November 23, 2010

Making Twitter Work for a Specialty Medical Practice (Like ENT)

I've been asked by a few ENT colleagues how I got Twitter to work for my practice and how in the world I managed to get more than a few dozen followers.

I've been at it for about 1 year now (up to 355 followers @FauquierENT) and here are a few tips to making it work for a medical practice... Just an opinion... And it may not apply to everyone...

• When you tweet something, always back it up with a useful link to a webpage using a link shortner like bit.ly or goo.gl.
• Tweet about topics that the LAY-PERSON would find interesting. Twittering about "Outcomes of Vascularized Bone Graft Reconstruction of the Mandible in Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws" is NOT going to garner you fans even if you personally as an ENT find it riveting reading. An example of a good tweet I recently posted is "Do Cell Phone Makers Secretly Know Cell Phones May Cause Health Problems? http://ht.ly/3bBUZ"
• Follow people you find interesting. They will follow you back typically and their followers will slowly start to follow you. Given I twitter about ENT topics, I make it a point to follow ALL otolaryngologists, respected medical journalists, and health related newspapers.
• Write a blog and use twitter to "advertise" your blog article.
• ADVERTISE on your website that you have a twitter account.
• Be active with tweets. Potential followers will not be that excited to follow you if you have something interesting to say only once every few weeks.
• IF you come across something interesting in a medical journal, tweet it, and support it with a link.

So there you have it... Now go sign up with twitter and don't forget to follow my tweets!
Fauquier blog
Fauquier ENT

Dr. Christopher Chang is a private practice otolaryngology, head & neck surgeon specializing in the treatment of problems related to the ear, nose, and throat. Located in Warrenton, VA about 45 minutes west of Washington DC, he also provides inhalant allergy testing/treatment, hearing tests, and dispenses hearing aids.

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