19 Twitter “Thanks” Messages with an Extra Marketing Punch. Feel Free to Use for Your #hcmktg

By Stewart Gandolf, Chief Executive Officer

A Tweet of Thanks

When you jump into the Twitter stream and “Follow” someone, a Direct Message (DM) “Thank You” is a nice touch of connectivity. Establishing and retaining the initial involvement can help providers, hospitals and other healthcare entities keep their Twitter conversation going.

Somehow you feel a little more involved even if the “personal” note is a system-generated auto-response. Computer sincerity (or insincerity) aside, the DM “thanks” which get our attention include a small marketing extra. They squeeze a little more involvement from the precious 140 micro-blog characters.

Auto-response tools are usually an included or low cost option with media dashboards like Hootsuite, Seesmic, TweetDeck and many others. But a cautionary word…no spam permitted here. Direct messages are supposed to be non-commercial, and too many/too often Tweets will quickly result in an Unfollow. Personal and personalized notes are the recommended option.

So here are several--slightly disguised and easily adapted--DM ideas for doing more than just saying “thanks.”

SIMPLE & SINCERE

"You could have picked millions of people to follow...GREAT choice. Thank you."
"Hey there, thank you for the follow. Glad to have you here, and hope to make it worth your time. Cheers."

PERSONALIZED TOUCH

"Thank you for following us [first/last name]! Let us know if you need any help with your marketing."
"Thanks for following, [first name]. Hope you enjoy my tweets!"

LINK TO FACEBOOK

"Great to meet you! Are you on Facebook? Let's connect there [Facebook URL here] to build a network of like-minded people. See you soon!"
"Hey, great we're connected. Let's keep in touch on Facebook. [Facebook URL]"
"We look forward to the conversation! Keep up with us on Facebook too? [Facebook URL] Thank you!"

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

"Thanks for following me. We help [five word self-description]. Visit me on Facebook to learn more [URL]."

CONVERSATION STARTERS

"Thanks. Any Twitter best practice you could recommend?"
"Here is my blog on [medical topic and subjects] for the future. Love your feedback. Thanks. [URL]"

LINK TO FACEBOOK, WEBSITE, LINKEDIN, NEWSLETTER, YOUTUBE AND/OR BLOG

"Please visit [Facebook URL] to learn more about our company and services or visit [company website URL]."
"Thanks for connecting with me! There's more on Facebook at [URL] or connect on LinkedIn [URL]."
"Thank you for following me on Twitter. I am blogging weekly about [subject/topics]. Follow along here: [URL]."
"Hi! Thanks for following us. Connect with us on Facebook too [URL] and sign up for our newsletters."

LINK TO FREE STUFF

"THX! Get the New Report: [title of report, white paper]. [URL]"
"Much appreciated. Thought you might enjoy this free [ebook, podcast, online course] about [topic/subject]. [URL]"

A BRIBE FOR A LIKE

"Thanks for connecting! "Like" us on Facebook and get entered to win an iPad [URL]."

OR…JUST A SMILE

"Hi! The secret to massive instant wealth is.... Oooo, look, a pretty butterfly!"

As a bonus idea in this category, click through to our previous post about a clever Twitter technique, the “know you better survey.” And from the free Healthcare Success Library, there are more Twitter Tips in this longer reference article.

Of course, you'll have our thanks for following us on Twitter @hcsuccess and @stewartgandolf.