social media toolkit - cdc

8/4/2019 Social Media Toolkit - CDC

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SocialMediaIntroduction

SocialMediaOverview 1

GettingYourFeetWetWithSocialMedia 1

GoverningSocialMediaEfforts 2

CDCsTopLessonsLearnedfromUsingSocialMedia 3

DevelopingaSocialMediaStrategy 5

SocialMediaTools

ButtonsandBadges 8

ImageSharing 9

ContentSyndication 11

RSSFeeds 12

Podcasts 13

OnlineVideoSharing 15

Widgets 18

eCards 19

ElectronicGames 21

MobileHealth 22

Microblogs 25

Blogs 28

SocialNetworkingSites 32

VirtualWorlds 35

SocialMediaCampaignExample

20092010H1N1andSeasonalFluOutbreakCampaign 37

MoreSocialMediaResources 45

SocialMediaCommunicationsStrategyWorksheet 46

SocialMediaEvaluationWorksheet 49

References 52

Aguidetousingsocialmediatoimprovereachofhealthmessages,increase

accesstoyourcontent,furtherparticipationwithaudiencesandadvance

transparencytoimprovehealthcommunicationefforts.

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SOCIALMEDIAINTRODUCTION

SocialMediaOverview

Inthelastseveralyears,theuseofFacebook,YouTube,Twitter,andothersocialmediatoolsto

disseminatehealthmessageshasgrownsignificantly,andcontinuestotrendupward.Using

socialmediatoolshasbecomeaneffectivewaytoexpandreach,fosterengagement,and

increaseaccesstocredible,sciencebasedhealthmessages.Socialmediaandotheremerging

communicationtechnologiescanconnectmillionsofvoicesto:

Increasethetimelydisseminationandpotentialimpactofhealthandsafetyinformation.

Leverageaudiencenetworkstofacilitateinformationsharing.

Expandreachtoincludebroader,morediverseaudiences.

Personalizeandreinforcehealthmessagesthatcanbemoreeasilytailoredortargeted

toparticularaudiences.

Facilitateinteractivecommunication,connection,andpublicengagement.

Empowerpeopletomakesaferandhealthierdecisions.

Inotherwords,integratingsocialmediaintohealthcommunicationcampaignsandactivities

allowshealthcommunicatorstoleveragesocialdynamicsandnetworkstoencourage

participation,conversation,andcommunityallofwhichcanhelpspreadkeymessagesand

influencehealthdecisionmaking.Socialmediaalsohelpstoreachpeoplewhen,where,and

howtheywanttoreceivehealthmessages;itimprovestheavailabilityofcontentandmay

influencesatisfactionandtrustinthehealthmessagesdelivered.Likewise,tappingintopersonal

networksandpresentinginformationinmultipleformats,spaces,andsourceshelpstomake

messagesmorecredibleandeffective.The2009EdelmanTrustBarometerfoundthat60%of

informedpublicsaged25to64yearsneedtoseeamessagethreetofivetimesbeforethey

believetheinformationtobetrue. Inaddition,peoplealsoneedtoseethemessagesfromboth

expertsandpeers(Edelman,2009).

GettingYourFeetWetWithSocialMedia

Thereareavarietyofsocialmediatoolsthatcanbeutilizedaspartofanintegratedhealth

communicationsprogram.Toolsrangefromeasilydownloadableproducts,suchasbuttonsand


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GoverningSocialMediaEfforts

Itisimportanttoestablishstructure,policies,andleadershipatyourorganizationtomore

effectivelymanagesocialmedia. Atsomepointafteryoustartusingsocialmedia,itisagood

ideatoestablishboardsandcouncilstodevelopguidance,policies,standards,and

recommendationsaroundtheuseofsocialmediaatyourorganization.Theresourcesbelow

mayguideyouinestablishingyourownpolicies.

GovernanceResources:

GovernmentSocialMediasWeb2.0GovernancePoliciesandBestPractices

Wiki:http://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web20GovernancePoliciesandBestPractices

SocialMediaGovernance.comsOnlineDatabaseof

Policies:http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

CDCsTopLessonsLearnedfromUsingSocialMedia

Overthelastfouryears,theCDCsocialmediateamhaslearnedanumberoflessonswewanted

tosharewithyou. Wehopetheselessonswillhelpothersindeveloping,implementingand

evaluatingstrongsocialmediaattheirorganizations.

1. MakeStrategicChoicesandUnderstandtheLevelofEffortBestrategicandfollowdemographicanduserdatatomakechoicesbasedonaudience,

communicationsobjectives,andkeymessages.Besuretoassessthelevelofeffortneeded

tomaintainthesechannelsandensureyouhavethenecessarytimeandefforttocommitto

yourefforts.Often,theresourcesneededtostartandmaintainsocialmediaprojectsare

differentthantraditionalcommunicationefforts.

2. GoWherethePeopleAreSocialmediacanhelpreachpeoplewheretheyaremillionsofpeopleusesocialmediaand

spendalotoftimeinthesespaceslearning,sharing,andinteracting.Thepopularityofkey

socialmediasitescanbeassessedbyreviewinguserstatisticsanddemographics.

Additionally,thereareseveralnichesocialnetworkingsitesthattargetspecificgroups,like
http://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practiceshttp://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.phphttp://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.phphttp://govsocmed.pbworks.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practices


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moms,physicians,orracialandethnicgroups,orsitesthatfocusonaparticulartopiclike

travelorhealth.

3. AdoptLowRiskToolsFirstIfyouarestartingoutandfindingresistancetousingsocialmediaamongyour

communicationteamorstakeholders,itmaybehelpfultofirstadoptlowrisksolutionsand

laterbuildonyoursuccesses.Productssuchaspodcasts,videos,andwidgetsareeasily

downloadable,andcanbeaccessedfrompartnersitesandpostedonyourwebsite.

4. MakeSureMessagesAreSciencebasedAswithanyeffectivehealthcommunication,messagesdevelopedfordisseminationthrough

socialmediachannelsshouldbeaccurate,consistent,andsciencebased.

5. CreatePortableContentDevelop

portable

contentsuch

as

widgets

and

online

videosthat

can

easily

extend

reach

beyondyourwebsitetoprovidecredible,timely,andaccuratecontentforpartnersand

otherswhowanttohelpspreadyourhealthmessages.

6. FacilitateViralInformationSharingMakeiteasyforpeopletoshareyourmessagesandbecomehealthadvocates.Thiscanbe

accomplishedbyusingsocialmediasitessuchasFacebookandYouTubethatencourage

sharingamongusers,oryoucanusetoolswithsharingfeatures,likewidgetsoreCards.

7. EncourageParticipationSocialmediaallowsforthetailoringofmessagestohelpexpressempathyandacknowledge

concern,promoteaction,andlistentowhatpeoplearesayingabouthealthrelatedtopicsin

yourcommunity.Twowayconversationscanfostermeaningfulcommunicationwithyour

audiencesthatcanhelptofacilitaterelationships,sharing,andinteraction.

8. LeverageNetworksSocialmediaallowspeopletoeasilyestablishnetworksthattheycanaccessonaregular

basis.Forexample,FacebookreportstheaverageFacebookuserhas130friends,ora

networkof130peoplewithwhomtheycaneasilyshareinformation,andmaychooseto

shareyourhealthmessages(Facebook.2010).Bystrategicallyleveragingtheseestablished

networksyoucanfacilitateinformationsharingandinturn,expandthereachofyour

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9. ProvideMultipleFormatsProvidingmessagesinmultipleformatsincreasesaccessibility,reinforcesmessages,and

givespeopledifferentwaystointeractwithyourcontentbasedontheirlevelof

engagementandaccesstomedia.

10.ConsiderMobilePhonesOverninetypercentofadultsinAmericasubscribetomobileservices.Therefore,mobile

technologiessuchastextmessagingandmobilewebsitesofferanopportunitytorapidly

reachalargepercentageofyouraudiencemembersnomatterwheretheyare.

11.SetRealisticGoalsSocialmediacanraiseawareness,increaseausersknowledgeofanissue,changeattitudes,

andpromptbehaviorchangeindynamic,personalized,andparticipatoryways.However,

like

traditional

communication,

social

media

alone

may

not

be

able

to

meet

all

of

your

communicationgoalsoraddressallofthetargetaudiencesneeds. Setyourgoals

accordingly.

12.LearnfromMetricsandEvaluateYourEffortsDigitalcommunicationsoffermanymetricsthatyoucanusetofocusandimproveyour

communicationsefforts.Metricscanhelpyoutoreportusage,monitortrends,andgauge

thesuccessofspecificpromotionsoroutreachefforts.Beyondsimplemetrics,socialmedia

effortscanalsobeevaluatedbymeasuringtheuseofinformation,engagement,and

participationofpeoplewithyourcontent,anditshealthimpact. Monitoringtrendsand

discussionsonsocialmedianetworkscanalsobeavaluablewaytobetterunderstand

currentinterest,knowledgelevels,andpotentialmisunderstandingsormythsaboutyour

healthtopic.

DevelopingaSocialMediaStrategy

Asocialmediacommunicationstrategyshouldbeonlyonepartofalargercommunication

effort,andsocialmedianeedstobeintegratedintooverallcommunicationplanning,activities

anddatacollection.Therefore,overarchingcommunicationgoalsshouldbeconsideredwhen

developingsocialmediaactivities.Aswithallmediaoutreach,thekeystoeffectivesocialmedia

outreachareidentifyingtargetaudience(s),determiningobjective(s),knowingoutlet(s)and

decidingontheamountofresources(timeandeffort)thatcanbeinvested.However,with


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socialmediamoreinformationcanbeobtainedthroughaparticularmediachanneltohelpbuild

yourstrategy.Forexample,withsocialmediayoucanlistentoconversationsinrealtime,and

identifyinfluencersandfans.Youcanbetterunderstandaudienceneedsinspecificsocialmedia

spacesandengageusersinnewways.

