Social Media is a great way to become engaged in your profession. Not only does it allow you to become a better professional, or in this case a physical therapist, but it helps the profession as a whole expand its reach to consumers, patients and customers across the United States and beyond!. This presentation includes basic information on how to get started in twitter, professionalism/etiquette, and how to be an engaging member in the twitter community.

1. #Twitter
An idiot’s guide to twitter survival
By: Matthew McClain, SPT
Touro University Nevada

3. https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+twitter%3F&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

4. • Twitter is:
– Microblogging
– Social Messaging
– News Reporting
– Social Media Marketing
– Networking*
http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/what-is-twitter.htm

5. Well Matt, that is nice and all but….

7. Why you SHOULD care…
• Fastest source of news and information
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World events can be reported real-time.
Latest updates on practice issues.
Content guided sources
Expert opinion delivering instant answers
• Global networking and communication
• Become a better writer
• Branding
– APTA - “Living” the Brand
• Advertisement
– Clinic
– Profession
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-should-care-about-twitter-2013-9
http://www.trentsalo.com/2/post/2013/06/10-reasons-why-you-shouldcreate-a-twitter-account.html

8. The World Delivered To You Real-Time

9. Physical Therapy News Delivered To You Real-Time

14. Start Following

15. Who should I follow?
• In Twitterverse, following someone is
similar to friending someone on Facebook.
• Ultimately, it depends on YOU!
– Family and friends
– Favorite sports teams/businesses
– Celebrities
– Organizations/Charities
– Etc.

16. #PT Tweeters

17. The list can go on and on and on and on…..

18. Finding who to follow is one thing. Now, how do I get followed?
• Posting = followers
• Following = followers

19. What are lists?
• Lists allow you to group similar people
• You can add people to lists without
following them, they won’t show in your
timeline.
http://ptthinktank.com/dptstudent-tweetchat/

20. Ideas for List
• Classmates
– DPT 870
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PT Journals
Local Community
News
Celebrity Gossip

21. Before we tweet we need to understand our interface
• Home
• Main page that allows you to view tweets real
time.
• @ Connect
• Allows you to see who is replying to you as
well as if your tweet was RT or
• # Discover
• Discover tab surfaces the best content from
around Twitter and is personalized for you.
• Me
• Me is your profile.

22. Sending out your first tweet

23. Basic Twitter Vocab
• Tweet - A tweet is basically whatever you
type using 140 characters or less.
• Retweet - Abbreviated as RT, retweet is
used on Twitter to show you are tweeting
something that was posted by another
user.

24. Basic Twitter Vocab
• Hashtag (#) - A hash tag or hashtag is a
way of organizing your updates for Twitter
search engines. Users prefix a message
with a community-driven hash tag to
enable others to discover relevant posts

25. Basic Twitter Vocab
• @reply - The @reply means a Twitter update (a
tweet) that is directed to another user in reply to
their update. An @reply will be saved in the
user's "Replies" tab. Replies are sent either by
clicking the 'reply' icon next to an update or
typing @ username message

26. Now that we know the basics… What should I tweet?
Here are some examples:

29. Twitter Etiquette
1.
Eat it, think it, but please don't post it
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You’re not a food critic
Does it apply to your readers?
Could a pastor discuss this at his Sunday service?
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If you can’t say it at church you shouldn’t say it on twitter
Upload a professional profile picture
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Selfies are so 2013
Tag your friends with consideration
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Would your friend approve of you posting it?
Take your complaint offline
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Upset? A PM works better.
It's not all about you!
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Twitter is a community not an individual
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-gottsman/social-media-etiquette_b_4548813.html

31. Standards Of Conduct In The Use Of Social Media - APTA
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ALL must be knowledgeable and respectful of patient/client privacy according to
HIPAA.
ALL who use social media should represent their own views and be professional and
accurate in their communications.
Negative behavior reflects back on you and/or the profession.
ALL must know when and how to separate personal and professional life.
All must be knowledgeable on policies for social media at their place of
employment/school.
ALL ultimately have to choose whether to interact with patients on social media
and/or have professional/personal profile.
All shall not misrepresent when speaking for themselves or APTA and
If you come across inappropriate content posted on social media, it is up to you to
bring it to that users attention so they have the chance to remove that comment.
ALL engaging in social media activities shall demonstrate appropriate conduct in
accordance with the Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist and Standards of
Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant
http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/Ethics/StandrdsConductSocialMedia.pdf

33. • We have discussed:
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What is Twitter
Why we care
How to get started
Following and being followed
Lists
Twitter interface
Tweeting
Etiquette/Professionalism
• Now we will discuss
– How to be engaged

34. What does it mean to be engaged in social media?

35. For starters, it doesn’t mean this…

36. Engaging in Social Media
• Engaging in social media is dynamic not
static!
• Involves
– Asking questions
– Responding to tweets
– Interacting outside of your social circle
– Doing more than dropping links/RT
– Challenging others
http://kommein.com/engaging/

37. What is out there for #DPTstudents?
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Practice Areas
#AcutePT
#CardioPulmPT
#GeriatricPT
#ManualPT
#NeuroPT
#OMPT
#OrthoPT
#PainPT
#PediPT
#PelvicMafia
#SportsPT
#WellnessPT
Other Topics
#bizPT
#brandPT
#cashPT
#PTadvoc
#PTscience
#PTtech
#therapycap
Students and Education
#PTedu
#DPTstudent
Global #physicaltherapy Hashtags
#LivePT
#PTfirst
#PThero
#SolvePT
Other Hashtags
#HCSM
#meded
#mHealth
#SocialOrtho
#SportsSafey
http://ptthinktank.com/2013/01/19/physicaltherapy-hashtag-project-2-0/

38. Tweet Chats
• #SolvePT Tuesday 9:00PM EST
• #DPTstudent Wednesday 9:00PM EST
• #SocialOrtho First Wednesday of the
month 9:00PM EST
• #ACLchat Every other Sunday 9:00PM
EST

39. My First Tweet Chat
• Twitter chats, like #DPTstudent, can be
overwhelming at first.
• How to survive
– Do some research
• PT Think Tank
– http://ptthinktank.com/2014/01/06/metacognition-criticalthinking-and-science-based-practice-dptstudent/
– Wait for information/questions to unfold
– Just be you
• Don’t need fancy jargon

40. My First Tweet Chat
• Do’s
– Ask questions
– Be engaged in the
topic
– Post relevant
articles/readings
– Challenge beliefs
– Be open!
• Don’ts
– Post random tweets
• “I like turtles
#dptstudent”
– Be argumentative
– Belittle or insult
someone
– Be one-sided!

41. Twitter @ Professional Meetings
• Twitter has become a popular tool at
professional meetings.
– Live tweeting
• Sparks discussion
• Real time feedback
– Engages audience
– Instant updates
– Brings professionals together

43. The influencers of #CSM2014
It could be
YOU!

44. How to elevate your game in Twitter

48. https://about.twitter.com/products/tweetdeck

49. Closing thoughts
• You should now understand:
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What Twitter is
Why you should care
How to get started
Following and being followed
Lists
Twitter interface
Tweeting
Etiquette/Professionalism
How to be engaged
TweetDeck

50. My thoughts on Twitter
“Twitter is the most addictive and sometimes
annoying social media tool out there. But, it
has allowed me to increase my knowledge
base and interact with other professionals in
my field allowing me to become a BETTER
physical therapist. At the end of the day,
despite it’s addictive spell over me, that is all
that matters… Twitter makes me a BETTER
physical therapist.”

51. So, after everything I have told you today….
You still are not convinced to tweet…
At least you can let everyone know about your bowel movements