Monday, August 2, 2010

Tips for using social media

One of the most useful sessions I attended on the Virtual International Day of the Midwife was Laureen Hudson's presentation about how to use social media. Obviously she was addressing midwives, but the advice she gave has relevance to anyone wanting to how to effectively use tools such as a blog or Twitter account.

Laureen says
It’s not enough to just have online accounts everywhere; you need to have a voice that is unique to you, that gives value to your readers. The way you present yourself online can serve as a sterling reference or as a shocking warning, depending on how you do it.

The advice she gave that stuck in my mind was that you should publish a blog post at least three time a week and send a tweet from Twitter at least four times per day if you want to establish an online following.

Here is the audio recoding of the presentation Laureen gave.


http://blip.tv/file/3882990

4 comments:

Anne Marie Cunningham said...

But why does one need an online following?
To most people this sounds like egotism.

Sarah Stewart said...

I suppose it depends why you are using social media. Laureen works with midwives and consumers to use social media to raise awareness of birth activism - in that context, these people want as large an audience as possible to spread their message.

Anne Marie Cunningham said...

Thanks Sarah:)
This is different to using SM to learn together as part of a network... which is why I would try and encourage others to get involved.
So tips depend on purpose.

Sarah Stewart said...

@AM You still have to 'work' at building a network which takes a dedication to regular blog posts and tweets. You have to have people 'follow' you, just as you follow them in order to be able to have conversations and interactions.