Best Practices for Twitter for Healthcare and Pharma Professionals

Click to edit Master title style

Click to edit Master text stylesTwitterLet’s get comfortable

Twitter Orientation

• An information network (like an RSS feed for social media)

• A way to follow friends, interests, brands, organizations, etc.

• A place to post updates and share links to photos, videos, articles, music, blogs, etc.

• A place to listen to what everyone’s talking about

Twitter is Many Things

TweetA piece of content (text/links/images/video) posted to Twitter.

FollowTo subscribe to someone’s Twitter feed. No permission needed

to follow/be followed.

@MentionLike directly addressing someone in a big crowd. Both

the recipient and your (the sender’s) followers will see the @mention.

@mentions can occur anywhere in a tweet

DM (Direct Message)A DM is a private message seen only by the person you desire, like a conversation in a room with only two people in it. A DM

is akin to an email to one recipient.

@ReplyThis subset of the @mention is like a direct address to

someone in a room of mutual friends. Only the recipient and followers in common will see the @reply.

@replies always have @ as the first character in the tweet.

#HashtagMarks keywords/phrases so they appear in Twitter searches. Anything can be tagged, but only the most popular become

Trending Topics.

RT (ReTweet)Sharing someone else’s Tweet, without commentary, with your

followers. A way to help posts go viral.

URL ShortenterServices like bit.ly and tinyURL that make long web addresses

shorter to save room in the post. Twitter has one built in.

A Tweeter’s Lexicon

Persistent Icons Help You Navigate

Home Personal dashboard

@ConnectTo interact and track

#DiscoverTo search and tag

TweetTo post

MePersonal info, stats and Tweets

• Persistent black bar at the top of web interface pages

• Tweet button enables posting a new Tweet, uploading a photo, or indicating a location in just one click

• Five icons are the same for all devices

Home Page

The Home page is a dashboard of basic

data about you, some recommendations of folks to follow, and

some trends for your city, state, or country.

It also features your Tweet Stream.

Newer posts appear at the top and push older ones down.

@Connect Page

Recommendations for who to follow

Search for #topics, @people or anything else

Displays all @mentions to and from you

#Discover Page

A curated selection of major trending stories

based on your interests, location, what you follow,

and news.

Trends Lots of people discuss the same topic,

sometimes spontaneously. Anyone can create a #hashtag.

Promoted Trends Advertisers create trends/#hashtags

and buy placement.

Prominent Videos, Images and Tweets

Twitter’s algorithms try to show you relevant media. Pay-for-placement is

also possible.

Personal Profile Page

Basic info about you

Links to detailed info about your account

Similar to you: suggestions for people to investigate/follow

All of your recent Tweets, @mentions, and retweets (RTs)

Determining Twitter Utility

How will it benefit your brand/organization?

• Answer key questions before you begin:‣ In what ways does Twitter align with your overall

communications strategy?‣How will Twitter serve your brand or organization?⎯Raising awareness, building a loyal set of followers,

news distribution, etc.‣How will your posts serve your audience?⎯Will they be helpful, educational, service-oriented,

funny? ⎯Will they always convey a certain kind of information,

call to action, discount, promotion, news?

Determine Your Goals & Objectives

12

• Consider the steps needed to ensure a successful Twitter presence‣Be committed. Secure buy-in on your plan from all

decision makers‣Empower someone. Who will be responsible for

Tweeting?‣Define approval parameters. Do any/all Tweets need to

be pre-approved?‣Set a schedule. How often do you want to Tweet?

Weekly? Daily? Hourly? ⎯Develop a content calendar and timeline to ensure

Tweets will be approved in a timely manner

Have a Plan

• Remember: the channel is the vehicle, not the destination

• Key Performance Indicators (KPI)‣ Impressions, shares, RTs, @mentions, site visits, learnings,

brand stories shared, conversations entered, sales, site visits, etc.

Set Realistic Metrics

13

Best Practices

8 Steps to Great Tweets

1. Optimize your Tweets2. Follow the right people3. Attract followers4. Ask great questions5. Respond judiciously6. Monitor keywords7. Use #hashtags8. Encourage RTs

1. Optimize Your Tweets

Short

Useful Info Worth RTing #Hashtag

Strong Voice

Shortened linkFriendly@mention

Examples of Less-than-Great Tweets

No links, #hashtags, or @mentions

Broken link

No context

Over 140 characters

• Search people and brands you love

• Search topics, trends, or #hashtags and follow people talking about them

• Social media/email contacts• Industry experts and

newsmakers• People your friends follow• Great tweeters• Those who follow you (a

courtesy)

2. Follow the Right People

• Post when you have something interesting to share

• Compelling Tweets earn more RTs

• Promote/link to other social media channels

• Ask outright for people to follow you—make it a call to action

• RT posts from Tweeters you admire— they’ll see it

3. Attract New Followers

• Open-ended• Fun to answer• RT to others’ questions• RT/@reply compelling answers

4. Ask Great Questions

• Share the behavior/language you expect

• BE the behavior/language you expect

• Answer inquiries quickly and in the manner they were made (@, public, DM, etc., or direct the conversation to DM if it is more appropriate to the content)

• Be human, be yourself• Don’t fan the flames

(ignore the mildly offensive)• “Block” the worst offenders

5. Respond Judiciously

• Search for chatter about

relevant terms• Jump in with @s or RTs

aboutthose subjects

• Check out #trends related to your keywords or interests

6. Monitor Keywords

• Assign a word or phrase others can adopt (#TransplantInnovation, #ThwartingThrombosis, #HealthyLifestyles, etc.)

• Use relevant trending topics tags• Look at how others use

#hashtags• Frequently check out the

#Discover tab

7. Use Hashtags

• Keep it short!• Useful/relevant/interesting and

novel• Check your links before sending

8. Encourage Retweets

To learn more…Contact us to discuss your Twitter and social media strategy in more detail.

North America

Michelle GreenVP, Creative Director Social Media & Marketingmgreen@kaneandfinkel.com

Europe

David KnechtelDirector, European Operationsdknechtel@kaneandfinkel.com