SocialMediaIntroduction

SocialMediaOverview GettingYourFeetWetWithSocialMedia GoverningSocialMediaEfforts CDCsTopLessonsLearnedfromUsingSocialMedia DevelopingaSocialMediaStrategy 1 1 2 3 5

SocialMediaTools
ButtonsandBadges ImageSharing ContentSyndication RSSFeeds Podcasts OnlineVideoSharing Widgets eCards ElectronicGames MobileHealth Microblogs Blogs SocialNetworkingSites VirtualWorlds 8 9 11 12 13 15 18 19 21 22 25 28 32 35

SocialMediaCampaignExample
20092010H1N1andSeasonalFluOutbreakCampaign 37 45 46 49 52

MoreSocialMediaResources

SocialMediaCommunicationsStrategyWorksheet

SocialMediaEvaluationWorksheet

References

Aguidetousingsocialmediatoimprovereachofhealthmessages,increase accesstoyourcontent,furtherparticipationwithaudiencesandadvance transparencytoimprovehealthcommunicationefforts. August6,2010

SOCIALMEDIAINTRODUCTION SocialMediaOverview
Inthelastseveralyears,theuseofFacebook,YouTube,Twitter,andothersocialmediatoolsto disseminatehealthmessageshasgrownsignificantly,andcontinuestotrendupward.Using socialmediatoolshasbecomeaneffectivewaytoexpandreach,fosterengagement,and increaseaccesstocredible,sciencebasedhealthmessages.Socialmediaandotheremerging communicationtechnologiescanconnectmillionsofvoicesto: 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). Increasethetimelydisseminationandpotentialimpactofhealthandsafetyinformation. Leverageaudiencenetworkstofacilitateinformationsharing. Expandreachtoincludebroader,morediverseaudiences. Personalizeandreinforcehealthmessagesthatcanbemoreeasilytailoredortargeted toparticularaudiences. Facilitateinteractivecommunication,connection,andpublicengagement. Empowerpeopletomakesaferandhealthierdecisions.

GettingYourFeetWetWithSocialMedia
Thereareavarietyofsocialmediatoolsthatcanbeutilizedaspartofanintegratedhealth communicationsprogram.Toolsrangefromeasilydownloadableproducts,suchasbuttonsand 1

badgesthatyoucanimplementwithminimalresources,toengagementtoolsthatfostertwo waycommunicationandongoinginteraction,suchassocialnetworksites.Generally,asyou progressfromdisseminationtoengagement,moreresourcesareneededforsetupand maintenanceandthepotentialexistsforgreaterparticipation,learning,andsharing.We recommendgivingcarefulconsiderationtotheamountofresourcesandexpertiserequired beforedecidingonthetoolsyoumaywanttouse.Itisoftenbeneficialtostartwithsocial mediaprojectsthatmaybeconsideredlowriskorusefewerresourcesattheoutset,andthen adoptmoreengagingtoolsthatmayrequireadditionalresources,expertise,andleadership support.Thetablebelowdocumentsspecificsocialmediatools,showingthecontinuumfrom disseminationtoengagement,aswellastheresourcesgenerallyneededtoimplementhealth communicationsactivitiesinmanypopularchannels.TheSocialMediaToolssectionofthis toolkitprovidesanoverviewofthetoolsandhowtheymayhelpyoumeetyourhealth communicationobjectives.

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. MakeStrategicChoicesandUnderstandtheLevelofEffort Bestrategicandfollowdemographicanduserdatatomakechoicesbasedonaudience, communicationsobjectives,andkeymessages.Besuretoassessthelevelofeffortneeded tomaintainthesechannelsandensureyouhavethenecessarytimeandefforttocommitto yourefforts.Often,theresourcesneededtostartandmaintainsocialmediaprojectsare differentthantraditionalcommunicationefforts. 2. GoWherethePeopleAre Socialmediacanhelpreachpeoplewheretheyaremillionsofpeopleusesocialmediaand spendalotoftimeinthesespaceslearning,sharing,andinteracting.Thepopularityofkey socialmediasitescanbeassessedbyreviewinguserstatisticsanddemographics. Additionally,thereareseveralnichesocialnetworkingsitesthattargetspecificgroups,like

moms,physicians,orracialandethnicgroups,orsitesthatfocusonaparticulartopiclike travelorhealth. 3. AdoptLowRiskToolsFirst Ifyouarestartingoutandfindingresistancetousingsocialmediaamongyour communicationteamorstakeholders,itmaybehelpfultofirstadoptlowrisksolutionsand laterbuildonyoursuccesses.Productssuchaspodcasts,videos,andwidgetsareeasily downloadable,andcanbeaccessedfrompartnersitesandpostedonyourwebsite. 4. MakeSureMessagesAreSciencebased Aswithanyeffectivehealthcommunication,messagesdevelopedfordisseminationthrough socialmediachannelsshouldbeaccurate,consistent,andsciencebased. 5. CreatePortableContent Developportablecontentsuchaswidgetsandonlinevideosthatcaneasilyextendreach beyondyourwebsitetoprovidecredible,timely,andaccuratecontentforpartnersand otherswhowanttohelpspreadyourhealthmessages. 6. FacilitateViralInformationSharing Makeiteasyforpeopletoshareyourmessagesandbecomehealthadvocates.Thiscanbe accomplishedbyusingsocialmediasitessuchasFacebookandYouTubethatencourage sharingamongusers,oryoucanusetoolswithsharingfeatures,likewidgetsoreCards. 7. EncourageParticipation Socialmediaallowsforthetailoringofmessagestohelpexpressempathyandacknowledge concern,promoteaction,andlistentowhatpeoplearesayingabouthealthrelatedtopicsin yourcommunity.Twowayconversationscanfostermeaningfulcommunicationwithyour audiencesthatcanhelptofacilitaterelationships,sharing,andinteraction. 8. LeverageNetworks Socialmediaallowspeopletoeasilyestablishnetworksthattheycanaccessonaregular basis.Forexample,FacebookreportstheaverageFacebookuserhas130friends,ora networkof130peoplewithwhomtheycaneasilyshareinformation,andmaychooseto shareyourhealthmessages(Facebook.2010).Bystrategicallyleveragingtheseestablished networksyoucanfacilitateinformationsharingandinturn,expandthereachofyour message.

