Provident Partners news

Albert Maruggi moderates a panel today called “Social Media Bringing Change to Healthcare Marketing,” which, as you might imagine, examines the impact social media and online communication are having on the health care industry. The event is brought to you by the Minnesota chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Can you really shop for by-pass surgery the way you shop for a tie? Will the successful pharma practice of direct to consumer advertising work in other forms of healthcare? How can healthcare delivery practitioners prepare for consumer-driven selection? Marketers, advertisers, and PR professionals across the spectrum of healthcare will be impacted by these questions as social media pressures and opportunities come to healthcare. Websites like Thehealthcarescoop.com and Carol.com illustrate the dynamic social media marketing venues.

You can hear an audio preview of the panel discussion here.

Albert Maruggi, founder and president of Provident Partners and a senior fellow at the Society for New Communications Research, shares some social media insight with 1to1 Magazine for its article “Tapping the wisdom of online crowds” (subscription required).

A quick excerpt:

Most important for companies to remember, Maruggi says, is that social media today doesn’t come with identifiable revenue because it’s rooted in building and strengthening relationships.

“Marriages take time, work and flexibility,” he says, “and so does this.”

Read the full story on 1to1’s Web site.

BusinessWeek’s Steven Baker has thrown himself head-first into social media, doing all sorts of research and writing on topics like blogging, Twitter and social media strategy. A recent post highlights a comment from Albert Maruggi that Steve found interesting.