Recently David Sparks, journalist, producer, and owner of Spark Media Solutions, put together “How to Trend on Twitter,” a guide on how to create a trending topic on Twitter. While this guide is applicable for all types of businesses and industries, there are several take-aways that healthcare, as well as insurance, technology and professional services firms, could utilize.

Here are three suggestions from the guide:

1. Ask a question, pose a challenge. For example why is it important to know cholesterol numbers? Your tweet will be the answer to which your followers provide the answer, like the game, Jeopardy. For this to work, the tweeter needs to have the opportunity to be funny, tell a personal story, express an opinion, or recommend something they do or don’t like.
2. Create a contest for a prize at a live event, for example a health fair. The winner selection can be any number of ways. David suggests picking your favorite tweet. Make sure everyone knows how the winner will be selected and that there’s a time limit. Let them enter as many times as they like. Advertise the contest by tweeting and putting it on signs or flyers at the event.
3. If you are looking to get retweets in your time zone, then send your tweet out at 4:00pm, when Twitter activity is highest. On the other hand, if you are looking for broad nationwide exposure, tweet at 9:00am, 1:00pm and 4:00pm Pacific time

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with your tweets, contact Scott Public Relations.

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