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

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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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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Signing Up for Twitter
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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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Setting Up Your Twitter Account
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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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Finding People on Twitter: Email
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Twitter – Personal Page
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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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Twitter – Followers
twitter.com/cardiology
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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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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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Twitter Search
http://search.twitter.com
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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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Twitter Terminology: @Replies
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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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Twitter Terminology: RTs
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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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Example -- #Healthreform
http://search.twitter.com
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Example -- #Healthreform
http://www.hashtweeps.com
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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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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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Reading Up on Twitter
• Companies & Organizations
• Southwest Airlines @southwestair
• Mayo Clinic @mayoclinic
• Comcast @comcastcares
• Zappos @zappos
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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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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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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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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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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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American College of
Cardiology’s Advocacy
Department & Twitter

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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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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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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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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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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Any questions?