5 Top Tips – response to “Celebrities and Trolls…the many myths of Twitter for nurses…busted”
These 5 top tips are posted in response to a blog by Teresa Chinn – @AgencyNurse and David Foord @DGFoord listing the virtues and dispelling some myths about using Twitter as a health care professional posted on NHSemployers site.WHY I LOVE TWITTER
I love Twitter and learn so much from it for all the different areas of my life – as a specialist tutor to healthcare students who have dyslexia, dyspraxia or mental health issues, as a researcher, as someone who has dyspraxia, as a vlogger, as an entrepreneur, as a gardener, vegetarian, and cake fiend.
I particularly like the point in the blog describing Twitter as a learning resource and way to keep up-to-date. Utilising Twitter will help any member of any professional body fulfil continuing professional development criteria, and I believe it meets the aims embedded in Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) The Code and the RCN’s of principle of being a lifelong learner.
However, I sometimes feel like a lone voice as the people I teach, support and research with are either not on Twitter or registered but rarely use it, citing the reasons identified as myths in the blog.
A WAY FORWARD?
Therefore, one area I think that could be focused upon is to find ways to encourage and support those already registered to engage with Twitter more actively. After all, they’ve shown interest and taken the time to set up an account and so should be easier to “convert” and, in turn, spread the word about the benefits of Twitter listed in the blog.
In business there is much talk about the importance of getting quality leads, which are the easiest to convert into sales, as they have already expressed an interest in your product. Set-up, but dormant or little-used, Twitter accounts are comparable to these leads. To be even more effective and add to the success of @WeNurses and support @NHSemployers we need to nurture those already on Twitter as they will be the easiest to convert into engaged tweeters having expressed an interest in the product.
Here are 5 Top Tips as to how I try to encourage, support and engage people to wake up those with dormant accounts that you may wish to replicate:
5 TOP TIPS
1. Mailing links that have relevance for specific people (really useful for those with dormant accounts)
2. Quoting tweets and adding the tweet names of those I think it will be of interest to (good for those who check their Twitter occasionally)
3. RT Tweetchat info but add specific twitter names (to engage lurkers)
4. Taking time out to have a 1:1 with an unengaged tweeter to identify the barrier, then offer a myriad of solutions or a 1:1 to their overcome their doubts or concerns (and I will refer them to the NHS employers blog now!)
5. Asking the lurker or newbie to: favourite a tweet, RT, or tweet you back or post one idea on a Tweetchat
OTHER WAYS OF MOVING FORWARD and A PLEDGE
There are of course lots of other tactics to engage others to embrace Twitter and you all have those transferable skills HCPs demonstrate with service users everyday:-communication, problem-solving, modelling, encouraging, educating, listening and adopting a holistic view- to encourage those who have an account, but don’t use it, to engage more. Your skills united with the 5 Top Tips it could make it a winning combination.
- My pledge to get more people tweeting using my 5 Top Tips
Will you will join me? Please comment on this blog or TWEET me @DiverseLearners to let me know.
CONCLUSION
By reading, Retweeting, publicising and mailing and using the 5 top tips to direct others to the NHS employers blog you will highlight that Twitter is a great learning resource and supported by the 5th biggest employer in the world.