subject: Twitter and Physician Internet Marketing [print this page] If your plans include physician internet marketing, then realize that one of the best methods to do this is by using twitter which is one of the more popular social media websites. Everyone seems to be using it, from celebrities, big businesses, and the average person. Realizing the sheer number of connections that you can make here alone, tapping into that users market would greatly help you in improving the effectiveness of your physician internet marketing.
For the uninitiated, here is a brief overview: Twitter is a website that offers a service where people send and read messages called tweets. Twitter is usually classified as a microblogging site because the messages or "tweets" are limited to 140 characters. These messages are then read by the people who subscribe to your updates or those who are following you.
Now that you know what twitter is, here are some of the proper ways to utilize them when engaged in your physician internet marketing:
Learn to use concise messages and use shortcuts properly
The first thing to understand with twitter is that there is a limit to the number of characters that you would be able to use per tweet with consecutive tweets possible. That is why you can't come up with a long or lengthy single message in one tweet to update your followers. It would be a good idea to try and summarize your messages into statements that are quick, easy to read, and that fall into the specific number of characters allowed.
Another skill that helps in physician internet marketing when using twitter is learning how to use some word shortcuts. There are some words that people already understand even when shortened (such as thanks = tnx, thx) that enable you to work around the character limit of the website.
Breaking news
Since twitter can provide instantaneous messages to all of your subscribers or followers, then you can easily use it for providing breaking news. If you are giving discounts or have a new treatment, then you can quickly announce it to everyone simply by posting a tweet about it.
This would definitely help in physician internet marketing as it is a way for you to foster a community of followers who believe that by signing up or subscribing to your feed, they can gain quicker updates about the developments in your practice and in your website.
Respond!
You can respond to some of the comments that your followers make regarding your tweets. This would enable you to head off any negative criticisms as well as learn more about what your target market is thinking.
This would help you greatly, as it provides immediate feedback to whatever it is that you are doing for your medical practice.
Again, if used properly, twitter can be a great tool in furthering your goals of physician internet marketing.
