You’ve just set up your shiny new Twitter account but where do you start building your audience? Dave Gray gives ten suggestions for the most influential social media users in medtech, based on their sharing klout
These brands and users have been collated based on a typical month’s social activity and influence. We looked at popular hashtags, users who engage with industry, audience sizes and a host of other analytics data to find these accounts and groups.
1 – FDA Medical Devices (Twitter)
A genuinely influential, not to mention useful resource, this Twitter account owned and operated by the FDA is approaching 57,000 followers. It’s the first port-of-call for recalls and approvals data, as well as guidelines and other updates.
We also use it here at MPN HQ as a great place to sniff out news on up-coming devices under development, so if you’re interested in watching the market, this is one for you.
2 – Medical Devices Group/Joe Hage (LinkedIn)
Last year we caught up with Joe Hage, owner of the Medical Devices Group on LinkedIn. The ‘facebook for business’ platform has proven itself a worthy contender in the stakes for medtech’s most useful social media outlet.
Joe’s group is approaching 300,000 members now, and is one of the largest and most active online communities for our sector. In his interview with MPN last year, he advised readers: “If you’re selling catheters, convince me you’re knowledgeable about the whole category – not just your product line”.
3 – Medical Plastics News (Twitter)
As the only news account dedicated to polymer innovation in medical devices, we felt we had to include ourselves in this list. Follow @mpn_magazine to stay up-to-date on original stories and features that you won’t in the print title. Okay, that’s it for the shameless plug.
4 – AdvaMed (Twitter)
The Twitter account for the Advanced Medical Technology Association is currently using social engagement to great effect in protest against medical device tax in the US. A great voice for medical device manufacturers, the group has amassed over 10,000 highly active followers.
They keep an eye on global medical developments as published in the world’s mainstream media outlets (e.g. Huffington Post, The Times) and combine this with their own insights. A must-follow account for anyone looking for a bird’s eye view of the market.
5 – Baylis Medical (Twitter)
This is a corporate Twitter account, but interestingly, the firm takes away the usual veil of mystery by naming the tweeter responsible for the content – in this case, one Luc Desaulniers, marketing and communications at Baylis.
Luc has done a great job of helping Baylis break from corporate traditions like only posting links to the firms’ own products. In fact, most of the content shared is intended as light reading or sometimes inspiring tales of medtech in use. Baylis has a respectable following and regularly appears as a top contributor in the wider medtech discussion.
6 – Medical Device Guru (LinkedIn and Twitter)
On LinkedIn, this forum has evolved into a 46,000 strong community for designers, innovators, engineers and users to share common problems and launch new products.
It’s quite business-heavy, but as always with medtech the ultimate focus is on improving patient outcomes.
7 – Polymer Solutions (Twitter)
This is the Twitter account for the US-based polymer test lab, Polymer Solutions. It’s another must, if for no other reason than their light-hearted approach to tweeting. Like Baylis, they share great content from across the web, often adding a humorous slant.
Polymer Solutions go even further by regularly posting their own multimedia. One recent post shows what happened when the firm’s latest intern had a run-in with an exploding egg! It’s all chemistry-related, but really these posts are great for a quick look on your lunch break.
8 – Owen Mumford (Twitter)
Device maker Owen Mumford has done something really clever. Reflecting its business model, the corporate Twitter page targets content at both professionals and patients.
In one tweet, the company looks at recent studies into diabetes diagnosis methods, and in another it points readers to its in-house ‘good injection guide’. Owen Mumford succeeds in creating a social outlet that is inclusive of the two major stakeholders in medtech – doctors and patients.
9 – Digital Health News (Twitter)
Do connected devices, patient empowerment and wearables make you tick? This fast-growing Twitter account is working hard to spread the word from the digital health revolution. Its unique selling point is that it caters not just for patients, consumers and doctors, but also has dedicated news streams for manufacturers and product designers.
10 – Medical Device Engineering Professionals (LinkedIn)
This is a great community for job seekers, as it pools the very specific skills required by the medical device sector. It’s also another great starting point if you’re looking to get quick, informative solutions to manufacturing problems.