Twitter

About 5 years ago, when I first started speaking to physicians about social media, I’d ask my audience how many of them used Twitter. Typically, one or two hands would go up. Last month I asked my audience of physicians how many were on Twitter, and about 30 people raised their hands.

According to a recent report by London-based FierceHealthcare, only 23 healthcare professionals signed up for Twitter when it launched in 2006. Today, there are over 75,000 healthcare professionals on the site, with the number rising.

Why are they on Twitter? Let’s look at Twitter’s mission statement: "To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers." That’s what we’re hardwired to do: Share ideas and information with each other. Which is why individuals from physicians to celebrities to retired grandparents are on Twitter creating and sharing ideas. Currently, there are over 255 million active Twitter users sending out approximately 500 million tweets a day.

Because Twitter is a real-time social platform, it enables conversations. Topics of conversation are tagged through the use of the # symbol, called a hashtag. If, for example, you’re a dermatologist with an interest in reaching out to teens, you might create the following tweet: "Don’t know what foods are good and bad for #acne? Check out our post on best foods for healthy skin." Then you would include the link to the post on your practice website. Anyone searching for information on diet and acne will easily find your tweet and be able to link through to your website.

Twitter is also unique in that posts, referred to as "tweets," are limited to 140 characters. So, it forces you to be concise and specific and encourages other uses to respond to your tweet or to share it, ("retweeting").

This column isn’t about the nuts and bolts of how to use Twitter; there are numerous tutorials online for that. Simply search "Twitter tutorial," and you’ll get dozens of hits. Instead, I’d like you to see the potential Twitter offers you and your practice.

• Get lots of exposure for minimal investment. I typically spend about 20 minutes a day on Twitter. Since posts are so short, I can scan conversations quickly and easily.

• Reach your target audience quickly and easily with Twitter’s great search ability. For example, a dermatologist might tweet about #skincancer, but a psychiatrist might tweet about #anxiety or #depression, while an oncologist might focus on #ovariancancer or #breastcancer.

• Build and maintain your brand and online reputation. I often tweet about skin care tips and skin cancer facts using the hashtags #dermtip and #skincancer, respectively. Doing so allows me to interact with other healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers. And it lets those people know that I’m a dermatologist who cares about these topics. For example, a recent tweet of mine was retweeted (shared by others) 28 times: "Squamous cell carcinoma has risen 700% in women under 40. There’s no such thing as a safe tan. #skincancer #womenshealth."

• Become a more active member of your medical community. The website www.symplur.com has created The Healthcare Hashtag Project which allows you to discover healthcare conversations taking place on Twitter, including conferences, and who to follow in your specialty. They also list tweet chats that are real-time online chats about specific healthcare topics. Examples include #alzchat (an Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving chat), #rheum (a rheumatoid arthritis chat), and #bcsm (a chat about the intersection of breast cancer and all things social media). Becoming an active participant in chats can help build your online reputation as an expert in the field.

• Improve quality of care by disseminating accurate information. As with any social platform, misinformation abounds about health and healthcare. As a physician you can post vetted information and become a trusted source of knowledge both online and in person. For example, a tweet of mine in April included a link to a newly published study about rising rates of melanoma in adolescents. It read: "Scary truth: #melanoma is rising in kids & teens. 77% aged 15-19 yrs." Then I included the link to the study.

• Engage for an effective networking tool. For example, my interactions on Twitter have led to invitations to speak at conferences as well as media queries. It has also broadened my circle of friends, as I have become real-life friends with people I initially met through Twitter.

• Stay abreast of information from conferences that you can’t attend. Most conferences today use an official hashtag that allows people all over the world to track what is being said at the conference and to engage with conference attendees.

• Create traffic and potential referrals to your practice website. As mentioned earlier in the column, linking tweets to posts is another way to introduce potential patients to your practice via your website. Satisfied patients may retweet your tweets, too.

Are you on Twitter? If so, do you like using it? Has it been helpful to you? Let us know. And if you follow me on Twitter (I’m @dermdoc), I’ll follow you back.

Dr. Benabio is a partner physician in the department of dermatology of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego and a volunteer clinical assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Benabio is @dermdoc on Twitter.

