Getting started
on Twitter
Follow @theRCN
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Why tweet?
Social media is here to stay. Half of the UK
population use Facebook, around a third use
Twitter and YouTube is the country’s second
most popular search engine.
Not using social media potentially means ignoring
a huge group of people who could be finding out
about and championing the work that you do.
The people, places and organisations that matter
to you are already on Twitter. It’s an effective way
to recruit new members, campaign for change,
meet nursing professionals and raise awareness
of the difference you make.
But remember, your tweets can be seen and
shared by others so don’t post anything that
could be perceived as bringing your patients,
profession, regulator or employer into disrepute.
Register
Sign up for a free account at twitter.com. Select
an @username. This is your Twitter identity
and should include your name or something to
identify you. Complete your profile with a picture
and some information about yourself: lead nurse,
keen walker, etc.
Once registered, search for accounts to follow
and interact with. Twitter will suggest accounts
based on your interests and personal information.
Alternatively, use the search bar to discover
people, places and organisations.
Follow, retweet
and favourite
Similar to a Facebook friend, if you follow
someone on Twitter, it means their tweets will
appear on your live feed. Don’t be afraid to follow
people who interest you, even if you don’t know
them – they might follow you back.
When you find something interesting, retweet
(RT) it. This will repost the tweet onto your own
timeline for all of your followers to see. Popular
posts are retweeted in large numbers and seen
by lots of people.
Add comments to messages you retweet, reply
to start a conversation or use the favourite button
to show you approve of a tweet.
Mentions
Including the @username of another Twitter user
in your tweet is called a mention. The account
included in your tweet will get a notification to alert
them. You don’t have to follow or be followed by
someone to mention them.
Remember, if you include the @username at the
beginning of a tweet, it will only be visible to people
who follow you and the person you are tweeting.
If you want your tweet to be visible to all of your
followers, add a full stop before the @username or
include the @username in the middle of the tweet.
#Hashtags
Use hashtags to tag a particular word or set of
words within a tweet. This is usually the theme of
the tweet such as #WorldCup or #RoyalBaby.
Including a hashtag before a word or phrase will
turn it into a clickable link. Clicking on a hashtag will
display all of the tweets about this topic worldwide.
Your tweet is part of a much wider conversation
on Twitter. Other users can discover your account,
tweet or follow you and share what you have said.
The most-used hashtags are known as trending
topics and often reflect the big news story of
the day.
Direct messages
All tweets are public, and other users can see
who you have been talking to on your profile.
For private conversations, use Twitter’s direct
messaging facility.
Direct messages can only be exchanged by
people who follow each other, unless you allow
messages from all users.
Search and
discover
Use Twitter search to find people, organisations,
hashtags or key words.
You can also use Twitter’s discover feature to
find news stories and trending topics that are
relevant to you.
Twitter top tips
Tweets are 140 characters long but
remember to leave 23 characters free to
insert a picture and the same for a link.
Don’t be afraid to abbreviate but make
sure users can understand what you post.
Hashtags are important, but don’t use
them for every word – save them for the
important stuff. Use pictures to get your
tweets noticed.
Increase your followers by interacting with
your audience. Ask questions and speak
to people. Don’t be afraid to follow others.
Tweets are public. Be yourself but don’t
tweet anything you wouldn’t want your
manager or a journalist to read.
October 2015
Publication code: 005 031
G