FNCE Reflections -- Maria Winebrenner

"Time to Socialize:  The In’s and Out’s of Twitter, Pintrest, LinkedIn and Facebook.” 

 As someone new to the world of Twitter, I attended this 2012 FNCE session presented by Bonnie Taub-Dix and Keri Gans to get a little more insight what the “deal is” with Twitter.  I came in only knowing the bare bones of Twitter, not having a single clue on what to do with Pintrest and only being a long time member of Facebook and LinkedIn.    I was happily surprised to be completely engaged by what these two fantastic speakers had to say. 

They reviewed everything from how to sign up for Twitter, getting your profile started, and the “in’s and out’s” of tweeting and tweeting etiquette.  On top of that, they revealed the secrets to integrating multiple social networking sites to successfully promote yourself, your brand or your food and nutrition knowledge.   It blew my mind how simple these sites are to use and how they can propel an everyday RD into the spotlight of top nutrition influencers. 

 Some top tips I learned from these social savvy ladies include: 

·         Stay up-to-date - Spend a few minutes everyday seeing what other RDs and nutrition/health professionals are saying.  This can help keep you in the loop.

·         Short and Sweet Tweets - In the world of social media, you only have a limited number of words (or characters) in which to get your point across and to keep people reading.  Be mindful of run-on or lengthy sentences.

·         Engage – It’s not enough just to send out interesting tweets or Facebook status messages.  You have to interact with other users and your potential audience.  Comment on interesting or controversial comments and give shout outs to your favorite RD’s!

 I have every intention of putting all these tips and more into practice immediately!  It seems crazy not to when there are millions of potential followers out there.  Keri and Bonnie really sparked some serious excitement in me to get out there and start being a positive nutrition influence!