3.  Met with my groups face to face, presented a topic and had open time for questions  Emailed the information once a week to Moms that attended the groups  The written information was current, but not very interesting  Where did all that information end up??

5.  Moms started bringing questions in from Facebook postings from others  Moms were following blogs, some from sources that were not very reputable  Moms were “taking notes” during the groups on their phones  Moms craved connection with other Moms when going back to work….often that is only through Facebook, blogs, and online groups

6.  I had a ready made audience…Moms currently coming to my groups  You need to have a target group so the information is specific to that group  Social media allows you to reach your audience and their “friends” too, don’t underestimate the numbers you can reach!

7.  A blog is very easy to set up, there are many blog sites that walk you through step by step  The way the information is presented is the key  The message must be pertinent, current and evidenced base  Link the evidence

8.  Posting shorter blogs over several days on an important topic drives your audience back to the site day after day  Post often, several times a week at least. This encourages your audience to visit the site frequently. They will look for your posts!

9.  Be creative with the titles, say it like it is  Categorize your posts logically so your audience can find topics easily  Tag your posts so your audience will be driven to your blog with search engines

10.  Ask questions and opinions  Encourage sharing of ideas and stories  Request feed back  Answer questions  Comment on their ideas  Have a conversation!

12.  Blog posts are posted on the Raising Kids with Love Facebook page  Moms receive the blog, but also short updates and personal thoughts through Facebook  Moms interact with each other and connect with me through messages and questions

13.  Moms who “like” a post or comment spread the word about the blog  Views on the blog increase dramatically when an update on Facebook is popular

14.  Face to face is still best  The generation that we are reaching is very comfortable with social media  Moms need a place to go that has information that is evidenced based, accessible, and allows personal interaction with a medical provider.

15.  The message must be written with a personal touch  The reader must “know” you to trust your message  Sometimes my post is merely a few words of advice or a thought, enough for Moms to connect to me personally

16.  Twitter allows you to follow trending topics for Moms  Following reputable people and organizations gives quick access to evidenced based pediatric updates and parenting trends  Tweets with the blog links or short parenting tips are another way to reach an audience

18.  Hash tags are like tagging a blog  There are “trending” topics that have hash tags  You can create your own too!  #Moms #breastfeeding #organic

19. Raising Kids with Love blog was started January 2012 As of April 2013 the blog has had 42,000 views 8000 of those views are international

20. Raising Kids with Love Facebook page started in June 2013 Currently a weekly reach of over 1200, with a potential reach of 77,000 who are connected as “friends”

21.  Raising Kids with Love Twitter account started June 2013  Currently 120 followers

22.  It is our responsibility to meet our Moms where they are…..even if that means changing the way we meet them…..