For many people—try 310 million a month—Twitter is an important part of everyday life. Patients and professionals in the medical world are included in this group.
Considering that Twitter makes it possible to get up-to-the-minute updates about everything from breaking news stories to trending topics, it makes perfect sense that medical experts and doctors can benefit from Twitter’s extensive and loyal user base.
Roughly 500 million tweets are sent per day. With so many daily tweets, physicians are able to more easily communicate with their patients, establish a reputation as a medical authority and, most importantly, attract new patients.
Don’t worry if you don’t gain an adoring following overnight. It takes time, planning and carefully selecting the right material to tweet to your followers to become a leader on Twitter.
To effectively utilize this popular social platform for your medical practice, continue reading to learn three helpful tips.
1. Create a regular posting schedule
Guess what:
You can’t just start a Twitter page, ignore it and still expect your followers (if you still have any, that is) to interact with you.
Avoid losing followers by sending out regular updates. Make sure they are relevant and sharable to your audience.
How often should you tweet?
It depends. At least five tweets per week (1 per day) should get you started. After you’ve established a brand with a strong following, increase to 1-3 tweets per day.
2. Make thoughtful tweeting choices
Ensure what you’re tweeting is relevant to your audience, or at very least relevant to healthcare in general.
Linking to other reliable resources is also recommended. Your best option is to choose to link out to sources such as reputable news outlets.
Also, consider including images since tweets with pictures are more likely to be read. And don’t forget to utilize trending hashtags!
3. Write a bio
All the awesome content and Twitter followers in the world will not necessarily translate to patients. To help turn followers into patients, consider creating a healthcare bio that contains your practice’s vital information (hours, phone number, physician’s’ names, etc.) as well as personal information like what drew you to your medical specialty and information about your city for newcomers.