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Social Media Focus: Make Your Tweets Work for You Rita Zamora

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Make Your Tweets Work for You
by Rita Zamora

Eighty-seven percent of Americans know about Twitter – this is a pretty good rate of name recognition, especially since this rate was only five percent in 2008. Although the participants who actually "tweet" are less in number, Twitter's buzz certainly sparks the interest of dentists and their teams.

Fifty-one percent of Twitter-users follow brands, companies and products. With statistics like these, including Twitter in your marketing plan as one more avenue of networking is definitely a smart move. Join the buzz; see what it's all about; and then follow these four strategies to optimize your effectiveness.
  1. Complete your entire profile. Many people will open an account on Twitter and either leave it, or immediately begin "tweeting" and "following." There are several benefits to completing your entire Twitter profile as soon as you join:
    • Benefit #1: To establish legitimacy. Once you begin to follow others on Twitter, they are certain to check your profile to see who you are. This first impression is wasted if you do not have credible, ready-to-view information. Simple details like leaving out your Web site URL will make tweeters hesitant to interact with your "faceless" practice. Like any other marketing strategy, you must be transparent. Fellow tweeters will question your motives if you don't have information listed. Why tweet if you don't want people to know about you and your business? This is exactly what other tweeters are asking themselves when they see your empty profile…

    • Benefit #2: Business exposure. If you neglect to fill out your bio section, you lose a great opportunity to inform others about your practice. Twitter has recently begun including profile and bio information on notification e-mails. This means when you follow someone who receives notifications, you have an opportunity to share yourself and your practice via e-mail. Most importantly, it's often your bio that will tip the scale in your favor and help others decide to "follow" you as well.

    • Benefit #3: Relationship building. When you use Twitter's generic profile photo and fail to include your real name, you lose the opportunity to make a connection. People relate better to photos than to logos, and real names to screen names.

  2. Be social. Once you have successfully completed your profile, you are ready to begin tweeting. Remember the "social" in social media… you don't have to tweet about dentistry all the time. Begin to "follow" others. Try following waves of 25 people at a time, rather than instantly following 500. Focus on quality rather than quantity.

  3. Tell the truth about who is tweeting. If the name of the person tweeting is different than the username or name in the profile, tell your followers. For example, if your username is "DrMolarDDS," and in the profile's name section you've entered "Dr. John Molar," people who follow you will expect that Dr. John Molar is actually doing the tweeting. However, if it happens to be Becky, the office manager who is tweeting, stating this will yield far greater results. Tweeters appreciate transparency and authenticity. In the bio section, simply add Becky as the "tweeter-in-charge."

  4. Stay local. As part of a business community, it is important to follow local people and businesses first. There is little benefit to having 5,000 followers if only 100 of them live in your region. Get to know others tweeting in your area. Ask questions about their businesses – in turn, they will take an interest in you and your practice.
Twitter is a great social medium to add to a marketing regime. Build your Twitter community by interacting genuinely. You'll begin to establish new relationships, trust, and rapport with locals, and potentially new patients, one tweet at a time.
Author’s Bio
Rita Zamora is a leader in social media marketing for dental professionals. She has trained dentists, teams, dental consultants, as well as corporations. Rita and her team actively co-manage dozens of dental practice social media programs, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. To learn more visit www.dentalrelationshipmarketing.com.
Dentaltown Magazine
April 2024
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