client in here since it has nothing to do with healthcare, technology or life sciences

So how do you decide which networks to incorporate into your campaign? You have to do your research – analyze the network as a whole before just diving into it. Just because a network is growing does not mean that your target market will or should join. Take Ping – that new outlet from Apple for iTunes users – unless I start to promote the next Carrie Underwood or Rolling Stones, I would not advise my clients to incorporate this new outlet into their campaign plan. Would you?

Ning: Ning is a site that allows anyone to create a fully functional social network for as little as $20 per year. This is a great tool for people who share similar hobbies, interests or ideals to get together on the Web. With features such as groups, photos, chat, RSS feeds and forums, along with each member’s unique profile, a Ning network has many of the same capabilities of the social networking giants Facebook and MySpace. Ning is also a creative tool for companies to use to disseminate information and recruit new employees.

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