This is a presentation I gave in June 2009 to the Public Affairs Council on how to use Twitter and how we utilize it at the American College of Cardiology.

1. Public Affairs in 140 Characters or Less:
Develop Your Twitter Strategy
Molly Nichelson
American College of Cardiology
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: mnichels@acc.org
Phone: (202) 375-6470
Twitter: @Cardiology
DM# 361101 1

2. Items of Discussion
• What is Twitter
• Creating Your Account
• Finding People on Twitter
• How to Message on Twitter
• Twitter Applications
• Twitter Terminology
• Reading up on Twitter
• Best Practices and Advice
• How the ACC uses Twitter
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3. What is Twitter?
twitter.com
• Web-based SMS message system
– Think text messaging
– 140 characters
• Public / Private message setting
• People ‘follow’ your tweets / messages
– And you can ‘follow’ their tweets / messages
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4. Signing Up for Twitter
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5. Setting Up Your Twitter Account
• Pick a user name
– Short & concise
• Fill out your biography
– Include your / your company’s name
– Contact information
• Make sure you upload a photo
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6. Setting Up Your Twitter Account
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7. Finding People on Twitter
• Use the Twitter “Find People” tab
• Search by name of person/organization
• Search via your Google, Yahoo and/or AOL
email account
• Invite them to join via email with your Twitter
account
• Twitter suggested users
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8. Finding People on Twitter: Email
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9. Twitter – Personal Page
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10. Finding People on Twitter
• Poach other people’s followers
– Best way
– Read their tweets before you follow
• Search what people are tweeting (words &
hashtags) & follow them
– http://search.twitter.com
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11. Twitter – Followers
twitter.com/cardiology
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12. Twitter Applications
• Sending Your Tweets:
– Computer
• Tweetdeck: http://tweetdeck.com/beta/
• Seesmic: http://desktop.seesmic.com/
• Hootsuite: http://www.hootsuite.com
– Blackberry
• Twitterberry: http://
www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/
– iPhone
• Tweetie: http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/
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13. Twitter Applications
• Feeding your RSS feeds to Your Twitter
Account:
– Ping.fm – http://ping.fm
– Tweetlater – http://tweetlater.com
– Hootsuite -- http://hootsuite.com
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14. Twitter Search
http://search.twitter.com
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15. Twitter Terminology: @ Replies
• An @reply is a public message from one
person to another, using the person’s
Twitter username
• A person doesn’t need to follow you (or
vice versa) in order to send you an @reply
• The @replies can be found at your
username on the right side
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16. Twitter Terminology: @Replies
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17. Twitter Terminology:
RT (Retweets)
• RT is short for ‘re-tweet’. It’s a way a
follower reposting your tweet.
• A person will put RT in front of the tweet
• Another way of RTing, is to complete the
message, and say (via @username)
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18. Twitter Terminology: RTs
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19. Twitter Terminology: Hashtag
• Use a hashtag (#) before a word in a post
allows you to tag that post for that word
• This allows your word to be more readily
searched
• Can help bring you new followers and help
you find more followers
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20. Example -- #Healthreform
http://search.twitter.com
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21. Example -- #Healthreform
http://www.hashtweeps.com
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22. Reading Up on Twitter
• Social Media Websites
• http://mashable.com/
• http://www.smartbrief.com/
• http://www.twitip.com/
• http://www.readwriteweb.com/
• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
• http://social-media-university-global.org/
• http://beth.typepad.com/ (for non-profits)
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23. Reading Up on Twitter
• ePolitics Websites
• http://techpresident.com/
• http://personaldemocracy.com/
• http://tweetcongress.org
• http://twitterroom.thehill.com/
• http://www.epolitics.com/
• http://www.nextgov.com/
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24. Reading Up on Twitter
• Companies & Organizations
• Southwest Airlines @southwestair
• Mayo Clinic @mayoclinic
• Comcast @comcastcares
• Zappos @zappos
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25. Best Practices & Advice
• Test out Twitter with your own account
before doing one for work
– Make it private if you have to
– Test it with friends & coworkers
• Get familiar with the Twitter applications
– Like iPhone apps, there are *many* of them,
and they change often
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26. Best Practices & Advice
• Know that you WILL make mistakes
• You will NOT have full control
• Use your own voice
– Don’t turn your Twitter account in to an RSS
feed
– Be a HUMAN behind your account
• Give something of value to your audience
– Coupons, advice, articles, thanks
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27. Best Practices & Advice
• And know when you send a tweet, it’s out
there forever…and it’s searchable!
– http://search.twitter.com
– http://tweleted.com/
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28. Best Practices & Advice
• Following & Followers
– Be judious, but don’t be a snob either
– Don’t get freaked out by who’s following you
– If someone is wacky, block them
– And did I mention there are reporters on
Twitter…and they may follow you?
• http://journalistsontwitter.wetpaint.com/
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29. Best Practices & Advice
• Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!
– Don’t throw stuff out and then don’t react;
monitor your account and who’s following you
– Have an RSS feed on your #hashmarks &
company’s name
• http://search.twitter.com
– See what’s popular on Twitter
• Trending topics
• http://tweetmeme.com/
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30. American College of
Cardiology’s Advocacy
Department & Twitter

31. How We Started
• Created account in Oct. 2007
• Was excited about the grassroots
potential, but didn’t know the technology
– Way to get to busy members
– Connect with other healthcare leaders
• Started with my own account
– Took me 6 months – 1 year to feel
comfortable
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32. How We Started
• Attended the Public Affairs Council
Meeting in 2009 & learned more about
social media
– Now had the gumption to talk to boss & big
boss about it
– They have a lot of trust me in me, but didn’t
know a lot about the technology
– Said to go ahead with Twitter
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33. How We Started
• Annual Meeting 2009
– Sat down with Communications folks
– Started Twittering in late February 2009
• Literally two weeks before annual meeting we met
• Social Media Strategy Policy @ the ACC
– Still a work in progress
– No formal guideline or document but one is
being drafted
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34. How We Use Twitter
• Send news articles
– Show that we’re on top of the health system
reform debate
• Members
• Media
• Other healthcare groups
• RSS feed
– CEO’s blog (Lewin Report)
– Medical education website (Cardiosource)
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35. How We Use Twitter
• Highlight member and advocacy
achievements
• Interact with members of Congress
– http://tweetcongress.org
• Still teaching our members about Twitter
– Nothing formally announced but we do
include the Twitter account in alerts
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36. Any questions?