NEW TO TWITTER? OR PERHAPS YOU’VE USED IT A LITTLE BIT as a social media marketing tool, but you’re unsure where your efforts are headed. Either way, we’re excited you’re here to learn, and we’re confident that through a little bit of work and effort on your part, Twitter will become one of your favorite and most powerful dental social media networking tools.
What Is Twitter?
Twitter is a social networking and “micro-blogging” service that allows subscribers to send and read posts (called “tweets”) of up to 140 characters. It also allows subscribers to link their tweets to images, videos, URLs, etc. Think about Twitter as a cross between a blog, text messaging, and a chat room.
Users subscribe to other users’ tweets. This is known as “following” and subscribers are known as followers. Twitter allows users the ability to update their profile from their computer, or using their mobile phones either by text messaging or through specific smartphone applications.
Twitter centers around the idea of followers. When you choose to follow another Twitter user, that user’s tweets will appear in your Twitter feed. So, for example, if you follow 40 people, you’ll see a mix of those 40 people’s tweets scrolling down your page throughout the day.
A Learning Curve
There is a little bit of a learning curve to using Twitter effectively. It really isn’t very intuitive. There really aren’t any rules set in stone either—so, over time, you will develop a Twitter “style” all your own. However, having said that, there ARE a few really smart rules of thumb that you should focus on when you first enter the Twittersphere.
I first learned about Twitter and started using it on September 19, 2008, I honestly thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard of. I could not see any way that it could be useful for my business. However, nearly three years later I can attest that Twitter has become one of my most effective personal branding tools. And it IS NOT because of the type of business I’m in. The ideas behind this five-post series can apply to any business—including dentistry. Each of the 866 people that I have chosen to follow since I began have been followed with purpose. My estimate is that I’ve had meaningful dialogue and/or a personal connection with 95% of those 866 people. You can do that too.
Here are the titles and links to the other 4 related posts:
Post 2 of 5 – Twitter For Dentists (the “why”)
Post 3 of 5 – Twitter For Dentists (the “what” and “when”)
Post 4 of 5 – Twitter For Dentists (the “how”)
Post 5 of 5 – Twitter For Dentists (the “who”)
As our valued clients and friends…
We strongly encourage you to carefully read each of the posts in this series. Then, start using Twitter. Give it some time and be consistent. You’ll look back one day and be glad you did.
If You’re Ready to Start Growing Your Dental Practice with Online Dental Marketing then:
About the Author: Jack Hadley is a dental marketing expert and one of the founding members of My Social Practice. My Social Practice is a digital dental marketing company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jack is passionate about helping dental practices grow. If you’d like to book Jack or one of the other members of My Social Practice’s speaking team, you can do that HERE. Interested in learning more about the benefits of SEO for dentists, our dental websites service? Learn More Here.