Havingclearcommunicationobjectiveswillhelpbuildyourstrategy.Forexample,youwill

probablyneeddifferentstrategiesforeachcampaign.Becausetheobjectivesforeachcampaign

aredifferent,thewayyouexchangeideas,collaboratewithpartners,orencouragebehavior

changewillalsobedifferent. Likewise,understandingyouraudience(s)willhelpyoudetermine

thechannelselectionandhowyouusespecificchannels. Peopleaccessinformationindifferent

ways,atdifferenttimesoftheday,andfordifferentreasons.Definingyouraudienceneeds

using

market

research,

metrics,

and

other

data

will

be

important

to

determining

the

channels

youwanttouse.Eachchannelisdifferentandhasdifferingengagement,content,and

communitynorms. Understandingthewaypeoplenaturallyuseorparticipateinsocialmedia

channelsisalsoveryhelpfulindeterminingyourstrategy.

Resources:

SocialMediaCommunicationsStrategyWorksheetonpage46.

"KnowingYourAudience&DoingMarketResearch"from

Webcontent.gov:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/improving/evaluating/audience.shtml

PewInternetandAmericanLifeProject:http://www.pewinternet.org/

CDCeHealthDataBriefs:http://www.cdc.gov/HealthMarketing/ehm/databriefs/
http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/improving/evaluating/audience.shtmlhttp://www.usa.gov/webcontent/improving/evaluating/audience.shtmlhttp://www.pewinternet.org/http://www.pewinternet.org/http://www.cdc.gov/HealthMarketing/ehm/databriefs/http://www.cdc.gov/HealthMarketing/ehm/databriefs/http://www.pewinternet.org/http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/improving/evaluating/audience.shtml


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SOCIALMEDIATOOLS

CDCusessocialmediatoprovideuserswithaccesstocredible,sciencebasedhealth

informationwhen,where,andhowuserswantit.Avarietyofsocialmediatoolsareusedto

reinforceandpersonalizemessages,reachnewaudiences,andbuildacommunication

infrastructurebasedonopeninformationexchange.Therearethreekeyattributesofsocial

mediachannelsthatarebelievedtomakethemhighlyeffectiveashealthcommunicationtools:

Personalizationcontenttailoredtoindividualneeds.

Presentationtimelyandrelevantcontentaccessibleinmultipleformatsandcontexts.

Participationpartnersandthepublicwhocontributecontentinmeaningfulways.

Additionally,manysocialmediachannelsfacilitatesocialengagement,viralsharingof

information,andtrust.

Thereareanumberofsocialmediatoolsthatyoucanutilizeinyourhealthcommunications

activitiesmorethanwhatislistedhere,infact.Whilewedidnotcovereverysocialmediatool

available,thissectionofthetoolkitshouldprovideyouwithanunderstandingofawiderangeof

socialmediatoolsCDCandothersinpublichealthhavesuccessfullyusedinemergency

responseefforts,majorcampaigns,andotherhealthcommunication,promotionandmedia

efforts.


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ButtonsandBadges

WhatareButtonsandBadges?

Buttonsaregraphicelementsthat

usuallyincludeanimage,ashort

calltoactionmessage,andalink

formoreinformation.Theyare

oftencreatedtobeshared,and

includeHTMLcodethatallows

themtobepostedonawebsite.

Badgesarealsosmallgraphic

imagesthatincludeamessageand

linktoawebpage.However,

badgesareoftenpostedonan

individual'ssocialnetworkprofile

orpersonalblogtoshowsupportfororaffiliationwithacauseor

issue,andmayincludemessages

thatshowapersonalactionwas

taken(e.g."Igottested."instead

of"Gettested.")(Centersfor

DiseaseControlandPrevention,

2010a).

CDChasalargegalleryofbuttonsandbadges,small

webgraphicsorimages,whichcanbeutilizedby

partnerstosharehealthinformationabout

campaignsandcausesonline.Gotoourgallery

whichincludesgraphicsonanumberofhealth

topics,includingspecificcampaignsandnational

publichealthactivities. Toaddabuttonorbadgeto

yourwebsite,socialnetworkingprofileorblog,

simplycopyandpastethecodeassignedtothe

imageinthegallery.

Buttonsandbadgescanhelppromoteactivitiesand

increaseawarenessabouthealthtopics,andcanbe

producedfairlyeasilyandwithlittleresources.CDCprovidesguidanceandbestpractices

forcreatingbuttonsandbadges. (ThelinkislistedinResourcesectionbelow.)

SixSimpleTipstoCreatingGreatCampaignImages:

1. Creategraphicsinseveralsizes,includingstandardadsizes,andsizesdevelopedspecifically

foryourwebpages.

2. Writeasimple,yetcatchy,healthmessagethatstandsalone.

3. Usecolorfulandattractiveimagesordesignsthatcanbeviewedonanumberofsitesandin

anumberofsizes.

4. BesuretoincludeaURLontheimageandalinkbacktoyourwebsite.

5. Promotetheuseoftheimagesandreviewmetricstolearnmoreabouttheeffectivenessof

yourefforts.

6. ReviewtheCDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDevelopingButtonsandBadgeslistedin

theresourcesectionbelowformoretips.

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http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.html


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Resources: CDCsButtonandBadge

Gallery: http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.html

CDCsButtonandBadgeOverviewPage:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ButtonsBadges.html

CDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDevelopingButtonsandBadges:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/buttonbadge.pdf.

ImageSharing

What

is

Image

Sharing?

Imagesharinginvolvesposting

images(photos,artwork,etc.)to

publicwebsiteswheretheycan

beviewed,tagged,categorized,

andevenusedbyothers.

(CentersforDiseaseControland

Prevention,2010b).

Imagesharingprovidesvaluetohealth

communicationactivitiesbyprovidingpublichealth

imagesthatuserscaneasilyuseonwebsites,blogsor

othersocialmediasites. Ascontentcreationcontinuestoimproveonsocialmediachannelsand

ontheinternetasawhole,theneedforfreshgraphicsandengagingcontentalsoincreases.

Postingimagespeoplecaneasilysharehelpsengagepeopleandallowsforgreateraccessto

healthcontent.

Thereareseveralonlinecommunitiesthat

provideimagesharingservices. For

instance,FlickrandShutterflyprovidea

platformforpostingimagesthatcanbe

organizedaroundhealthtopics. CDC

sharesimagesonbothFlickrandthePublic

HealthImageLibrary(PHIL),whichoffers

anorganized,universalgatewaytoCDC

pictures.Thesecanbeusedforreference,

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http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ButtonsBadges.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/buttonbadge.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/buttonbadge.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ButtonsBadges.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.html


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ContentSyndicationWhatisContentSyndication?

ContentSyndicationisa

technicalapplicationthat

enablespartnerorganizationsto

displaycurrentCDChealthand

safetycontentandallows

visitorstothepublichealth

partnerswebsiteaccesstoCDC

contentwithoutleavingthe

partnerwebsite.Thistool,

providedbyCDC,allowsthe

communicationand

managementofthelatest

sciencebasedinformation

online.(CentersforDisease

Control

and

Prevention,

2010b).

Prevention,2010c).

CDCsyndicatesawiderangeofhealthrelatedtopics

ofcontentonCDC.gov,includingseasonalflu,chronic

disease,andemergencypreparednessinformation.

ManytopicwebpagesarealsoavailableinSpanish.

Hundredsofpartnersalreadyutilizecontent

syndicationtoprovideaccuratewebcontentthatisautomaticallyupdatedontheirwebsites

whenitisupdatedonCDC.gov. ContentSyndicationisaneasyandcostfreewayforpublic

healthpartnerstoprovidecredible,timely,andsciencebasedhealthinformationtotheir

audiences. PartnerscanselfregistertoquicklysearchavailablecontenttopicsatCDC.gov,

selectfromtheonlinecatalog,anddownloadsyndicationcode.

Inadditiontoimprovedreachandaccesstohealthinformation,contentsyndicationalsohelps

enablecitizenstocreateinnovativehealthapplicationsbyprovidingeasieraccessto

governmenttools,dataandinformation.CDCbegancontentsyndicationinNovember2007,and

hasfoundittobeasuccessfulwaytoprovidevitalgovernmentinformationtothepublicand

collaboratewithvaluablepublichealthpartners.

Resources:

CDCsContentSyndicationRegistrationSystem:http://tools.cdc.gov/register/

CDCsListingofSyndicationTopics:http://tools.cdc.gov/register/pages.aspx

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http://tools.cdc.gov/register/http://tools.cdc.gov/register/pages.aspxhttp://tools.cdc.gov/register/pages.aspxhttp://tools.cdc.gov/register/


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RSSFeedsWhatisanRSSFeed?

RSSstandsforReallySimple

Syndication. RSSfeedsprovide

aneasywaytostayupdatedon

informationthatisimportantto

youandhelpsreducethetimeit

takestobrowseorsearchfor

newinformationonwebsites.

RSSfeedsprovideupdatednews

headlines,blogpostsorselected

Websitecontent.(Centersfor


2010d).

CDCRSSfeedsenablepartnersto

personalizethehealthinformation

theyreceivebysubscribingtothe

topicsofgreatestinteresttothem.Publichealth

partnersalsohavetheoptionofpostingthefeedson

theirwebsitestoallowtheirusersaccesstoupto

dateCDCinformation.Morethan25uniqueRSS

feedsareavailablefromCDC,includingSpanish

languagefeeds.

Toutilizethiscontent,youwillneedanRSSenabledbrowseroranRSSnewsreaderto

subscribe. Thesetoolshelpyouviewthecontentandwillletyouknowwhenthereisnew

content. YoucanalsousecontentfromRSSfeedsbyaddingafeedtoyourwebsiteorsocial

mediaspace. AddinganRSSfeedtoapageisarapid,lowcostwaytoprovideuptodatehealth

newstoyourviewers.Likewise,creatinganRSSfeedofyourcontentisnotverydifficult

technically,anditcanbealowriskwaytostartworkinginsocialmedia.

