A recent Silicon Valley Insider story, “15-Year-Old Analyst Trashes TV, Newspapers, Radio and…Twitter,” confirmed much of what I wrote last month in “Not Surprised That ‘Twitter Traffic Growth is Miniscule.’”

The article featured a widely publicized report by a teenaged London-based Morgan Stanley internist that said teenagers aren’t interested in Twitter because of the cost (Tweet-texting apparently isn’t free in the U.K.) and that nobody looks at authors’ profiles.

Although the report’s ideas were fascinating, there are three problems:

• The report is more opinion-based rather than research based.

• The report was written by a teenager that hardly matches the description of a typical teen. I’m not sure about you, but I certainly wasn’t interning at a major financial institution when I was 15, nor were most people that I know.

• The article implies that adults are more likely to read or use Twitter, which although that may be true, it doesn’t mean that the majority of adults will actually do so.

As I said last month…

…Twitter is not a toy and is ideal for people that want to read, learn and share information, especially when viable (and for U.K. lads, free) alternatives exist for those that want a more fun and truly social experience.

Although the chart suggests that Facebook users lead in link sharing, the relative volume of what is shared by Twitter users (whom are also bound more by interests rather than social connection) is nearly double.

For example, Silicon Valley Insider published a chart yesterday that supported the idea that “you’re potentially twice as likely to learn something new on Twitter as you are on Facebook.” Depending on one’s attitude about learning, that notion is likely to be magnet or a deterrent.

Aren’t Teenagers Really Underage Adults?

The article said most teenagers “cannot be bothered to read pages and pages of text rather than see summaries online or television.” (Ironically, the story was interrupted with this jump: “Read the whole thing>”.)

Be that as it may, within a matter of 1–6 years, those teens will become adults. Then what? They’ll magically become more intellectually curious? Having to read “pages and pages” won’t seem like a chore anymore? It’s doubtful. Reading and embracing education are habits and traits that are acquired and fostered in one’s youth.

The Healthcare Marketing Conclusion

Heavy readers or not, sooner or later, most everybody needs medical attention. Of course, you can develop marketing content and strategies for getting it in front of people that might actually seek and read it, but what about this arguable majority of people that won’t? Should you turn your back on Twitter or Facebook or all of social media? Of course not.

The short answer is to recognize the expectations for a given social media platform, much as you would with a developing a brochure or buying time for a TV commercial. For example, use Twitter to share links for research and more detailed information, but use something like Facebook for brief statements, event announcements, etc.

Does your hospital have a trusted and reliable partner to build, manage and plan your online marketing strategies? AVID Design offers free assessments for Websites, content, strategy and more.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 9:56 am and is filed under Industry Trends, Research and Studies, Social Media, Things 'n' Stuff, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.