Which industry is contributing to the most job growth in the United States?  What blog is CNN rumored to be acquiring?  How well do the top ranked teams on the court perform in the classroom?  Find out in this edition of The Monday Marketing Mix.

1. Healthcare Job Growth Accelerating

One out of five new jobs added in January and February were in the healthcare sector. In the month of February alone, 49,000 healthcare jobs were created, with more than 15,000 of those jobs at hospitals. This trend was similar in 2011, when nearly 300,000 healthcare jobs were added, accounting for almost 20% of all job growth in the United States. Experts expect this trend to continue as Baby Boomers age, population grows, and healthcare demands increase.  Read more from HealthLeaders Media.  How many new jobs does your hospital plan to add in the next quarter?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

2. CNN in Talks to Acquire Mashable, Sources Say

If the rumors are correct, there could be a big announcement at SXSW tomorrow.  It is expected that CNN will acquire Mashable, one of the world’s most popular tech and social media blogs, in a $200 million deal.  Pete Cashmore founded the blog in 2005.  What will the merger mean for Mashable and for CNN?  Read more about the rumored deal in this blog post from New York Times.

3. March Madness for Academics

By now we all know which teams made the cut and will march on in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  But which teams make the cut when it comes to academic performance?  Each year, Inside Higher Ed puts together their own brackets that show which schools are winning when it comes to graduation rates and other academic indicators.  Some of the tops seeds in the tournament didn’t fare as well in the classroom.  Find out which schools fared well (and which ones didn’t) in this post from Inside Higher Ed.

Watch this “Get Well Soon” song and dance from Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel.

What do you think?  Has your hospital done any fun or unique advertising?  Share in the comments below.

Which colleges have the highest graduation rates in the country?  Are hospital websites user-friendly enough?  What do the latest Facebook changes mean for brands.  Find out in this edition of The Monday Marketing Mix.

1. College Completion: Who graduates from college, who doesn’t, and why it matters.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has released a new website that shares some interesting statistics and information about college graduation rates around the country. The information is the result of a study conducted regarding students that entered college in 2004.  According to the homepage, 4.3 million freshman began college that year.  2.1 million did not officially graduate.  The website breaks down the data by state, showing how many students attended (and graduated from) community colleges, public colleges, private colleges, and for-profit schools.  It also gives a breakdown of which schools have the highest graduation rates in their respective states.  There is a ton of interesting information worth reviewing!  Check it out here: http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/.

2. Physicians and hospitals must make websites more patient-friendly, study says

A study conducted by the Journal of Healthcare Management shows that most medical practices and hospitals are missing the mark when it comes to their websites.  The biggest problem?  The websites aren’t accessible to all patients.  Healthcare websites have to reach a broad audience, and some patients aren’t as computer literate or technologically savvy as others.  And many patients suffer from disabilities that must be considered when designing a user-friendly site.  Another problem?  Too much jargon.  Many medical websites are too technical, making it difficult for the average patient to find and understand the information they need.  Read more about the study findings in this article from American Medical News. Does your hospital website have room for improvement?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

3. Facebook Timeline for Brands: The Complete Guide

Most personal Facebook profiles have made the switch to the new timeline format by now.  Come March 31st all brand pages will also reflect the new layout.  What do you need to know, and what do you need to change before then?  This article from Mashable covers it all.  How do you like the timeline format so far?  Have you previewed it for your brand pages?  If so, what do you think?  Weigh-in below.

Ad spending in print publications has been on the decline for several years now.  Newspapers across the country have shut down amid dwindling ad revenues, and in 2009 magazine ad spending declined by more than a quarter.  On the contrary, marketers are expected to spend billions more on online advertising than print advertising for the first time ever this year.

So how can traditional advertising compete?

This article from Ad Age explains how some magazines are getting personal to catch readers attention.  For example, the March issue of Harper’s Bazzar features 300,000 personalized ads for Neiman Marcus (the magazine has 300,000 home subscribers).  Each of the print ads features a sticky note addressing the reader by name, and telling them a specific Neiman Marcus to visit within 50 miles of their address.

I think it’s a great idea.  When I’m reading a magazine I tend to quickly flip through the ads, but if I saw one that called me out by name I think I’d be more likely to sop and read it.

So far Hearst is the only publishing company to go this route (they are collaborating with HP to make the printing faster and more cost-effective), but it is predicted that other publishers will soon follow suit.  What do you think?  Read the full story from Ad Age and share your opinions in the comments below.

What do you think? Great idea, or absurd? Sound off in the comments!

1. 4 Steps to a Dynamic Facebook Presence

If one of your marketing goals for the year is to ramp up the social media efforts at your hospital, you’ll want to check  out this article from Health Leaders Media.  Marianne Aiellos offers up her advice on how to make sure that your hospital Facebook page is as effective as possible.  Her first tip: double check the basics.  Make sure your hospital is easy to find, and categorized correctly.  Tip number two: create a custom landing page.  Her third piece of advice: add custom applications.  And finally, she suggests that you create a campaign page.  What exactly does that mean?  Find out in this article, and get more details on her other tips.  What advice would you add to this list?  Share your suggestions below in the comments.

2. Lifecycle Marketing in EDU

Seth Odell, of Southern New Hampshire University, hosts a weekly web show discussing different issues related to higher education marketing and social media.  The discussions typically take place in a round table fashion, featuring the expert opinions of different professionals in the field.  This episode from a few weeks ago features Rob Zinkan, vice chancellor for External Affairs at Indiana University East, and Fran Zablocki, formerly of SUNY Geneseo. The discussion centers around lifecycle marketing and how to reach the many different audiences that are served by higher education.  You can watch the video here, and be on the lookout for future episodes on different topics.

3. LinkedIn Rolls Out ‘Follow Company’ Button for Brands

This morning, LinkedIn announced its newest feature for brands: a follow button.  Many brands have buttons on their homepages or blogs inviting customers to follow them on Facebook and Twitter, now that will be possible for LinkedIn, too. By following a brand on LinkedIn, the user will receive any updates the brand posts in their LinkedIn feed.  For more information and details check out the article from Mashable.

If you’re a woman between the ages of 18 and 34, chances are you’re already doing it.  If not, you’ve probably at least heard about it by now.  Pinning, that is.

Pinterest has quickly climbed to the top of the pack of social networks since it was founded in 2010, now generating more than 11 million unique visits every month.

When Pinterest first emerged it was mainly used by women who shared wedding planning tips, recipes, and DIY craft projects.  Since then, many brands have jumped on Pinterest, sharing everything from vacation destinations, to store sale items and health tips.  Neiman Marcus has a Pinterest account.  Volkswagen has a Pinterest account.  Even Dr. Oz has his own Pinterest account.  So, should hospitals have a Pinterest account?  I think it’s an idea worthy of consideration.

Patricia Redsicker wrote a post yesterday that makes some valid points for healthcare marketers to consider.  She outlines reasons for using Pinterest and specific ways hospitals can use it, while also pointing to some potential pitfals.  It’s one of the best and most thorough write-ups I’ve seen about Pinterest for hospitals, and I highly reccommend reading it!

Take a look at her post and share your thoughts in the comments below.  Has your hospital considered using Pinterest?  Why or why not?  After reading this post, would you consider trying it?

1. Marketing Health Coach Services

It’s not uncommon for gym-goers to enlist the services of a personal trainer.  Now patients of many hospitals will be able to receive similar personalized attention in the form of health coaches.  Mercy Clinics in Des Moines, Iowa was one of the first to implement a personal health coaching service when they started their program last year.  Their aim: to improve continuity of care and improve quality and outcomes as well as patient satisfaction.  Improving patient satisfaction creates brand advocates and great word-of-mouth marketing opportunities for the hospital. Read more in this article from HealthLeaders Media. Does your hospital have a similar program in place, or plans to implement one?  Share your comments below.

2. For Higher Ed, the Future is Mobile

More and more prospective students are using their mobile phones to gather information about schools.  Almost half say that their opinion of a college or university is shaped by the mobile presence of the school.  In light of those statistics it would seem logical that most colleges have a strong mobile website.  On the contrary, 90% of colleges don’t even have a mobile site.  And very few have mobile apps.  Read more from Mike Lesczinski’s Higher Ed PR blog. Does your college have a mobile site or app?  Weigh in below.

3. Mashable Weekend Recap: 30 Stories You Might Have Missed

If you’re like me, you spend less time online on the weekends than you do during the work week.  That’s why I love to read Mashable’s Weekend Recap every Monday morning.  From the twitter coverage of Whitney Houston’s tragic death to reactions to SNL, a story on viral laptop shopping, and tips on perfecting the new Facebook timeline, it’s all covered in this blog post. Which story did you miss over the weekend? Which story caught your attention?  Discuss in the comments below.