I’ll be pretty honest – this social media thing is pretty new to me. From LinkedIn to the Blogosphere to Twitterverse, it has all come pretty fast and furious. I find it pretty interesting but I have always joked that I am usually about 10 years beyond the technology. I say all that to say that I am a pretty novice Twitter user. At first blush, it was really hard to see the value. What am I doing? What does that really translate into. Nevertheless, over the past four months or so I have found a lot of value in it’s use. In fact, I’d go say far to say that Twitter is a pretty amazing resource.
Think about it – How many other venues can you:
- Learn about the latest professional blog post
- Meet someone from across the country in your profession
- And discuss the profession
- And discuss a favorite TV show in the same day
- Or meet someone not in your profession
- And discuss something not in your profession…or a favorite TV show
- And learn about additional trends, in and outside of your profession
- And help someone out with a question or thought
- Or get help yourself with a question or thought
- And much more!
I’ll admit it. This whole venue has taken some time to understand and get the hang of. I still don’t understand all the special apps that can help make Twitter even more useful. I am probably still learning proper Twitter “etiquette”. Buthere are some ways that I use Twitter – good, bad, or indifferent:
- Twitter is a great venue to “tweet” blog posts. As a relatively new blogger, this is a great way to inform others of the information that I am sharing. You may have even reached this blog post as a result of a related “tweet”.That being said you have to have followers to “tweet” to. The best blog post broadcast to two followers probably isn’t going to get much traffic. So how do you get followers. Well, I do this a couple of ways.
- One way is to check out who your followers are following and follow them. Chances are some of the interests will be similar. For example, I like to follow others in the medical profession particularly other Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists. So, if I happen to find another Athletic Trainer, I will see who they are following. If the descriptions are of interest, I’ll then follow those other individuals.
- Use Twitter Search(www.search.twitter.com) and search for some keywords or topics that are relevant. For example, in keeping with the Athletic Training theme, I may type in Athletic Training. When the search results come up, I’ll look at those tweets, click on the user profile and then I’ll often follow them.
- I’ll follow others blog post “tweets” and then comment on those blog posts if necessary. I may simply just read the blog post. I may read and then be compelled to comment.
- I’ll comment or reply to those who make comments especially topics of professional or personal interest. For example, if someone I am following makes a comment about the Detroit Lions, I very well may reply to them with a related comment. Someone makes a comment about the latest sports medicine research, I may comment on that. I’ll actively engage in “conversation points” and likewise the practice is often returned as well. This makes for fun , interesting, and engaging “conversation”.
- If someone tweets a blog post or makes a comment worth repeating, I’ll retweet and share this information with others. There is no benefit to keeping great information to myself. If someone has tweeted a great blog post, shared an interesting link, made a thought provoking comment, or simply said something that resonated with me or simply caught my attention, I’ll retweet this for others to see. This is a great way to build rapport and community and goodwill with each other.
- I’ll make comments about professional stuff but about daily life as well. I may comment about the Lions. About the latest therapeutic fad. Or the fact that my kids tease me for using Twitter.
- I’ll reply to others professional or daily comments as well. I may agree with your stance on the Athletic Training Profession. I may wish your daughter a happy birthday. I may lament your favorite college team’s loss.
- I’ll Direct Message (DM) people on occasion if there is something I specifically would like to reply to or address. I’ll use this tool if I simply want to “tweet” directly to someone.
- Honestly, I do a little bit of everything. I post my stuff, respond to others, retweet, talk about professional stuff and non-professional stuff. I communicate in a variety of ways. Everyone is different and uses Twitter differently. In order to communicate with a wide audience of people, I’ll use different communication styles. This allows me to interact with a greater range of people.
(One quick little side note is that Tweetdeck allows you to do all this and more with such greater ease. If you aren’t using this app, I’d highly recommend it. It does really enhance the Twitter experience if you will.)
These are certainly not earth shattering techniques but they are some things that I do. Each of these communication techniques has certainly helped make Twitter much more valuable and interesting.
Here is the way I look at it. When you are working with a doctor or say an athletic trainer or a physical therapist or a patient or an athlete – is the professional task at hand the ONLY thing you discuss. I’d certainly hope not. Of course you discuss a hobby or a sports team or a favorite TV show. This builds rapport. It builds relationship. It shows that you are human.
I envision Twitter the same way. Most people would dismiss Twitter as having no professional value. Well, if you hold this belief, try some of the things above for a month and then judge for yourself. Try using some of the techniques above and I think you’ll see the value.
Before closing let me give you some professional benefits that I have experienced in just the last few months:
- I posed a question to the group about an employee training platform I wanted to learn more about. I got some information from someone that knew a lot more than I did and this helped to greatly assist the project I was working on.
- I’ve met some wonderful people in the Athletic Training profession on Twitter. My company had some job openings in their neck of the woods and they were kind enough to share job posts with their colleagues.
- I met a friend who allowed me to demo a professional product of theirs.
- The research that I have encountered through Twitter has been awesome. I have found countless professional articles and research that has been Tweeted that has expanded my professional thoughts and boundaries.
- I have been able to simply meet several ATCs and Physical Therapists and others in the medical profession that I probably would not have met otherwise. These individuals, through their tweeting, has enhanced me professionally.
- And more instances.
So if you haven’t given it a shot or maybe you haven’t done some of these things, try it out. You certainly aren’t going to gain much sitting on the sideline watching this phenomenon called Twitter pass you by. Trust me, I am about as conservative as they come and it hasn’t killed me yet. What are you waiting for???
You can start by following me.
Photo credit by 7son75
Great insight! I’d never really thought about Twitter as a professional networking tool, though I have started to use Facebook more for this purpose. I always felt what I had to say every minute of the day wasn’t that interesting, but I really like your take on it.
We really are in the information age, and it is all about instant gratification. There seems to be nothing more instant that Tweeting. Haha.
I follow your blog, and now will be joining the Twitter movement!
Keep it up 🙂
Carissa –
Thanks for the comments. I don’t really think there are too many limits with Twitter. Professional, non-professional, and well beyond. There is a lot of flexibility with this venue. I am learning more about it every day.
Take care,
Bill
Great blog. Twitter is an excellent tool to make quick updates in our profession. Being able to use multiple medias to communicate to our athletes, clients, coaches, staff, etc. makes our job just a little easier. Thanks for the sharing.