This post is a combination of a book review (something I do quarterly for a national business group) and a challenge about how its use in healthcare, particularly physical therapy.  Any input that you have is appreciated.

Social Nation: How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Attract Customers, Motivate Employees, and Grow Your Business.

Gary Vee (nickname for Vaynerchuk) explains wine in a way that the average guy can understand without being intimidating.  He has built his Wine Nation through an uncanny ability to connect with people and currently interacts with thousands of committed fans and followers many who buy wine from him due to his authentic and transparent leadership.  He is also the case study for the first of seven principles in building your social nation.

Barry Libert the author of Social Nation lives social media.  As founder and CEO of Mzinga, a social software company, his company manages communities on behalf of over 300 well-known companies.  He has written extensively on social media as a co-author of four books as well as his blog at http://blog.mzinga.com/mzingablog.  Using a combination of case studies, an online assessment for social skills, and detailing 7 principles of social building, he builds a compelling argument that the future of business is indeed social.  He even provides practical information on how to get started as well as pitfalls to ignore.  I found the book to be a very quick and easy read filled with both interesting stories that highlight the impact of social media but also providing a framework for building value in the marketplace.  It is a must read for marketing professionals, CEO’s, and strategists interesting in studying a comprehensive approach to conversations and how they can attract customers as well as motivate employees.

My initial fear in reading this book was that it was going to simply tell you how every company must be on facebook, twitter, linked in, and other evolving platforms of social media.  Fortunately, Libert took a different route, relying on insight, examples, and engagement via the social skills test which you can find along with other resources at http://www.socialnationbook.com/.  While there are dozens of leadership books trumpeting authenticity, transparency, culture, and values, you actually get to experience this in the book in a way that leaves you certain that social interactions and media are surely going to play a multifaceted role in your company’s success.

I am finding quite the challenge in relating Social Nation to healthcare and in particular physical therapy.  There are plenty of good examples cited in the book (e.g. Zappos, Mountain Dew, Ganz Toys) but none of them are in highly regulated industries.  Is it possible to build community, transparency, on-going conversations, and sharing with your customers who at least include patients, physicians, and payors?   While it is easy to buy into the importance, the execution of this in healthcare outside of a few disease specific communities (as opposed to actual providers) is something that I haven’t see in a major way.

Any successful efforts out there?

larry@physicaltherapist.com