By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    private
    Private Exchanges: Getting Ready for Individual Health Insurance to Be the Standard
    January 9, 2014
    valueable healthcare programs
    5 Most Valuable Healthcare Programs in 2023
    March 8, 2023
    Johnson & Johnson to Release Clinical Trial Data in Agreement with Yale Medical School
    February 4, 2014
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Twitter Cheat Sheet: Microblog Quick Guide for Marketing
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Twitter Cheat Sheet: Microblog Quick Guide for Marketing
BusinesseHealthSocial Media

Twitter Cheat Sheet: Microblog Quick Guide for Marketing

Stewart Gandolf
Stewart Gandolf
Share
5 Min Read
twitter
SHARE

Social media platforms have become marketing instruments for patient engagement, service line awareness, new business development and other communications objectives. Each channel has a distinct purpose and personality. This educational series provides marketing professionals, hospital executives and medical practice providers with an overview for social media planning.

What (even how) could you possibly communicate with hundreds of people with a text message of only 140 characters or less?

Way back in 2006, most of us would have blown-off the concept as a meaningless waste of bits and bytes. But Twitter—now the second most popular social media platform by eBizMBA rank—would have proved us mighty wrong. And when Twitter went public seven years later (November, 2013), it had a valuation of over $30 billion, and about 250 million unique monthly visitors. ​​​​​​​And then seven years later after 2013, Twitter made $3.207 billion from advertising in 2020.​​​​​​​

Introduction

As we wrote previously in this series, there is no universal digital tool. You might be surprised to know that there are several dozen microblog services—although most people would be hard pressed to name more than one or two.

More Read

Best Practices for Physician Alignment
Judgment, Fact and Anxiety
Health Business TV: Medical Inflation, Health Kiosks, Home Care Delivered
Addressing Patient Wait-Time Woes
Groups Nationwide to Get Federal Grants to Promote ACA

The immense popularity of social media in general has earned it a vital place in most contemporary healthcare marketing plans. By 2011, “Social media were accessible from virtually anywhere and had become an integral part of our daily lives with more than 550 million people on Facebook, 65 million tweets sent through Twitter each day, and 2 billion video views every day on YouTube,” according to the University of North Carolina’s Brief History of Social Media.

But the limited space allowance of microblogging, plus the rapid pace of the passing text stream, means that Twitter is rarely a stand-alone tactic. Generally, it is most effective in concert with other online and traditional communications tools.  

Twitter’s Mission Statement

“Twitter represents a service shaped by the people, for the people. The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve–and do not detract from–a free and global conversation.” [Twitter IPO filing]

Twitter Particulars

Among the most widely used platforms, Twitter is second only to Facebook. (The constant growth and change in these services produces dynamic numbers.) Twitter’s strength includes immediacy, simplicity, and a large audience. Twitter users most often post personal, work or life-related updates, send direct messages and share photos, videos or re-tweet messages.

  • The brief and fast nature of Tweets plays well with younger demographic groups and seems well suited for quick, real-time and engaging conversations.
  • Although messages are limited to 140 characters, the connections of following/followers is vast, virtually unlimited. (Provided you can attract and retain a large following.)
  • Over 20 million adults in the US access Twitter at least once a month.
  • Some 15% of online adults use Twitter and 8% do so on a typical day. [Pew, Feb 2012]
  • The inclusion of hashtags [#] provides a topical indexing and retrieval system.
  • Twitter tends to have its strongest appeal among the 18-29 year old age group.
  • Statistically, a typical user is female, Hispanic, 20-something and urban.
  • The 55-64 year old age group, however, is the fastest growing demographic segment, up 79% since 2012.
  • Twitter is well suited for Smartphones and mobile devices; now mainstream with social media users. About 75% of active users are on mobile.
  • One in five smartphone owners (20%) are Twitter users, with 13% using the service on a typical day.
  • Twitter’s Vine feature easily integrates brief (6 second) video snippets in the sharing exchange.

Snapshot

Twitter’s place in a marketing plan will, for most applications, be a fast and furious, real-time connection with mobile device users in the younger age categories. Since messages are brief, the content must be interesting, often news-driven, and quickly engaging…usually linked to a blog, website or longer digital format for more information.

What would you add to this outline? How are you using Twitter in your marketing plan? Let us in on any unusual or unique uses of microblogging in social media.

TAGGED:healthcare marketingtwitter
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Medical Marketers
eHealthSocial Media

Digital Ad Messaging Tips and Tricks for Medical Marketers

December 6, 2016

Industry Funded Medical Research and The Integrity of the Scientific Method: Have We Lost Our Way?

October 30, 2012

2015: The Year of Interactive Television for Patients by Patients

January 18, 2015

There’s No Business Like the Healthcare Business

August 5, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?