Resources:

SubscribetoaCDCRSSFeed: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp

CDCsOverviewof RSSFeeds

Page: http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/RSS.html

AIDS.govsPuttingtheSimpleinRealSimpleSyndication(RSS

Feeds):http://blog.aids.gov/2008/01/rssfeed.html

WebContent.govsRSSFeeds

Page:

http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/rss.shtml

WhyRSS.comsReallySimpleGuidetoRSS:http://www.whyrss.com/

CommonCraft'sRSSinPlainEnglish providesabriefoverviewofRSS

feeds:http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

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http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asphttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/RSS.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/RSS.htmlhttp://blog.aids.gov/2008/01/rss-feed.htmlhttp://blog.aids.gov/2008/01/rss-feed.htmlhttp://blog.aids.gov/2008/01/rss-feed.htmlhttp://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/rss.shtmlhttp://www.whyrss.com/http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_englishhttp://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_englishhttp://www.whyrss.com/http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/rss.shtmlhttp://blog.aids.gov/2008/01/rss-feed.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/RSS.htmlhttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp


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Podcasts

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WhatisaPodcast?

Apodcastisadigitalaudioor

videofilethatcanbesavedfor

playbackonaportablemedia

deviceorcomputer.Theterm

podcastreferstoboththe

actualcontentofthemediafile

andthemethodbywhichthe

contentissyndicated.(Centers

forDiseaseControland

Prevention,2010e).

Podcastshelptodeliverinformationin

aconvenientandenjoyableformat,

andcanbeplayedonthegofromaniPod,mobile

device,orotherportableplayer.Podcastscanalso

beviewedonwebsites.CDCprovidespodcaststo

increaseaccesstohealthmessagesanddeliver

healthinformationinaconvenientformat.

PartnershaveaccesstoCDCsextensivelibraryofpodcaststhatincludestopicsdirectedto

clinicians,healthcareworkers,publichealthpractitionersandthegeneralpublic.Partnerscan

easilydownloadpodcastsfromCDC.gov,postpodcaststotheirwebpage,providelinkstothe

CDCpodcastpagefromtheirwebsiteandsubscribetopodcastsseries.Partnerscanalsocreate

theirownpodcastsrelatively

easilyandwithoutmuch

investmentintechnical

resources.

WhoUsesPodcasts?Podcastusecontinuesto

increaseasmoreandmore

peopleusedeviceswith

digitalaudioplaying

capability.AccordingtoPew

InternetandAmericanLife

Project,almost20%ofall

web

users

in

the

United

Statessaidtheyhad

downloadedapodcastin

2008(Madden&Jones,

2008).


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ExamplesofHealthRelatedPodcasts

Anumberofhealthcareorganizationsprovidepodcasts,including:

TheWorldHealthOrganizationprovidespublichealthinformationandrelatednewsfrom

aroundtheworld:http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/en/

SeattleChildrensHospitalspodcastonfluvaccinationsfor

children:http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/fluvaccinationsforchildren/

PKIDsalsoprovidesanumberofpodcastsforParentsofKidswithInfectious

Diseases:http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id218493791

CDCprovideshundredsofpodcasts,includinganumberonavarietyofhealthandsafety

topics:http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/browse.asp

EightBestPracticesforPodcastProduction

1. Definethepurpose. Identifythetargetaudience,themainhealthmessagesandcommunicationgoalpriortodevelopingcontent.

2. Createaudiencerelevantcontent.Designingapodcastwithaparticularaudienceinmindrequirescarefulconsiderationofcontent.Podcastsdesignedtoreachhealthprofessionals

maycontainmedicalterminologywhereasthoseforthegeneralpublicshouldmakeuseof

commontermssuchaschickenpoxinsteadofvaricella. Thisisparticularlyimportantwith

podcasts,sincelistenersorviewersmayhavedownloadedthepodcastforlisteningor

viewingonapersonaldeviceandnotabletoaccesstheinternetoradictionary.

3. Considerlength.Thereisnohardandfastrulethatdictatestherecommendedlengthofapodcast.Itishelpfultoconsiderthecommunicationgoalsandthetargetaudience.Some

messagescanbeeffectivelycommunicatedinfiveortenminuteswhileothertopicsmay

requirealongerpodcasttoexplainadequately.

4. Developareleasescheduleandpostfrequently.Podcaststhatarepartofaserieswithfrequentreleaseshaveabroaderlistenerbase.

5. Utilizecrossmarketing.Toincreaseexposureforpodcastepisodesorseries,leverageavarietyofexistingandno orlowcostchannels.Externalpodcastdirectoriesallowpodcast

registration,anduserscansearchbykeywordandcategory.Consideraddingabuttonon

otherwebpagesdirectingpeopletothePodcastURL.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/en/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/en/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id218493791http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id218493791http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/browse.asphttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/browse.asphttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/browse.asphttp://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id218493791http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/flu-vaccinations-for-children/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/en/


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6. Provideadditionalinformation. DirectthelistenertomoreinformationorresourcesrelatedtothetopicbyfullyarticulatingallURLsmentionedinthepodcast.Thiswillbe

usefulformanyusers,butkeepinmindthatotherpeoplemaylistentopodcastswhilethey

areawayfromacomputer,orareunabletowrite,sothecontentshouldstandalone

withoutadditionalinformation.

7. Connectwiththeaudience.Carefulselectionofahostensuresaconnectionwiththeaudience.OftenaQ&Aformatwillhelplistenerstobetterunderstandthetopicby

providingnaturalbreaksduringthediscussion.

8. Evaluateyourpodcastingactivities. Forexample,youcancollectbasicinformationonhowmanytimeseachpodcastisdownloadedorplayed.Additionally,ifusercommentsand

ratingsareapartofthepodcastingsystem,youcantrackthemtoguidefuturepodcast

development.

PodcastingResources:

ToreviewCDCspodcastlibraryorsubscribe,please

seehttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts

CDCsOverviewofPodcasts

Page: http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Podcasts.html.

PodcastFAQawebsitecommittedtoprovidingeverythingyouneedtoknowabout

podcasting,hasawealthofinformationonpodcasting:http://www.podcastfaq.com/

WebContent.govsPodcast

Page:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/podcasting.shtml

15

OnlineVideoSharingWhatisOnlineVideoSharing?

Onlinevideosharingcanbeused

by

partners

to

share

tailored

healthcommunicationmessages.

Onlinevideosites,suchas

YouTube,MSNandYahoohave

emergedaspopularandpowerful

videosharingsites.(Centersfor


2010f)
http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcastshttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcastshttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Podcasts.htmlhttp://www.podcastfaq.com/http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/podcasting.shtmlhttp://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/podcasting.shtmlhttp://www.podcastfaq.com/http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Podcasts.htmlhttp://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts


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16

Onlinevideosharingcanbeagreatwaytoexchangeinformation,sharepersonalstories,and

engageaudiences.Becauseanyonewithinternetaccesscanupload,view,share,andcomment

onvideofootage,videosharingisbecomingimmenselypopular.Usingvideosharingsiteslike

YouTubeorGoogleVideotodisseminatetailoredhealtheducationandhealthcommunication

messageshelpsprovideanengagingexperienceforconsumerstoviewandsharehealthand

safetyinformation.Withpeoplewatchingover100millionclipsadayonYouTubealone,

(Hurley,2009)theseonlinevideosourcescanbeapowerfulmechanismtoassistyouin

distributingcurrentandaccuratescienceandhealthmessages(CentersforDiseaseControland

Prevention,2010g).

CDCsofficialYouTubechannel,CDCStreamingHealth,containsCDCproducedvideosona

variety

of

health

topics.

With

an

internet

connection,

partners

can

upload,

view,

share

and

commentonvideofootage.PartnerscanalsoeasilyuploadanumberofCDCproducedvideosto

theirwebsitesorothersocialmediaspaces,likeablogorFacebookpage. Similarly,youcan

easilycreateachannelonavideosharingsitetodisseminatevideoscreatedbyyour

organization.

WhoUsesVideosharingSites?

Overall,theuseofvideosharingsiteshasnearlydoubledfrom20062009.Amongsocialmedia

tools,watchingonlinevideosismoreprevalentthantheuseofsocialnetworkingsites.Users

tendtobeyoungadultsinthe1829agegroup.However,therehavebeensteadyincreases

overthelastyearinviewingamonginternetusersinthe3049andover50agegroupsaswell

(Madden,2009).YouTubeisthemostpopularvideosharingsite,withmorethan103.8million

uniquemonthlyvisitorsinMay2010,upfrom81.4millioninMay2009(Siteanalytics,2010).

ExamplesofHealthrelatedVideosharingSites

CDCTVVideoSharingsite:www.cdc.gov/CDCTV

CDCYouTubeChannel:http://www.youtube.com/CDCstreaminghealth

ChildrensHospitalofPhiladelphia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrvznJOt2I

ImmunizationActionCoalition: http://www.youtube.com/user/ImmunizationAction

JuvenileDiabetesFoundation:http://www.youtube.com/user/jdrfonline

eHowHealth:http://www.youtube.com/user/ehowhealth
http://www.cdc.gov/CDCTVhttp://www.youtube.com/CDCstreaminghealthhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrvznJOt2Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrvznJOt2Ihttp://www.youtube.com/user/ImmunizationActionhttp://www.youtube.com/user/ImmunizationActionhttp://www.youtube.com/user/jdrfonlinehttp://www.youtube.com/user/jdrfonlinehttp://www.youtube.com/user/ehowhealthhttp://www.youtube.com/user/ehowhealthhttp://www.youtube.com/user/ehowhealthhttp://www.youtube.com/user/jdrfonlinehttp://www.youtube.com/user/ImmunizationActionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrvznJOt2Ihttp://www.youtube.com/CDCstreaminghealthhttp://www.cdc.gov/CDCTV


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17

SixBestPracticesforOnlineVideoProduction

1. Preparecontentthatisappropriateforyourtargetaudience.Contentshouldbeengaging,visuallypleasing,andpresentedatalevelappropriateforthetargetaudience.Forinstance,

theuseofjargon,technicalinformation,ordetailedchartsandgraphsshouldbeavoided.

