Some were ‘lurking’ on Twitter but lacked the confidence to become actively engaged.
Who? Aimed at all staff in the trust with an interest for social media.
When and where? Lunchtime, one hour in the library.
How? Victoria and I have an active presence on Twitter and between us several years of social media experience.
We created an invitation and sent it out on other social media platforms.
We agreed the content of the session with the head of communications to ensure they were on board with our initiative.
On the day 4 people attended. The session was friendly and informal; we talked about what to tweet, why use Twitter, who to follow, explanation of the icons, top Twitter tips, trust policy and guidance, and guidance from professional bodies.
Lessons learned and feedback We have had some positive feedback from session participants. One participant has moved from lurking to actively tweeting and reports a positive impact on her professional profile.
If we were to run the session again we would ensure hospital staff have the app downloaded on their phone beforehand, and their user name at the ready.
We would like to take the session out into clinical areas rather than expecting staff to come to us.