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1100 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 350,
Schaumburg, IL 60173 • 847-264-5930
How-To Guide for Social Media
Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging) can be an effective way to raise
awareness and provide education and resources to constituents. Twitter in particular is a quick
and easy way to push information and engage with constituents. Twitter is an online social
networking service and microblogging service that allows users to send and read text-based
messages of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”, and “follow” or “be followed” by other
members. Users can also group or link posts together to a specific topic, by using the hashtag (#)
symbol, or interact and connect with other users using the at sign (@). Tweets can keep your
constituents informed and up-to-date on a variety of topics or issues and can be used to generate
or show support for particular issues.
According to Twitter, the following tips will help generate the most visible tweets:
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Posts between 1 PM and 3 PM generally see the most user engagement.
Twitter typically sees higher volumes of users earlier in the week, tapering off by Friday.
Use of hashtags can generate increased user interaction, as other users who are interested
in the specific topic will also see your tweet.
By following individuals or organizations that are either like you or interested in similar
topics, you can generate increased user interaction.
Suggested Hashtags:
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#DontSwitchMe
#[bill number]
Suggested Tweets for Bill Introduction:
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I have introduced #[bill number] to help protect patients from risky and unnecessary
medication changes. #DontSwitchMe
[COSPONSOR HANDLE] Thank you for cosponsoring #[bill number] and helping to
keep treatment decisions in the hands of physicians.
1100 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 350,
Schaumburg, IL 60173 • 847-264-5930
Suggested Awareness Tweets:
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Changing a stable patient’s medication can lead to unintended health consequences and
drive up healthcare costs #DontSwitchMe
I urge my colleagues to support [#BILL] and help ensure that the choice of treatment is
solely decided by the patient & provider.
[INSERT STATE] patients need legislation to protect them from unnecessary medication
switching. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/xlinkxx
Treatment decisions for patients should be determined by their doctors, not insurance
bottom lines. [#Bill] #DontSwitchMe
Switching patient medications for non-medical reasons could jeopardize health and
increase costs. I support [#BILL]