Simple,easytofollowstorieswithasinglemessageorcalltoactionaremorelikelyto

becomeviral,atermreferringtowhenviewersvoluntarilysharelinksorembedvideoson

theirownwebsites,blogs,andsocialnetworkingprofiles.

2. Keepthevideosshort.Checkthetechnicalrequirementsforthesitebeingutilizedforvideoposting.Themajorityofvideosharingsiteswillhavetimelimitsonthelengthofthevideo.

CDCdatashowthatmanyusersstartdroppingoffafterthreeminutes.

3.

Create

a

promotional

plan.

List

the

video

sharing

site(s)

where

you

plan

to

post

the

video,

partnerstohelpyoudisseminateit,thewebpagesonyoursitewherethevideowillbe

embedded,andothersocialspaceslikeMySpace,FacebookorTwitterwhereyoucan

postandpromoteit.

4. Choosemusicappropriately.Musicyouuseshouldbepurposefulandthoughtful,andcomplementtheintendedmessage.Unlessyouplantopayformusic,chooseselectionsthat

arecopyrightfree.

5. IncludeaURLformoreinformation.IncludeaspecificURLattheendofthevideotodirecttheusertoadditionalinformationonthetopic.

6. Evaluate.Aswithallcommunicationsactivities,evaluationisimportant. Dependingonthesiteutilizedforvideoposting,metricsmaybeprovidedtoassistwiththeevaluation. For

instance,youmaybeabletomeasureortrack:

Thenumberoftimeseachvideohasbeenviewed

Viewerratingsandcomments

Channelsubscribers

Points

in

the

video

when

viewership

drops

off

VideoSharingResources:

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/

GoogleVideo http://video.google.com/

Yahoo!video http://video.yahoo.com/
http://www.youtube.com/http://www.youtube.com/http://video.google.com/http://video.google.com/http://video.yahoo.com/http://video.yahoo.com/http://video.yahoo.com/http://video.google.com/http://www.youtube.com/


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FormoreinformationononlinevideoatCDC,please

see:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.html

SeeCDCsYouTubeandOnlineVideoGuidelinesandBestPracticeforadditional

information:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/onlinevideo.pdf

WidgetsWhatisaWidget?

Awidgetisanapplicationthatcan

beutilizedbypartnerstodisplay

featuredhealthcontentdirectly

ontheirdesktop,websiteorsocial

mediasite. Widgetscanalso

generallybesharedwithfriends.

(CentersforDiseaseControland

Prevention,2010g).

MadepopularbyGoogle,Facebook,

andproviderssuchasWidgetbox,

widgetsprovideinteractive

informationandfreshcontentwith

minimalusermaintenance.The

contentinawidgetcanbeupdated

automatically,ensuringaccesstoupto

dateandcrediblehealthandsafetycontent.CDCprovidesanumberofwidgets(inbothEnglish

andSpanish)onavarietyofhealthtopics,includingH1N1andseasonalflu,smokingand

tobaccouse,anadultBMIcalculator,andeverydayhealthtips.Theseandmanyotherwidgets

caneasilybeaddedtopartnerpagesorsocialmediasitestoprovideaninteractiveexperience,

freshcontent,andengagementwithimportanthealthtopics. ToaddaCDCwidgettoyoursite,

locateawidgetatwww.cdc.gov/widgetsandclickon"Share."Anewscreenwilldisplaythehtml

codeforthatparticularwidget.Simplycutandpastethehtmlcodeintoyourwebpage.

WhoUsesWidgets?

AccordingtoanOctober

2008Razorfishreport,55%of

connectedconsumers (orthose

whoreportusing abroadband

connectiontotheinternetandthe

useofdigitalmedia)addwidgetson

theirdesktops,and62%usethemonsitessuchasFacebookandiGoogle.

18
http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/onlinevideo.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/onlinevideo.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/widgetshttp://www.razorfish.com/http://www.razorfish.com/http://www.cdc.gov/widgetshttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/onlinevideo.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.html


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HowDoIStartDevelopingaWidget?

Thereareprogramsonlinethatallowanyonetocreateawidget.However,ifyouwanta

customizedone,youwillmostlikelyneedtohiresomeonewithspecifictechnical,usability,and

designskillstodevelopit.

ExamplesofHealthrelatedWidgets

CDC.gov:http://www.cdc.gov/widgets/

Healthfinder.gov:http://www.healthfinder.gov/widgets/

NIH.gov:http://www.nih.gov/widgets.htm

3DPregnancy.comsBaby&PregnancyCountdown

Ticker:http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/widget/

GetYourselfTestedLocatorWidget:

http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/gytweek?utm_source=gytnow

WidgetResources

CDCsWidgetsOverviewPage:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Widgets.html

eCards

WhatisaneCard?

eCardsareelectronicgreeting

cardsthataresenttopeoples

emailaccounts.CDCdeveloped

HealtheCardstoencourage

healthybehaviorby

communicatingprograms,

productsandinformationto

individuals.(CentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention,2010e).

eCardsareaneffectiveandinexpensivewaytoreach

individualswithpersonalizedandtargetedhealth

information.PeoplecanuseeCardstosenda

personalmessageaswellashealthmessagestotheir

friendsandfamily.AneCardoftenopenswitha

colorfulgreeting,andincludesamessagethat

encourageshealthyliving,promotessafeactivities,orcelebratesahealth andsafetyrelated

event.

CDCprovidesalargecollectionofHealtheCardswithmorethan200cardsonawiderangeof

healthtopics.eCardscanbedirectedtoclinicians,healthcareworkers,publichealth

practitionersandthegeneralpublic.PartnerscanutilizeCDCseCardstosendpersonalhealth

19
http://www.cdc.gov/widgets/http://www.healthfinder.gov/widgets/http://www.nih.gov/widgets.htmhttp://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/widget/http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/gyt-week?utm_source=gytnowhttp://www.itsyoursexlife.com/gyt-week?utm_source=gytnowhttp://www.itsyoursexlife.com/gyt-week?utm_source=gytnowhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Widgets.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Widgets.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Widgets.htmlhttp://www.itsyoursexlife.com/gyt-week?utm_source=gytnowhttp://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/widget/http://www.nih.gov/widgets.htmhttp://www.healthfinder.gov/widgets/http://www.cdc.gov/widgets/


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Americansofallages.AccordingtotheGreetingCardAssociation,an

xamplesofHealthrelatedeCards

v/eCards/

messagestotheiraudiences.Partnersalsohavetheoptiontopostthumbnailimagesandlinks

toCDCeCardsontheirwebsites,connectingtheiruserstotheCDCeCardapplicationwhere

individualscanpersonalizeandsendcardstotheirfriends,familyandcoworkers.

WhoUseseCards?

Cardsarepopularwithe

estimated500millionecardsaresenteachyearworldwide(GreetingCardAssociation,2010).

E

CDC.gov:http://www.cdc.go

er.gov/ecards/DisplayCard.aspx?CardID=20 Healthfinder.gov:http://www.healthfind

TobaccoFreeCalifornia:http://www.tobaccofreeca.com/ecards.html

InSpotsSTDNotification

eCards:http://www.inspot.org/TellThem/tabid/58/language/enUS/Default.aspx

ixTipsforDevelopingeCards

ythetargetaudience,thekeyhealthmessages,and

nganeCardwithaparticularaudiencein

formoreinformation.IncludeaspecificURLinsidetheeCardtodirectthe

ort

avarietyofexisting

dingonyour

rdhasbeensentandviewed.

S

1. Definethepurpose. Identifcommunicationgoalspriortodevelopingcontent.

2. Createcontentrelevanttoyouraudience. Designimindrequirescarefulconsiderationofcontent.Therearetwoaudiencestoconsiderwhen

developingeCardsthesenderandtherecipient.eCardsshouldcontainmessagingand

imagesconsideredappropriateforsendingandreceivingbyfriends,familymembers,or

colleagues.

3. IncludeURLrecipienttoadditionalinformationonthetopic.Oncelinksaredetermined,developash

textdescriptionthatisacalltoactionforthehyperlinkedtext.

4. Utilizecrossmarketing.ToincreaseexposureforneweCards,leverageandnocostchannels,includingyourwebsiteandothersocialmediachannels.

5. Evaluate.Aswithallcommunicationsactivities,evaluationisimportant. Depenwebanalyticssoftware,metricsmaybeavailabletoassistwiththeevaluation. Forinstance,

youmaybeabletomeasureortrack:

ThenumberoftimeseacheCa
http://www.cdc.gov/eCards/http://www.healthfinder.gov/ecards/DisplayCard.aspx?CardID=20http://www.inspot.org/TellThem/tabid/58/language/en-US/Default.aspxhttp://www.inspot.org/TellThem/tabid/58/language/en-US/Default.aspxhttp://www.healthfinder.gov/ecards/DisplayCard.aspx?CardID=20http://www.cdc.gov/eCards/


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TheThenumnumberberofofclickthrouclickthrougghhssfromfromthetheeCardeCardtotoyouryourwebsite.website.66.. ReviewReviewthetheCDCsCDCsGuideliGuidelinneessandandBestBestPrPraaccttiicecessforforDDeevelopivelopingngeCeCardsardslistedlistedininthethereresousourrccee

ssectionectionbelobelowwforformoremoretitips.ps.

21

eCardeCardResources:Resources: CDCsCDCsHealHealththeeCards:Cards:

http://www2c.cdc.gov/http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecaecards/rds/

CDCseCardsOverviewPage:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eCards.html

CDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDevelopingeCards:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/ecards.pdf

WhatareeGames?

Electronicgames,oreGames,are

interactivegamesthatareplayed

throughanelectronicapplication

suchastheInternet,avideo

gameconsole,oramobilephone.

CentersforDiseaseControland

Prevention,Prevention,(2009h).(2009h).

ElectronicGames

eGamescanreachnewaudiences

withpertinentandtargeted

healthmessages.Infact,eGames

havebeenshowntoinfluencepositivehealthrelated

changesinavarietyoftargetaudiencesandfora

numberofhealthissues(Baranowski,Buday,

Thompson&Baranowski,2008).

