Channel V Media conceived, designed and developed an online strategy and social media program to support a multi-author book project for Dr. Linda Brodsky, a renowned Pediatric Otolaryngologist who recently ended a 10-year gender discrimination battle with her two New York State employers. Brodsky’s multi-author book, which will be published in 2010, will examine the way gender discrimination in medicine affects the way health care is delivered for all Americans. The book is both factual and anecdotal, and while gender discrimination facts are, unfortunately, not too hard to find, getting people to tell their stories about a sensitive subject matter can be difficult. Nevertheless, the Channel V Media team was up to the task, and using a combination of audience generation, social media listening, and community engagement, was able to build a community of storytellers based on shared struggles and shared determination. Not to mention—develop a loyal audience of supporters who would ultimately buy it.

We created LindaBrodskyMD.com to act as a central online hub. From this site, visitors can access “The Brodsky Blog,” a full resource center, galleries, and a digital e-book, all of which offer Dr. Brodsky the ability to share her story with a wider audience of women and garner support for her cause.

To announce her book project, CVM placed a Call for Submissions icon front-and-center on the homepage and crafted an informational landing page and submission form to house it.

CVM launched The Brodsky Blog as a means of generating traffic to the main site, as well as a place where Brodsky could communicate more intimately with her audience. Accessible and personable in tone, Brodsky’s posts range from stories about her family, patient successes, and tales of her practice, to more universal issues like the global gender gap, women physicians’ pioneering spirits, and Equal Pay Day.

Following the announcement of Brodsky’s book project (which took place on Equal Pay Day), CVM drafted an announcement-type blog post that would drive traffic to the book landing page on her site. We also crafted a “Share Your Story” button to act as a call-to-action in the sidebar for all newcomers.

After creating a custom twitter background, which showcases Dr. Brodsky’s project and online platforms, CVM conducted extensive blog research and social media listening to map out an effective engagement strategy. We also tapped into the vast community of women bloggers who write about women in science, medicine, and engineering (a natural fit for Linda), as well as organizations that advocate for women’s equality. Finally, CVM scoured Twitter for all Tweeters who were interested in and/or already writing about the topic on their own.

We used a variety of social media listening tools, including Radian6, Google, Twitter’s search engine (search.twitter.com) and Twhirl’s search functions to monitor the web for mentions of issues relevant to Dr. Brodsky’s project and cause. From there, we were able to identify the most appropriate sites and blogs for Dr. Brodsky to engage with.

Because we launched the book on Equal Pay Day, we were able to insert Brodsky into the conversation for trending Twitter topics like (such as #equalpay and #fairpay) as well as engage with like-minded individuals with a similar mission. In a short time, the feminist-leaning segment of the Twitter community (and those who support the cause) became aware of Linda and her desire to end gender inequality in medicine. Linda Brodsky has since become a recognized name among leading online women’s issues personalities, such as @TheWomensMuseum, @disruptivewomen, @womanistmusings, @NationalNow, and @AAUW.

As news of the project continues to spread, Dr. Brodsky receives more stories, garners more Twitter followers, and connects with more blog readers than she had ever expected. She's able to engage with them directly through Twitter's direct messaging and retweeting functions; by responding via email to their stories, and by commenting on their blog feedback. This engagement reinforces the sense of community that Channel V Media built around Linda’s cause and helps to further spread the word.

Badge To help those who are contributing to spread the word about Linda’s project, CVM created an "I'm a Contributor—Share Your Story" badge to post on their own blogs to encourage their readers to share their stories as well. The badge is similar to the "Share Your Story" image on Linda’s site—a collage of pioneering women in science, and links directly to the book project page.