Jan. 8, 2009 at 11:43am

Free promotion is a tweet

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Community Relations, Planning and Strategy
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I bet that a few years ago you would have laughed if I told you there was a way to get free advertising, publicity and networking just by typing two sentences and clicking a mouse.

Not to mention a way to find out what other hospitals and health systems are doing, to get in touch with them easily and to send clickable links to the latest health topics and news.

Twitter is rapidly transforming the way we all do business.

And it really is THAT easy to use. I promise.

What is Twitter?
For those of you not familiar with Twitter, it is a communication Web site that allows you to post 140-character blurbs (basically short, one to two sentece, blog posts) called tweets. Tweets can be posted and read in two ways. Users can post and read tweets by going to Twitter.com or by downloading software to their computer or to a phone with an Internet connection. Others that have an account can follow you, which means they are subscribing to what you post. You may also follow users and read the information they are posting.

How do I get people to follow me?
Users can find you by searching terms with the search tool or the person finder tool. You can also gain more followers by choosing to follow those who follow you.

How do I see the information I subscribe to?
Your home page on your account has all of the postings of the people you have chosen to follow. You may also choose to subscribe to certain users through an RSS feed to your RSS reader.

I want to see it for myself
Want a visual tutorial? This video may help you get up to speed.

The best way to find out more is to start an account and explore.

Ideas for using Twitter in health care
Special Event Reminders.
Example: Want a free cholesterol screening? Hospital XYZ annual health fair Aug. 6.

Quick Health Tips.
Example: Women 40 and older should have a mammogram every 1 to 2 years. Schedule one today!

Promoting a Blog or other related site.
Example: Want to know how Twitter will help promote your hospital? Find out here: link.
Example: Don’t know what to make for dinner? Read our monthly newsletter for healthy recipes. Link.

Posting news.
Example: XYZ Hospital honored among nation top employers: link

Other Twitter tips
Don’t be a robot. Don’t always just post links or links to your Web site only. Ask questions. Add fun facts. Give readers something that makes them want to come back for more.

Consider more than one account. Do you want to target different audiences for different care lines? Does a care line need its own account for information and services? You can create as many accounts as you want. Just make sure someone is able to manage them all!

Respond. Twitter users expect conversation. Respond to posts and spark conversation.It’s a good idea to keep a good balance of posts and responses.

Use a searchable user name. People can search for different topics and user names. Make sure your user name is easily searchable. (example: XYZ Hospital NOT XYZHospital) and use your hospital name in posts. Also, use common search words such as health and health tips, etc.

For more tips and health care examples, check out 100 Ways for Hospitals, Health Systems to Twitter.

Have any more ideas for how to use Twitter? Let us know how it works for you.

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