HowDoIStartDevelopinganeGame?Generally,eGamestakesignificantskillandresourcestodevelop.Ifyouchoosetodevelopan

eGame,thereareanumberofgroupsandorganizationsthatspecializeingamesforhealthor

seriousgames.

WhoUseseGames?TwothirdsofAmericanhouseholdsplaycomputerorvideogames,accordingtothe

EntertainmentSoftwareAssociation. AlmostallteensplayeGamesandtheaveragegame

playersagein2010is34yearsofage(26%ofgamersareover50yearsofagein2010). More

menplaygames,butwomenarecatchingup.(EntertainmentSoftwareAssociation,2010)
http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/ecards.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/ecards.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/ecards.pdf


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ExamplesofHealthrelatedeGames:

UnicefsVoicesforYouth

ExamplesofHealthrelatedeGames:

UnicefsVoicesforYouth

22

voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlvoy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlgame:http://www.unicef.org/game:http://www.unicef.org/

mes.com/ HumanaGamesforHealth:http://www.humanaga

HopeLabsRemissionGame:http://www.remission.net/site/game/

Playnormous.com:http://www.playnormous.com/

eGamesResources:

CDCseGamesPage:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.html.

CDCsBamGameRoom:http://www.bam.gov/site_games.html

CDCseGamesCaseStudy:ReMission

Podcast:http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574

GamesforHealth:http://www.gamesforhealth.org/

EntertainmentSoftwareAssociationsEssentialFactsabouttheComputerandVideo

GameIndustry:http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_Essential_Facts_2010.PDF

MobileHealthWhatisMobileHealth?

mHealthormobilehealthisa

termusedtodescribethepractice

ofusingmobiletechnologies

mobilephones,textmessaging

services,orapplicationsto

supportpublichealthand

medimedicine.cine.

Mobileapplicationsofferremarkableopportunitiesforimprovingthehealth,safety,and

preparedness

of

people

in

the

U.S.

and

around

the

world.

Because

of

its

portability,

affordability,andavailability,thepotentialofmobiletechnologiesforsharinghealthinformation

andcollectingdisease/healthdatarepresentsatremendousopportunity(CentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention,2010i).Mobiletechnologies,particularlytextmessaging,arequickly

becomingavitaltoolforthedeliveryofhealthinformationandengaginguserstoimprovetheir

health.Recentresearchindicatesthatinterventionsdeliveredbytextmessageshavepositive
http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.humanagames.com/http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.bam.gov/site_games.htmlhttp://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www.gamesforhealth.org/http://www.gamesforhealth.org/http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10574http://www.bam.gov/site_games.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eGames.htmlhttp://www.humanagames.com/http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/mobile/smsdirect.htm?s_cid=h1n1Flu_outbre


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24

to

to

einformation.

g

characterlimit,itisacceptable

gofthemessage.

alinformation.Includeyourorganizationnameinthetextso

berand/orURLtoamobilewebsite.Linkstotraditional

luationcanbeaccomplishedwithsurveysandmetricsreviews.

enevaluatingtextmessagingactivities,there

taaboutusers:age,sex,geographiclocation.

program.

2. Makemessagesengaging. Writerelevant,timely,clear,andactionablemessages. Trybegineachmessagewithaninterestingfactorquestionsothatuserswillbemorelikely

openthetextmessagetoreadtherestofth

3. Makecontentreadable.Allcontentshouldbewrittenatnohigherthanan8thgradereadinlevel.

4. Useabbreviationssparingly.Becausetextmessageshaveatouseabbreviations,butonlywhentheyareeasilyunderstoodanddonotchangethe

meanin

5. LimitLatincharacters.PleasenotethatnonLatinoraccentedlettersdonotalwayswork,dependingonthemobilecarrier.

6. Provideaccesstoadditionusers

know

who

is

sending

the

message.

Include

a

way

for

users

to

follow

up

or

respond

tothemessage,suchasaphonenum

websitesshouldbeavoided.Allphonenumbersshouldbeformattedsotheusercanclick

tocallthenumberautomaticallyfromtheircellphone.AllURLsshouldincludethehttp://

asnotallphonesworkwithoutthis.

7. Includeoptoutoptions.Textmessagesmayalsoincludeinformationonhowtooptoutofthetextmessagingprogram.Thesecharactersalsoneedtobefiguredintothemaximum

lengthof160characters.

8. Promoteyourtextmessagingefforts.Createapromotionplanthatincludespromotingonmobilesites,socialmedia,andotherspaces.

9. Evaluateyourefforts. EvaStandardsurveymessagetestingcanlookatquality,clarity,thestrengthofthemessage,as

wellastheeffectivenessofthemessage. Wh

aremanywaystoevaluatetheeffort:

Collectbasicmetricsonhowmanyusersaresignedupfortheprogramandhowmany

userstakepartininteractivemessagingefforts.

Ifpossible,collectdemographicda

Surveyuserstogatherinformationonwhattypesofmessagestheyprefer,anduse

informationtoshapemessagesforyourtextmessaging

Whenpossible,usesurveys(viatextmessagingorbysendinguserstoawebsurvey)to

evaluatechangesinknowledge,attitude,andbehavior.


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MobileResources CDCsTextMessagingMobileResources CDCsTextMessaging

Guidance:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfGuidance:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdf CTIATheWirelessAssociation:http://www.ctia.org/aboutCTIA/

ingAssociation:http://mmaglobal.com/main MobileMarket ttp://mobihealthnews.com/ MobileHealthNews:h

FierceMobileHealthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/ Weeklynewslettercareenvironment.

andInformation:

AccesstoDataandInformation.aspx

thatprovidesthelatestnewsontherapidlyevolvingmobilehealth

PewInternet&AmericanLifeProjectsMobileAccesstoDatahttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Mobile

Microblogs

25

WhatisaMicroblog?

Microbloggingallowsusersto

postbrieftextupdatestoa

websitethataggregatesthese

messagesforviewingbyfriends

orthepublic.Thesemessages

canbesubmittedbyavarietyof

means,includingtextmessages,

mobilewebsites,orthewebsite

hostingthemicroblog.While

severalmicrobloggingsitesexist,

Twitteristhemostpopular.

WhatisTwitter?

Twitterisanonlinemicro

bloggingandsocialnetworking

websitethatprovidesrealtime

information,commentary,and

descriptionsofevents.Twitter

userssendupdates,or"tweets,"thatare140charactersorlessin

lengthanddisplaysontheir

profilepageananddinintheirtheir

followersfollowersfeed.feed. TwitterTwitterusersusers

cancanalsoalsohighighlhlightightcercerttainainaaudioudio

ororvideovideocontcontent.ent.

CDCusesTwittertoseekandsharehealthandsafety

informationinrealtimewithpeopleinterestedin

CDCshealthtopics. Twitterhasbecomean

importantplatformforconnectingpeopleinterested

inspecifichealthandsafetyinformation.Twitter

isntjustaboutbroadcastinginformation;italso

providesopportunitiestolistenandgather

information.Twitterssearchengine

(http://search.twitter.com)isagreattoolfor

monitoringconversationsonanygiventopicon

Twitteritisgenerallylimitedtothepast2weeksof

publictweets.
http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://mobihealthnews.com/http://mobihealthnews.com/http://search.twitter.com/http://search.twitter.com/http://mobihealthnews.com/http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdf


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WhousesTwitter?

Individuals,organizations(e.g.AmericanCancerSociety),corporations(e.g.CNN,Microsoft)and

federalagencies(e.g.NationalInstitutesofHealthandCDC)alluseTwitter.

Dueinlargeparttoitsincreasingusewithinthebusinesscommunityandamongnewsoutlets,

theearlyadoptersofTwitterarenotfromtheyoungergenerationasisusuallythecasewith

othersocialmediatools(Leggatt,2009).Recently,thisapplicationhasbecomeamore

mainstreamactivityasanincreasingnumberofcelebritieshavejoined.Still,thelargest

populationofTwitterusersareinthe1834agebracket(44%),followedbythe3549age

group(28%).Femalesrepresent53%ofusers,and43%havechildrenages017intheir

household(Quantcast,2010c).

ExamplesofTwitterProfilesAddressingPublicHealth

CDCeHealth: http://twitter.com/CDC_eHealth

AIDS.gov: http://twitter.com/AIDSgov

MinorityHealth: http://twitter.com/MinorityHealth

CAIZCoalition:http://www.twitter.com/Immunizeca

CBCHealth(Canada):http://twitter.com/CBCHealth

TwitterBestPractices

1. Accountsetuprecommendations ProfileName,ImageandBiographya. Profilename EachTwitteraccounthasauniqueprofilenamethatdescribesthesubject

matteroftheaccount,nameoftheorganizationorcontainsakeyworddescribingthe

natureoftheorganization.(e.g.CDC_eHealth,FluGov). Theprofilenameshouldbe

shortandconcise(maximum15characters).

b. Biography Thebiographyisa160characterdescriptionoftheprofile.Thisbiographical

statementshouldbethefirstpostfromanewprofile.

c. ImageAlogoorgraphicthatrepresentsyourorganizationoragency.

2. Keepcontentshortandsimple.CDCrecommendswritingtweetsof120characterssothatmessagescaneasilyberetweeted,(thepracticeofpostinganotheruserstweet),without


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editing.Ifatweetcontainsthemaximum140characters,userswhowanttoshareyour

messagebyretweetingwillneedtoeditthemessagetoreducethecharactercount.

3. ProvidemoreinformationwithashortenedURL. Ifpossible,providealinkbacktoyourmainwebsiteformoreinformation.YoucansavespacebyusingURLsthatareshorter.

Severalwebsitesareavailablethatcanhelpyou: http://tinyurl.com,http://is.gd

orhttp://tr.im.