About 5 years ago, when I first started speaking to physicians about social media, I’d ask my audience how many of them used Twitter. Typically, one or two hands would go up. Last month I asked my audience of physicians how many were on Twitter, and about 30 people raised their hands.

According to a recent report by London-based FierceHealthcare, only 23 healthcare professionals signed up for Twitter when it launched in 2006. Today, there are over 75,000 healthcare professionals on the site, with the number rising.

Why are they on Twitter? Let’s look at Twitter’s mission statement: "To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers." That’s what we’re hardwired to do: Share ideas and information with each other. Which is why individuals from physicians to celebrities to retired grandparents are on Twitter creating and sharing ideas. Currently, there are over 255 million active Twitter users sending out approximately 500 million tweets a day.

Because Twitter is a real-time social platform, it enables conversations. Topics of conversation are tagged through the use of the # symbol, called a hashtag. If, for example, you’re a dermatologist with an interest in reaching out to teens, you might create the following tweet: "Don’t know what foods are good and bad for #acne? Check out our post on best foods for healthy skin." Then you would include the link to the post on your practice website. Anyone searching for information on diet and acne will easily find your tweet and be able to link through to your website.

Twitter is also unique in that posts, referred to as "tweets," are limited to 140 characters. So, it forces you to be concise and specific and encourages other uses to respond to your tweet or to share it, ("retweeting").

This column isn’t about the nuts and bolts of how to use Twitter; there are numerous tutorials online for that. Simply search "Twitter tutorial," and you’ll get dozens of hits. Instead, I’d like you to see the potential Twitter offers you and your practice.

• Get lots of exposure for minimal investment. I typically spend about 20 minutes a day on Twitter. Since posts are so short, I can scan conversations quickly and easily.

• Reach your target audience quickly and easily with Twitter’s great search ability. For example, a dermatologist might tweet about #skincancer, but a psychiatrist might tweet about #anxiety or #depression, while an oncologist might focus on #ovariancancer or #breastcancer.

• Build and maintain your brand and online reputation. I often tweet about skin care tips and skin cancer facts using the hashtags #dermtip and #skincancer, respectively. Doing so allows me to interact with other healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers. And it lets those people know that I’m a dermatologist who cares about these topics. For example, a recent tweet of mine was retweeted (shared by others) 28 times: "Squamous cell carcinoma has risen 700% in women under 40. There’s no such thing as a safe tan. #skincancer #womenshealth."

• Become a more active member of your medical community. The website www.symplur.com has created The Healthcare Hashtag Project which allows you to discover healthcare conversations taking place on Twitter, including conferences, and who to follow in your specialty. They also list tweet chats that are real-time online chats about specific healthcare topics. Examples include #alzchat (an Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving chat), #rheum (a rheumatoid arthritis chat), and #bcsm (a chat about the intersection of breast cancer and all things social media). Becoming an active participant in chats can help build your online reputation as an expert in the field.

• Improve quality of care by disseminating accurate information. As with any social platform, misinformation abounds about health and healthcare. As a physician you can post vetted information and become a trusted source of knowledge both online and in person. For example, a tweet of mine in April included a link to a newly published study about rising rates of melanoma in adolescents. It read: "Scary truth: #melanoma is rising in kids & teens. 77% aged 15-19 yrs." Then I included the link to the study.

• Engage for an effective networking tool. For example, my interactions on Twitter have led to invitations to speak at conferences as well as media queries. It has also broadened my circle of friends, as I have become real-life friends with people I initially met through Twitter.

• Stay abreast of information from conferences that you can’t attend. Most conferences today use an official hashtag that allows people all over the world to track what is being said at the conference and to engage with conference attendees.

• Create traffic and potential referrals to your practice website. As mentioned earlier in the column, linking tweets to posts is another way to introduce potential patients to your practice via your website. Satisfied patients may retweet your tweets, too.

Are you on Twitter? If so, do you like using it? Has it been helpful to you? Let us know. And if you follow me on Twitter (I’m @dermdoc), I’ll follow you back.

Dr. Benabio is a partner physician in the department of dermatology of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego and a volunteer clinical assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Benabio is @dermdoc on Twitter.

