Trying to find a business (or just any) use for Twitter? [pt. 1]

Post by Guest Blogger Jason Lander of ShiftWise

I’m guessing you never thought you would use the word “tweet” when referring to any aspect of your business. But for many of us this word has become part of our everyday vocabulary.

For those of you that haven’t heard of Twitter (no it is not the cool new electronic toy your child wants for Christmas), it is a service that lets people communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages that are limited to 140 characters. You can post these messages directly on twitter or with a text message or mobile app through your cell phone.

Seems strange yes? I thought so at first too. It took me about 30 days to figure out Twitter but once I did it became an indispensable part of my life. It’s all about connecting to a community or group of friends and participating in order to ask questions, share information or advice, post news articles, self-promote, communicate your whereabouts or activities, or make new acquaintances.

Here is a good beginners guide to Twitter if you want to understand more.

I’ve been using Twitter for several months now but have been recently intrigued by the potential business opportunities for the healthcare staffing industry that exist with Twitter. Business opportunities with 140 character posts? Yes. Read on.

I created a Staffing Robot Twitter Page only a few short months ago and already I'm following 235 members and have 128 followers. Many of these people are participants in the healthcare staffing industry – hospitals, staffing suppliers, healthcare professionals, etc. By connecting with these people I’ve been able to get helpful industry information such as: learning about innovative hospitals, finding suppliers posting job openings for healthcare professionals and finding nurses frustrated with trying to find a job.

Sounding more interesting? I hope so.

So your next question might be how did I find all of these members on Twitter? The answer is I’m magic and not going to tell you. At least not until part 2 of this post so stay tuned. For now though, I will show you (in the video below) how to set up a Twitter account for your hospital, medical staffing agency or for yourself.

Jason Lander is VP of Business Development for ShiftWise. For more of Jason's posts, you can visit his blog, the Staffing Robot.