4. PromoteyourTwitterprofile. ProvidelinkstoyourTwitterprofileonothercommunicationsmaterialsthatyouhaveprepared,includingbothtraditionalandsocial

media,andworkwithotherTwitterprofilestobuildyouraudiencebasestrategically.

5. Keepfollowersengaged.Settingaregularpostingschedulewillhelpengagefollowers.6. Postotherrelevantcontent. Developastrategyforretweetingpostsfrompartnersand

followers.

7. SearchTwitterforcommentsaboutyourorganizationorhealthtopic:Youcanusesearch.twitter.comforwaysofmonitoringTwitter.Youcanthenlistentoconversations

aboutimportanthealthconcerns,findmessagesaboutyourorganization,andmonitorhow

audiencesarerespondingtomessages.

8. Evaluateyourefforts.Trackyoureffortsandregularlyreviewthenumberoffollowers,updates,retweets,andmentionsinTwitter. Also,thereareanumberofwaystomonitor

increasedtraffictoyourwebsite,aswellasthementionsoutsideofTwitteronblogs,

websitesorarticles.WithregularmonitoringofTwitterefforts,itiseasytotrackincreased

traffictoyourwebsitegeneratedbyclickthroughsofyourlinks,changesinyourfollowers,

andtheamountofretweetsofyourmessages.ManyevaluationmetricsforTwittercanbe

collectedforlittleornocost.Whenevaluatingmicrobloggingactivities,considerthe

following:

Trackclickthroughsfromyourlinks:Websiteanalyticssoftware(suchasOmnitureSite

CatalystorGoogleAnalytics),allowsyoutotrackincreasesinwebsitetrafficfrom

TwitterbymeasuringhowmanyfollowersclickthroughfromTwitterlinksbacktoyour

site.

AnalyzeinfluenceonTwitter:Accountusersmaykeeptrackofhowmanyotherusers

arefollowingthemandhowmanyupdatestheyhavepublishedovertime.Usersmay

accesshttp://search.twitter.comtosearchforretweets,@replies(oratreplies),and


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othermentionsofhisorherTwitterusername. AnRSSfeedcanalsobesetuptotra

thesesearchresults.

Analyzefollowers:Becausemicrobloggingsitesarewebbased,itmaybepossibleto

designanonlinesurvey(throughatoolsuchasSurveyMonkey)tomeasureuser

satisfaction,increasesinknowledgeduetoyourprofile,orchangesinbehavio

attitudes.

ck

ror

TwitterResources:

CDC.govSocialMediaTools:Micro

blogs:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/MicroBlogs.html

CDCs SocialMediaToolsGuidanceonMicro

Blogging:

http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdf

WebContent.govsTwitterBest

Practices:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/microblogging/twitter.shtml

BlogsWhatisaBlog?

Blogs,orweblogs,areregularly

updatedonlinejournalsthat

almostanyonewithaninternet

connectioncanuse.Someblogs

targetasmallaudience,while

othersboastareadership

comparabletonational

newspapers.Theymayhaveonly

oneauthororateamofregular

authors,butmostblogssharea

similarformatinthattheentries

arepostedinareverse

chronologicalorderandmay

allowreaderstocommenton

posts(CentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention,2010j).

Blogsoftenfocusonaspecific

topicortypeoftopic.

CDCoftenwantstosharecontentinawaythat

allowsreaderstoleavecommentsandengagein

discussion.Ablogcanbeusedtodiscussatopicthat


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maybetoocomplexforatweetorFacebookpost,andtogiveyourtopicorprogramamore

personalandengagingpresencethanawebsiteallows.

Whoisblogging?

Overall,bloggersareahighlyeducatedandaffluentgroup.Nearlyhalfofallbloggerswe

surveyedhaveearnedagraduatedegree,andthemajorityhaveahouseholdincomeof$75,000

peryearorhigher(Sussman,2009).Acloserlookatthedemographicsindicatesthattwothirds

aremale,60%areinthe1844agegroupandmorethanhalfareparents.

HealthrelatedBloggingExamples:

SchoolKidsHealthcareBlog:(http://www.schoolkidshealthcareblog.com/) Thisblog

targets

school

nurses,

healthcare

and

safety

professionals,

and

campus

medical

staff

allowingthemtoconnectwiththeirpeers,discusscurrentevents,andsharestoriesand

challenges(SchoolKidsHealthCareBlog,2010).

ShotofPrevention:(http://shotofprevention.com/)Thisisacommunityblogwhere

individuals,parents,medicalprofessionalsandotherscangathertodiscussquestions

andcurrenteventsregardingimmunizations(ShotofPreventionBlog,2010).

ConsumerReportsHealthBlog:

(http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/healthy_living/) Ablogfocusingonavariety

ofconsumerhealthtopicsincludingnutrition,treatmentoptions,andpreventiontips.

AmericanSocietyforNutrition: (http://www.nutrition.org/asnblog/)Ablogdevotedto

thesharingofreliablenutritioninformation.

MassachusettsDepartmentofHealth:(http://publichealth.blog.state.ma.us/)Ablog

focusingonhealthtopicsinthestate,includingSpanishlanguagepostsbytheDirector

ofEthnicMediaEngagement.

Bloginars:

Anothermethodforreachingbloggers,ishostingbloggerwebinars,orbloginarstoreachout

tobloggersandprovideinformationaboutoutbreaksorpublichealthevents.Eachbloginar

featuresapresentationbyasubjectmatterexpert,apresentationofrelevantsocialmedia

products,andprovidesattendeesanopportunitytoaskquestions.
http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdf


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BloggingBestPractices:

1. Observetheblogosphere.Beforebeginningablogofyourown,readotherblogsthatdealwithsimilartopicstolearnwhatworkswellandwhotheinfluencersareinthetopicarea.

OnecanfindblogsthroughtheblogsearchenginessuchasTechnorati

(www.technorati.com).

2. Providelinks.Supportpostswithlinkstootherwebpagesthatprovidecontexttoyourpost.3. Keeppostsasshortaspossible.Provideenoughinformationtosupportmainpoints,butbe

succinct.Shorterposts(acoupleofparagraphs)aremorelikelytobereadintheirentirety

thanlongerposts.However,ifanissueisparticularlycomplex,itmayrequirealongerpost.

4. Makeheadlinesattentiongrabbing.Justlikeanewspaperarticle,ablogpoststitleshouldcaptureareadersattentionandsummarizethemainpointofthepost.Looktonational

newspapers

to

get

ideas

for

writing

headlines.

5. Includenumberedorbulletedlists.Liststructuredinformationinaneasilydigestibleformat.

6. Makepostseasytoscan.Insertsubheadingswhereapplicableandmakesentencesandheadlinesshortandtothepoint.Chunkinginformationmakesiteasierforimportant

informationtostandout.

7. Keepaconsistentstyle.Readersliketoknowwhattoexpect.Findawritingstylethatworksfortheintendedaudienceandmaintainitthroughouteachblogpost.Sincethiscanbe

difficultwhenworkingwithateamofauthors,appointonepersontoreviewallpostsfor

styleandconsistency.

8. Usekeywordsstrategically.Thinkaboutwhatkeywordspeoplewouldusetosearchforapostandincludetheminthebodytextandheaders.Makesurethekeywordplacementis

naturalanddoesnotseemoutofplace.

9. Edityourpost.Goodwritingisintheediting.Beforehittingthesubmitbutton,rereadthepostandeditforbrevityandclarity.

10.Promoteyourblog.Haveapromotionplaninplacebeforelaunchingablog.IfTwitterisapartofyouroverallcommunicationstrategy,itcanbeagoodplacetopromoteanewpost.

Sendingdirectemailupdatestopartnersandthosewhohaveshowninterestinthe

organizationcanalsobeagreatwaytopromoteablog.


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ndlecomments.Willyouallowreaderstoleaveresponsesor

nsiderusingare

11.Determinehowtohacommentsabouttheblog?Ifso,considerhowthesewillbemonitored.Haveaprotocolin

placeregardinghowtohandleresponses.

12.Makeuseofwebanalyticstools.Twopopularwebanalyticstoolstocolistedbelow:

GoogleAnalytics http://www.google.com/analytics/

Yahoo!WebAnalyticshttp://web.analytics.yahoo.com/

Itisadvisedtoreviewyourpolicyandprivacyimplicationsbeforeutilizinganyanalytictools

Evaluateyourefforts.Usingawebanalyticstoolallowsyoutodeterminethenumberof.

13.

s

determine

if

the

length,

topic,

or

time

of

ware

blogtobecataloguedbyblogsearchengines,suchasTechnorati

peoplewhohavevisitedthepageinaparticulartimeperiod.Itisalsoimportanttotrackthe

numberofcommentsreceivedoneachblogpost.Itisespeciallyusefultolookforpattern

in

blog

posts

that

draw

the

most

comments

anddayyoupostedtheblogdrawsmorereaderengagement. Utilizingofficialbloggersoft

allowsa

(www.technorati.com).Technoratialsoassignsanauthoritynumbertoblogsitcatalogu

Theauthorityreferstothenumberofwebsiteslinkingtoablogintheprevioussix

months.Ahigherauthorit

es.

ymeansthatmorepeoplearelinkingtoablog,whichmayhelp

toshowtheblogspopularityand,insomecases,credibility.Technoratialsoallowsauserto

searchforotherblogsthatmaybelinkingtohisorherblog.

BloggerResources:

FormoreinformationonblogactivitiesatCDC,please

see:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Blogs.html

FormoreinformationonhowCDChasusedbloginars,please

visithttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Bloginars.html

Technorati(http://www.technorati.com/search)

Google

Blog

Search

(http://blogsearch.google.com/)

Blogger:http://www.blogger.com

CommonCraftvideoBlogsinPlainEnglish:http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

ProbloggersStartingOutinBloggingfrom

Scratch:http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/03/18/ifyouwerestartingoutin

bloggingfromscratchhowwouldyoupromoteyourblog/


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Probloggers23QuestionsforProspective

Bloggers:http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/14/isablogrightforyou/

CDC.govSocialMediaTools:Bloginars

http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/Bloginars.html

32

SocialNetworkingSites

WhatisaSocialNetworkingSite?

