GeigerBevolo Inc. 

How many times have you tweeted for your organization today? Once? Twice? Not at all? I’m going to go out on a limb and bet 99.9 percent of healthcare marketers have not tweeted for their organization… ever. Do you know what it means to tweet? No? Could I squeeze more questions in one paragraph? Maybe.

Twitter is an online service that allows people to share short messages (tweets) with their friends, family, colleagues and the world. It’s kind of like e-mail, but not really. It’s kind of like an instant messenger, but not really. It’s kind of like text messaging, but not really. It’s a method of communication that’s unique, addictive and gaining in popularity every day — every minute may be more accurate.

Tweets serve a different purpose than the aforementioned methods of text-based communication. With e-mail, IMs and text messages, you’re probably expecting a response or some sort of action. Maybe you sent a text message to your spouse’s phone to pick up some milk on the way home. Maybe you e-mailed a vendor asking for an update on a project. Perhaps you IM’d an offsite colleague, needing a quick response to a burning question. With Twitter you post your thoughts (in 140 characters or less). That’s it.

I know what you’re thinking. Why the (insert expletive) would I do that? The answer is simple: Many people actually care.

Take a moment to check out twistori.com. This service “taps” into the vast stream of tweets spewing from the minds and fingers of people across the world. Choose a category on the left, such as “Love.” Now, watch an endless flow of Tweets containing the word “love” flood your screen. These are coming to you in real time. The twitterers sharing these thoughts literally hit the enter key the second before you read their comment. Maybe I’m a complete nutjob, but I found myself lost in these random thoughts for… I’m… not sure… how long…

OK I’m back.

Twitterers can chose to password protect their comments or leave them exposed to the world. Most are left exposed — intentionally. One of the points of tweeting is to say, “Hey world! This is how I feel right now!” Twistori scans all exposed feeds and filters them by category. I use it simply as an example of how captivating even thoughts from random strangers can be.

Imagine if your friends and family were Tweeting. Wouldn’t it be cool to receive a continuous flow of thoughts from those you care about? You don’t even need to be at your computer. You can post and read tweets from mobile phones, instant messengers, e-mail programs and the Twitter site itself. It’s up to you. You might be thinking, “I don’t want to see all that! I don’t have time to respond!” The point is not necessarily to respond — though some Tweets may warrant a response. It’s just to keep you connected on a very personal level with those who care about you.

“Starbucks coffee is so much better than Caribou.”

“The tulips are popping up around the tree out front. I just love spring!”

“I shouldn’t have put my taxes off for so long! I have a headache.”

Those are tweets. They keep you connected, but don’t necessarily distract you from your day. They simply give you a quick slice of someone’s life. In an age when it’s hard to find time to stay connected, twitter is truly a revolution.

So, how do you use this method of communication in healthcare marketing? I can’t give you the answer. But I can assure you that it has a place. Without question, members of your community are tweeting. Perhaps referring physicians too. Other industries are using it. Perhaps they could help get your wheels turning.

Be sure to let us know when you’ve started. Happy tweeting!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Social Networking, Marketing, Interactive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.