About 5 years ago, when I first started speaking to physicians about social media, I’d ask my audience how many of them used Twitter. Typically, one or two hands would go up. Last month I asked my audience of physicians how many were on Twitter, and about 30 people raised their hands.

According to a recent report by London-based FierceHealthcare, only 23 healthcare professionals signed up for Twitter when it launched in 2006. Today, there are over 75,000 healthcare professionals on the site, with the number rising.

Why are they on Twitter? Let’s look at Twitter’s mission statement: "To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers." That’s what we’re hardwired to do: Share ideas and information with each other. Which is why individuals from physicians to celebrities to retired grandparents are on Twitter creating and sharing ideas. Currently, there are over 255 million active Twitter users sending out approximately 500 million tweets a day.

Because Twitter is a real-time social platform, it enables conversations. Topics of conversation are tagged through the use of the # symbol, called a hashtag. If, for example, you’re a dermatologist with an interest in reaching out to teens, you might create the following tweet: "Don’t know what foods are good and bad for #acne? Check out our post on best foods for healthy skin." Then you would include the link to the post on your practice website. Anyone searching for information on diet and acne will easily find your tweet and be able to link through to your website.

Twitter is also unique in that posts, referred to as "tweets," are limited to 140 characters. So, it forces you to be concise and specific and encourages other uses to respond to your tweet or to share it, ("retweeting").

This column isn’t about the nuts and bolts of how to use Twitter; there are numerous tutorials online for that. Simply search "Twitter tutorial," and you’ll get dozens of hits. Instead, I’d like you to see the potential Twitter offers you and your practice.

• Get lots of exposure for minimal investment. I typically spend about 20 minutes a day on Twitter. Since posts are so short, I can scan conversations quickly and easily.

• Reach your target audience quickly and easily with Twitter’s great search ability. For example, a dermatologist might tweet about #skincancer, but a psychiatrist might tweet about #anxiety or #depression, while an oncologist might focus on #ovariancancer or #breastcancer.

• Build and maintain your brand and online reputation. I often tweet about skin care tips and skin cancer facts using the hashtags #dermtip and #skincancer, respectively. Doing so allows me to interact with other healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers. And it lets those people know that I’m a dermatologist who cares about these topics. For example, a recent tweet of mine was retweeted (shared by others) 28 times: "Squamous cell carcinoma has risen 700% in women under 40. There’s no such thing as a safe tan. #skincancer #womenshealth."

• Become a more active member of your medical community. The website www.symplur.com has created The Healthcare Hashtag Project which allows you to discover healthcare conversations taking place on Twitter, including conferences, and who to follow in your specialty. They also list tweet chats that are real-time online chats about specific healthcare topics. Examples include #alzchat (an Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving chat), #rheum (a rheumatoid arthritis chat), and #bcsm (a chat about the intersection of breast cancer and all things social media). Becoming an active participant in chats can help build your online reputation as an expert in the field.

• Improve quality of care by disseminating accurate information. As with any social platform, misinformation abounds about health and healthcare. As a physician you can post vetted information and become a trusted source of knowledge both online and in person. For example, a tweet of mine in April included a link to a newly published study about rising rates of melanoma in adolescents. It read: "Scary truth: #melanoma is rising in kids & teens. 77% aged 15-19 yrs." Then I included the link to the study.

• Engage for an effective networking tool. For example, my interactions on Twitter have led to invitations to speak at conferences as well as media queries. It has also broadened my circle of friends, as I have become real-life friends with people I initially met through Twitter.

• Stay abreast of information from conferences that you can’t attend. Most conferences today use an official hashtag that allows people all over the world to track what is being said at the conference and to engage with conference attendees.

• Create traffic and potential referrals to your practice website. As mentioned earlier in the column, linking tweets to posts is another way to introduce potential patients to your practice via your website. Satisfied patients may retweet your tweets, too.

Are you on Twitter? If so, do you like using it? Has it been helpful to you? Let us know. And if you follow me on Twitter (I’m @dermdoc), I’ll follow you back.

Dr. Benabio is a partner physician in the department of dermatology of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego and a volunteer clinical assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Benabio is @dermdoc on Twitter.