Socialnetworkingsitesareonline

communitieswherepeoplecan

interactwithfriends,family,

coworkers,acquaintances,and

otherswithsimilarinterests.

Mostsocialnetworkingsites

providemultiplewaysfortheir

userstointeractsuchaschat,

email,video,voicechat,file

sharing,blogging,anddiscussion

groups.

Space,Linkedin,and

oursquare. Therearealsohundredsofnichesocialnetworkingsitesthattargetaudienceslike

mo addresstopicsliketravelorhealthissues.

Socialnetworkingsitesareverypopularandare

beingusedbymillionsofpeopleeverydayto

interact,share,andlearn.OnFacebookalone,users

spendalmostanhouradayonthesite.Social

networkingsitesprovideanimmediateandpersonalwaytodeliverprograms,products,and

information. ByfarthemostpopularsocialnetworkingsiteisFacebook,whichhasjustreached

over400millionusers(July2010).OtherpopularsitesincludeMy

F

msandphysicians,or

WhoUsesSocialNetworkingSites?

Therehasbeentremendousgrowthinsocialnetworkingsiteusesince2005.Infact,46%of

onlineAmericanadults18yearsoldandolderuseasocialnetworkingsitelikeMySpace,

FacebookandLinkedIn,upfrom8%inFebruary2005(Lenhart,2009).Additionaldemographic

informationaboutsocialnetworkingsitesinclude:

FacebookUserProfile:(Quantcast,2010a)

55%female

Highestpercentageofusersinthe1334yearagegroup


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46%havechildren017inhousehold

42%arecollegegraduates

Facebookusersaregenerallymoreaffluent(58%haveannualincomesover$60,000)

Caucasianusersmakeup75%ofuserswhile11%areAfricanAmericans

MySpaceUserProfile:(Quantcast2010b)

51%male

58%are1834

42%havechildren017intheirhouseholds

64%havenocollegeeducation

MySpaceusersareconsideredmiddleincomewith44%ofusersinthe$30,000 $60,000

incomebracket

26%ofMySpaceusersareAfricanAmericans

ExamplesofSocialNetworkingSitesAddressingPublicHealthTopics

ColoradoChildrensImmunizationCoalition:http://www.facebook.com/ImmunizeCOKids

AmericanCancerSociety:http://www.facebook.com/AmericanCancerSociety?v=wall&ref=ts

AIDS.govMySpace: http://www.myspace.com/aidsgov

NebraskaDepartmentofHealthandHuman

Services:http://www.facebook.com/pages/LincolnNE/NebraskaDepartmentofHealth

andHumanServices/340846025779?v=wall&ref=ts#

AlabamaDepartmentofPublicHealth:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery

AL/AlabamaDepartmentofPublicHealthADPH/235001560006

PhiladelphiaDepartmentofPublicHealth

Flu:http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=100208789

CaringBridge: http://www.facebook.com/CaringBridge

PatientsLikeMe:http://www.patientslikeme.com/


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SocialNetworkingBestPractices

1. Becomefamiliarwiththesite.Therearehundredsofsocialnetworkingsitesavailable,eachwithdistincttargets,purposes,andfunctions.Visitthesitestogainanunderstandingofthe

participants,theculture,andthefunctionality.

2. Considertheoverallcommunicationsstrategyandobjectives.Beforelaunchingapage,makesuresocialnetworkingactivitiesmeshwiththecommunicationstrategyand

objectives.

3. Bethoughtfulaboutresources.Ensurethatadequateresources(timeandstaff)areavailabletosupporttheongoingmaintenanceofthepagetokeepcontentfreshandfans

engaged.

4. Provideengagingpostsandcommunicationmaterialonthesite.Incorporatevideos,quizzes,

widgets,

games,

images

and

other

materials

to

actively

and

repeatedly

engage

users.

5. Createacommentpolicy.Developapolicythatcoverstheresponsetoinappropriateorderogatorycomments.RefertoCDCsSocialNetworkingCommentPolicyforan

example:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.

6. Collectandstorecomments.Developasystemtoarchivecomments.7. Developapromotionplan. Establishapromotionplanbeforelaunchingthepage;

encouragefanstoshareandcrosspromoteusingothersocialmediachannelsandweb

pages.

8. Developanevaluationplan.Haveanevaluationandmetricsplaninplacepriortolaunchtodetermineifeffortsaresuccessful. Forexample, itwillbehelpfulto:

Determinehowparticipationwillbemeasured.Evaluationcanincludesimplemeasures

ofuserengagement(e.g.Howmanyfollowers/fans/friendsdoestheaccounthave?How

manyuserscommentedonrecentposts?)

Takeadvantageoftheanalyticpackagesavailableonthesocialnetworkingsites.These

canbeutilizedtodeterminethenumberofpeople(fans)participatingintheactivity

andobservehowusersengagewiththesite. Forexample,FacebookInsightsare

availabletousers(administrator)whomaintainapageforanorganization.Facebook

Insightsallowtheadministratortoseedemographicinformationandfaninteractions

withthepageovertime.
http://www.facebook.com/ImmunizeCOKidshttp://www.facebook.com/ImmunizeCOKids


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oftrafficbeingdriventoawebsitefromanorganizations

ebookpage.

page,or

inbehaviororattitudes.

Considertrackingtheamount

Facebookpage.Ifusingananalyticstoolforawebsite(suchasGoogleAnalyticsor

WebTrends),thattoolwillshowthesourceoftraffictoapage,andthenumberofusers

whoarevisitorscomingviaalinkontheFac

Plantoevaluatewithanonlinesurvey(throughatoolsuchasSurveyMonkey)to

measureusersatisfaction,increasesinknowledgeduetothesocialnetworking

changes

SocialNetworkingResources:

CDCsSocialNetworkingGuidanceandBest

Practices:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/SocialNetworking.html

FacebookforGovernment:http://www.facebook.com/government

CommonCraftvideoSocialNetworksinPlain

English:http://www.commoncraft.com/videosocialnetworking

WebContent.govSocialNetworksand

Government:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/social_networks.shtml

GovLoop:http://www.govloop.com/(Agovernmentcommunity)

VirtualWorlds

WhatisaVirtualWorld?

Avirtualworldisanonline

environmentwhereuserscan

createavirtualpersona,or

avatar,andinteractwithother

avatarsinacreatedonlinevirtual

environment.Inrecentyears,

virtualworldshavebecome

increasinglypopularwith

growingnumbersofparticipants

whoenjoytheimmersiveexperience.(CentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention,2010k).

Virtualworldsprovideanimmersiveexperience

whereuserscangethealthinformationandpractice

healthybehaviors.Researchinhealth

communicationdemonstratesthatbehaviorsfrom

virtualworldscantranslatetotherealworld. Real

lifebehaviorscanbeinfluencedforuserswhoengagein

arangeofhealthrelatedactivitiesinvirtualworlds(Beard,Wilson,Morra&Keelen,2009).
http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html.


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CDCparticipatesinavirtualworldcalled

Whyvillethathasbeendevelopedfor

tweens(sometimescalledpre

adolescents). InWhyville,userscreate

avatarsthatinteractwithotherusers

andparticipateinengagingeducational

activitiesandgames.

Forseveralyears,CDChasworkedwith

Whyvilletopromotevirtualvaccinations

forseasonalinfluenzaandprovide

influenza

prevention

information,

empoweringtheparticipantstopractice

betterhealthbehaviorsduringtheflu

season.Educatingtweensempowers

themtopassalongvaccinerelatedinformationtoothersintheirhouseholdswhowouldbenefit

frombeingvaccinated.DuringarecentWhyvillecampaign,Whyvillecitizenshadthe

opportunitytobevirtuallyvaccinated,preventingthemfromcatchingthe"WhyFlu",which

involvedredspotsonanavatar'sfaceandsneezeswhilechatting.Duringthesix weekactivity,

thousandsofWhyvillianswerevaccinated.

ExamplesofHealthrelatedVirtualWorldActivities

HealthandMedicineinSecondLifeBlogfromtheNationalLibraryof

Medicine:http://healthinfoisland.blogspot.com/

WhyEatinWhyville:http://b.whyville.net/top/pdf/the_whyeat_handout.pdf

VirtualWorldResources:

CDCsVirtualWorldOverview

Page:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/VirtualWorlds.html

AIDS.govsVirtualWorldPage:http://aids.gov/usingnewmedia/tools/virtualworlds/


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PLE

danumberofintegratedsocialmediacampaigns,

H1N1fluevent,theSalmonellaTyphimuriumoutbreak

utcontainingproducts,aswellasannualseasonal

campaignintegratesinnovativesocialmediaproducts

thatCDCprotectsandpromotesthehealthofdiverse

0H1N1andSeasonalFluOutbreakCampaignbelowprovidesone

xampleofhowyoucanusemanyofthetoolsoutlinedinthistoolkitinamajorhealth

SeasonalFluOutbreakCampaign

SeasonalFluoutbreak,theCDCandtheU.S.Departmentof

kedtogethertocreatesocialmediatoolsthatprovided

dible,sciencebasedinformation.Acomprehensivesetoftools

varietyofembeddabletoolsweremadeavailabletopartnerstofacilitatethesharingand

lswithportablecontent,suchaswidgets

vocates.

But s llyfor

artnersandorganizationstopostontheirwebsitestoinformvisitorsofstepstotaketostop

asonalfluanddirectthemtoadditionalinformation.

SOCIALMEDIACAMPAIGNEXAM

Inthelastfewyears,CDChasdevelope

includingcampaignsforthenovel

associatedwithpeanutbutterandpean

influenzavaccinationcampaigns.Each

withresearchdrivenstrategiestoensure

audiences. The2009201

e

communicationcampaign.

20092010H1N1and

Duringthe20092010H1N1and

HealthandHumanServices(HHS)wor

consumersandpartnerswithcre

wasdevelopedandutilizedtoencourageparticipationandachievetheoverallgoalof

communicatingkeymessagestoinfluencehealthdecisions.Byutilizingmultipleformatsto

disseminatemessages,usershadtheoptiontoparticipatebasedontheirknowledge,levelof

access,andengagementwithsocialmedia.

