A Message from the Desk of Dr. Kory Ward-Cook, CEO
June 2013
I am pleased to announce that last month the NCCAOM launched our Facebook page which resulted in an immediate response from the AOM community by reaching 1,250 likes within 24 hours of this launch!
This response rate was welcoming and assured us that our decision to use social media as a new communication tool is truly desired.
Our motivation for exploring social media and its use for further communication to NCCAOM Diplomates, the public and other NCCAOM constituents was a steady, deliberate process, as we contemplated whether Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, for that matter, would be the next most appropriate form of social media communication for our certification organization.
Customer Service, a key function and core value of the NCCAOM, has its roots in the person-to-person conversations that linked our constituents to one another for over 30 years. We believe this traditional type of communication is no longer exclusively adequate. As more and more non-profits and government agencies embrace the use of social media to reach their constituencies, we are more motivated to step into the social media waters. While the NCCAOM still values the traditional communication methods such as phone and email, we realize that we need a tool to help us to spread vital information to thousands of people, instantly. The Social Web, with its combination of social networks, photo and video sharing allows us to offer additional support channels to the NCCAOM stakeholders and the public. Additionally, social media allows us to reach out to more people using a community style approach for our communications, allowing anyone to ask questions, request information or share news, thus enriching the communication. By launching the NCCAOM Facebook page, we now have an ongoing, interactive sea of shared knowledge within a professional, yet friendly environment that brings the NCCAOM closer to its AOM constituents. Once again we thank you for the great level of support we have received since the launch of our Facebook page and we truly appreciate your daily engagement.
At our recent Diplomate webinar presented on May 1, 2013, we conducted a poll to help us determine which social media channel is currently perceived to be more important to our Diplomates as the next social media communication tool from the NCCAOM. We offered the choice of LinkedIn or Twitter, and LinkedIn received the most votes. As a result, we will be launching the NCCAOM LinkedIn page this summer.
Keeping in mind the preservation of our natural resources, the NCCAOM has decided to move to a paperless quarterly electronic newsletter. The Diplomate newsletter will now be offered as an e-newsletter, accessible through our NCCAOM website as well as Facebook page.
By expanding our communication channels we hope to continue to gain a better understanding as to what is truly important to each and every one of you as practitioners, educators and administrators in the AOM profession. We look forward to bringing you ‘news that you can use’ in a totally green format and to receive your feedback as well. We also look forward to receiving your interactive input to our Facebook posts that will benefit both you and the public. Meanwhile, I hope this Spring 2013 Edition of the Diplomate E-newsletter provides you with some useful information. Remember to follow us on Facebook and look for us on LinkedIn soon so that you can keep up with what’s new at NCCAOM and in the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession.