The blog at thefishvet.com has a social media impact score of 4/5 stars, according to coolsocial.net. It has 1,300 posts and has attracted more than 47,000 views since its inception in late 2011. In the last 7 months, it has been averaging 3,000 to 4,000 views per month. What attracts visitors to the blog is the personalised, practical and reliable information.
Dr Loh has published two books on aquatic veterinary medicine (“Fish Vetting Essentials” and “Fish Vetting Medicines – Formulary of Fish Treatments”) as a way to capture useful and practical information to pass to fellow veterinarians. However, the information available is growing at an exponential rate and the blog now serves several purposes. Dr Loh has set out to build trust and provide original and informative content in an understandable, summarised format and for the blog to be a repository for such information. It combines information, education and entertainment to raise the profile on fish health and welfare and to advance the special area of aquatic veterinary medicine.
Dr Loh’s approach to spreading the word and having a web presence is to:
- Debunk common myths like, “Fish have a 3 second memory”.
- Answer common trivia for example, “Do goldfish have a stomach? And what do you call a pregnant goldfish?”
- Share simple tips for instance, “How to tell the difference between sexes?”.
- Humour readers, preparing them for the working week ahead with, “Fish Joke for Monday-itis”.
- Announce opportunities for education (courses, webinars, etc.) and jobs.
- Summarise pertinent scientific findings by referring readers to journal articles Dr Loh had read.
- Bring to the attention of readers, important environmental concerns.
Thefishvet’s Facebook page has approximately 750 likes, has 550 followers on Twitter and over 2000 connections on Linkedin. These are linked to the blog and “mirrors” what is shared, and has additional input. These are complemented by a YouTube channel (thefishvetdrloh) which has nearly 20,000 views. With a good reputation and a strong internet presence, Dr Loh has recently been invited to become an Expert for eHow Now Pets on matters relating to fish health. Dr Loh will also serve as the President of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association in 2014.
For more information on Dr Loh as The Fish Vet, visit the main website – thefishvet.com.au