A

promotionofH1N1andseasonalfluinformation.Too

andonlinevideo,alloweduserstoeasilysharemessagesandbecomehealthad

ton ,orgraphicsutilizedforonlinepromotionofcampaigns,werecreatedspecifica

p

thespreadofH1N1andse
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/espanol/?s_cid=h1n1Flu_outbreak_016


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Badges,orgraphicsthatincludeamessageandalinktoawebpage,

werecreatedforsocialnetworkusers.Userspostedbadgesonindividual

socialnetworkingprofilesorpersonalblogs.

ButtonsandbadgeswereavailableinSpanishandEnglishandcontainedhealthmessages

targetedtomultipleaudiencesincludingpregnantwomen,healthcareproviders,schooland

businesses.

Theimagesbelowdemonstratetheuseofbuttonsonpublichealthpartnerwebpages.

ButtonspromotingCDCs

textingprogramandFlu

messages

Source:OhioDepartmentofNaturalResourceshttp://ohiodnr.com/

ButtonspromotingCDCstextingprogram

Source: NorthGeorgiaHealthDistrict http://www.nghd.org/


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Widgets,smallportable

applications,werecreatedfor

userstoaddtoblogs,social

networkprofiles,orwebpagesto

allowthesharingofH1N1and

seasonalfluguidanceandhealth

tipsfordifferentaudiences.Atotalof11flurelatedwidgetsprovidedameanstoshareand

interactwithvaluableresourcesonavarietyoftopicsincludingprevention,schoolguidance,

seasonalfluupdates,aninteractivequizandtheFluViewNationalActivityMap.CDCfluwidgets

wereviewedmorethanfivemilliontimes.

The

use

of

Online

Video

sharing

sites

allowed

for

the

dissemination

of

tailored

health

education

andhealthcommunicationmessages,andalloweduserstoupload,view,share,andcomment

onpostedvideos.CDCs

YouTubechannel,

CDCStreamingHealth,has32

videoscoveringH1N1topics

includingsymptoms,antiviral

usefortreatmentand

preventiontips,whichwere

viewed3.13milliontimes.The

mostpopularvideo,SymptomsofH1N1(SwineFlu),was

viewedmorethan2milliontimesandrankedinthetoptwo

videosacrossYouTubeinthenewsandsciencecategory.

39


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TheCDCTextMessagingcampaignwaslaunchedinSeptember2009.Theprogramprovided

threehealthmessagesaweektomorethan16,000subscribersonimportantCDCinformation

aboutH1N1flu,seasonalfluandotherhealthrelatedtopics.

41

Buttonpromotingtextmessagecampaign Sampletextmessage

Toreachchildrenwithhealthmessagesrelatedtofluprevention,CDCpartneredwithWhyville,

aVirtualWorldfortweens,childrenages812years.Thismultiawardwinningandbestin

classchildrenswebsiteisaneducationvirtualworldwherechildrenlearnandplayina

dynamicsocialenvironment.

TheWhyvilleflucampaignfeaturedtwodifferentvirtualfluviruses,theWhyFluandthe

WhyMeFlu.Inworldpreventionactivitiesincludedencouragingparticipantstovirtuallywash

theirhandsandtocoughandsneezeintotheirelbow.Avirtualvaccinationcelebration,which

allowedWhyvillecitizenstointeractwithCDCsubjectmatterexpertsinrealtime,washeldin

conjunctionwithNationalInfluenzaVaccinationWeek.Apreventionvideocontestwasalso

conducted.Attheendoftheactivity,14,749WhyvillecitizenswerevaccinatedfortheWhyFlu

and12,369werevaccinatedfortheWhyMeFlu.


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VaccinationStationatWhyvilleCityHall

animation

Sampleavatar Handwashing

TheuseofTwitterprovidedCDCthe

opportunitytocommunicaterapidlywitha

wideaudienceofengagedusers.CDC

providedrealtimeupdatesduringthe

outbreakresponseonTwitterfromseveral

officialCDCTwitterprofiles.TheCDCFluand

CDCemergencyaccountswereused

primarilytosharebriefupdatesonnew

guidelines,resources,andthestatusofthe

outbreak,includingweeklyupdatesonthenumberofcasesanddeaths.TheCDCeHealthprofile

wasalsousedtoshareinformationaboutnewsocialmediatoolsreleasedthroughoutthespan

oftheresponse.ThethreeprimaryCDCTwitteraccountsusedtoshareH1N1informationgrew

toacollectivefollowingof1.28millionusers.

CDCteamedupwithWebMDtolaunchtheFocusonFlublog.CDCsubjectmatterexperts

servedasguestbloggerstoprovideinformationonavarietyoftopicsincludingH1N1vaccine

safety,guidanceforschoolsandchildcareprogramsandvaccinerecommendationsforolder

adults.


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ThroughCDCsContentSyndicationapplication,H1N1andseasonalflurelatedcontentwas

madeavailabletopartnerstodisplayCDChealthandsafetyinformationontheirownwebsites.

Contentsyndicationprovidedastreamlinedprocessfordisseminatingcurrent,credibleand

automaticallyupdatedflucontentinrealtime.Morethan150publichealthpartnersincluding

stateandlocalhealthdepartments,hospitals,universitiesandfederalagencieshave

implementedcontentsyndicationontheirwebsites,andsyndicatedcontenthasbeenviewed

morethan500,000times.

CDCflucontentonCDC.gov Syndicatedflucontentonpartnerwebsite


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Toengageusersandfacilitateinteractivecommunication,CDCparticipatedinSocial

NetworkingSitessuchasFacebooktoshareinformationandexpandreach.

TheCDCFacebookpage,launchedin

May2009atthestartoftheH1N1

response,hasseenasteadyincreasein

numbersoffans,nowtotalingnearly

56,800fans(July2010).

TheCDCFacebookpagewasusedtoshareH1N1andseasonalfluupdates,providesocialmedia

tools,suchasbadgesandwidgets,foruserstodownloadandshare,linktoCDC.govfor

additionalinformation,postblogsfromCDCsubjectmatterexpertsandpromotetheCDCtext

messagingcampaign.ByutilizingFacebooktoshareH1N1andseasonalfluinformation,CDC

wasabletoexpandreachtoayoungeraudiencethanCDC.gov.


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MORESOCIALMEDIARESOURCES

Becauseofthedynamicnatureofsocialmediaandemergingtechnologies,newinformationand

researchisbeingreleasedatarapidpace.Thefollowinglistofselectedresourcesprovidesa

samplingofadditionalinformationonsocialmedia:

Mashable http://mashable.com/socialmedia/ Theworldslargestblogfocused

exclusivelyonWeb2.0andSocialMedianews.

PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject http://www.pewinternet.org/ Oneofsevenprojects

thatmakeupthePewResearchCenter,theProjectisafacttankprovidinginformationon

howinternetandtechnologytrends,issues,andattitudesareshapingtheU.S.andthe

world.

Siteanalytics http://www.compete.com/about/ Awebanalyticcompanypoweredbythe

largestpoolofonlineconsumerbehaviordataintheindustry.

Quantcast http://www.quantcast.com/ Siteprovidingdetailedaudienceprofile

information.

Technorati http://technorati.com/ Ablogsearchengine.

HubSpot http://www.hubspot.com/products/ Leadingmarketinganalyticcompanythat

providessocialmediainformation,trainingandwebinarsonaperiodicbasis.

NielsonOnline http://enus.nielsen.com/ Theworldsleadingmarketingandmedia

informationcompanymeasuringaudienceanddemographicinformation.

comScore http://www.comscore.com/ Asourceofdigitalmarketingintelligence

providingonlineaudiencemeasurementinformation.

CTIATheWirelessAssociation http://www.ctia.org/ Aninternationalnonprofit

membershiporganizationthatrepresentsthewirelesscommunicationsindustry.

FierceMobileHealthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/ Weeklynewsletter

thatprovidesthelatestnewsontherapidlyevolvingmobilehealthcareenvironment.


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SOCIALMEDIACOMMUNICATIONSSTRATEGYWORKSHEET

Usethisworksheettohelpyoustrategizeaboutyouraudience,andthepotentialsocialmedia

toolsandchannelsyoumaywanttouseforyourcampaignorcommunicationactivity.

1. TargetAudienceDescribetheperson(s)youwanttoreachwithyourcommunication;beasspecificas

possible.Morethanoneaudiencemaybelisted.Includeaprimaryandsecondary

(influencers)audienceifappropriate.(Examples:Mothersofchildrenyoungerthantwoyears

oldlivinginAtlanta,PediatricianspracticinginNevada.)

I.

II.

III.

2. DetermineyourobjectiveWhatdoyouwanttoachievethroughyoursocialmediaoutreachandcommunication? This

couldincludesomethingyouwantyourtargetaudiencetodoasadirectresultof

experiencingthecommunication.Objectivesmayinclude(butarenotlimitedto)the

following:

a) Provideinformation

Highlightacampaign

Encourageahealthbehavior

Reinforcehealthmessages

Encourageinteraction

Obtainfeedback/exchangeideas

Collaboratewithpartners

(Example:Increaseawarenessofimmunizationcampaign.)

I.

II.

III.

b) RestateyourobjectivesinSMARTterms:

Specificstateinconcrete,detailedandwelldefinedtermsWhatexactlyarewegoing

todoforwhom?

Measurableshouldbequantifiableandthesourceofmeasurementhasbeen

identified.

Attainable/Achievablecantheobjective beachievedintheproposedtimeframewith

theresourcesavailable?

Relevant/Realisticistheobjectivedirectlyrelatedtotheoverarchingcommunication

goalfromyourcommunicationplan?

Timeboundhavedeadlinesbeenset?


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(Example:ByDecember2012(timebound),therewillbea5%increase(measureable)in

recognitionofth

social media toolkit - cdc

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