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Social Media and Public Health

Engagement – get out (in this case ‘online’) and start/join conversations, remembering that the conversation should benefit the audience. It’s not about promoting yourself or your organization. Use social media to share information about others with others. Generate conversations that help everybody.
Example: Imagine a dinner party. A good host feeds the conversation by introducing his guests and their work. The host facilitates a great conversation that will ultimately help you achieve your goal whilst creating a community of people with a shared interest.
Public Health in its traditional form is like the ‘Broadcast model’: here’s what I have to say and I’m going to share it with you.

 Social Media Marketing, Social Marketing & Social Media:

  • Social Media Marketing: using web 2.0 to promote products but also to listen to feedback.
  • Social Marketing: Use of marketing techniques & measurements to determine whether the program is reaching the right audience and is having an effect.
  • Social Media in the context of this discussion, is defined as a ‘different mindset’ & not a mere set of marketing tactics/strategy.

Challenges using Social Media

  • Using social media correctly, requires time and resources. Using it effectively, requires generating conversations by commenting on other blogs. This is how your social media entity is marketed as it can not only rely on creating fantastic content.
  • Social media is easy to launch but the work lies in figuring out the messages to go into conversation topics. This requires training, commitment and work.

My take home message from this podcast and thank you Larry Blumenthal:

Social media is about the ‘mindset’ and not a set of tools. Change the mindset of public health practitioners to look at:
Conversations, sharing, openness, transparency, tapping the wisdom of the crowd,  asking for input and talking about failures as  a great contribution to Public Health made possible through social media.