9. ProvideMultipleFormats Providingmessagesinmultipleformatsincreasesaccessibility,reinforcesmessages,and givespeopledifferentwaystointeractwithyourcontentbasedontheirlevelof engagementandaccesstomedia. 10. ConsiderMobilePhones OverninetypercentofadultsinAmericasubscribetomobileservices.Therefore,mobile technologiessuchastextmessagingandmobilewebsitesofferanopportunitytorapidly reachalargepercentageofyouraudiencemembersnomatterwheretheyare. 11. SetRealisticGoals Socialmediacanraiseawareness,increaseausersknowledgeofanissue,changeattitudes, andpromptbehaviorchangeindynamic,personalized,andparticipatoryways.However, liketraditionalcommunication,socialmediaalonemaynotbeabletomeetallofyour communicationgoalsoraddressallofthetargetaudiencesneeds.Setyourgoals accordingly. 12. LearnfromMetricsandEvaluateYourEfforts Digitalcommunicationsoffermanymetricsthatyoucanusetofocusandimproveyour 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 5

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 usingmarketresearch,metrics,andotherdatawillbeimportanttodeterminingthechannels 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/

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.

ButtonsandBadges
WhatareButtonsandBadges? Buttonsaregraphicelementsthat usuallyincludeanimage,ashort calltoactionmessage,andalink formoreinformation.Theyare oftencreatedtobeshared,and includeHTMLcodethatallows themtobepostedonawebsite. Badgesarealsosmallgraphic imagesthatincludeamessageand linktoawebpage.However, badgesareoftenpostedonan individual'ssocialnetworkprofile orpersonalblogtoshowsupport fororaffiliationwithacauseor 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. 8

Resources:
CDCsButtonandBadge Gallery:http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/buttonsgallery.html CDCsButtonandBadgeOverview Page:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ButtonsBadges.html CDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDevelopingButtonsand Badges:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/buttonbadge.pdf.

ImageSharing
WhatisImageSharing? 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, 9

teaching,presentations,andpublichealthmessagesthatpartnerscanaccesstofindimagesto postontheirsites.Likewise,CDCsphotostreamonFlickrincludespublichealthphotosand graphicsdevelopedforpublichealtheventsthatuserscancommentonandshare.Partnerscan alsoeasilyandcosteffectivelycreateaccountsonanumberofavailableimagesharingsites, producingimagestouploadandsharingimages.

AFewSimpleTipstoImageSharingSuccess:
Whenestablishingyouraccount,useanamethatwillresonatewithyourusersand followsnamingandbrandingguidelines.Itisalsoagoodideatoincludeinformationon yourprofilepageaboutyouragencyorprogram.Ifpossible,alsoincludealinkbackto yourorganizationswebsitetodrivetraffictoyourwebsite. Thinkaboutyouraudiencewhenchoosingimages.Whatkindsofimageswillbemost helpfultothemorbestportrayyourcommunicationobjectives?Ifrelevant,ensureyour imagesareculturallyappropriate. Bethoughtfulaboutselecting,naming,describing,andtaggingimages.Doyouneedto postalloftheimagesavailableorwillpostingonlythebestimagesservetheviewers better? Considerengagingonlinecommunitiesandencouragingviewerstoaddtags,notes,and comments.

ImageSharingResources:
CDCsImageSharingPage:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/ImageSharing.html. AIDS.govsFacingAIDSforWorldAIDSDayFlickr FAQs:http://blog.aids.gov/2009/11/facingaidsforworldaidsdayflickrfaqs.html AmericanRedCross2010Earthquakein Haiti: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanredcross/sets/72157623078316465/ FlickrBestPracticesin Government:https://forum.webcontent.gov/resource/resmgr/flickr_best_practices_gui de.pdf

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ContentSyndication
WhatisContentSyndication? ContentSyndicationisa technicalapplicationthat enablespartnerorganizationsto displaycurrentCDChealthand safetycontentandallows visitorstothepublichealth partnerswebsiteaccesstoCDC contentwithoutleavingthe partnerwebsite.Thistool, providedbyCDC,allowsthe communicationand managementofthelatest sciencebasedinformation online.(CentersforDisease ControlandPrevention,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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RSSFeeds
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. WhatisanRSSFeed? RSSstandsforReallySimple Syndication.RSSfeedsprovide aneasywaytostayupdatedon informationthatisimportantto youandhelpsreducethetimeit takestobrowseorsearchfor newinformationonwebsites. RSSfeedsprovideupdatednews headlines,blogpostsorselected Websitecontent.(Centersfor DiseaseControlandPrevention, 2010d).

Resources:

SubscribetoaCDCRSSFeed:http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp CDCsOverviewofRSSFeeds 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'sRSSinPlainEnglishprovidesabriefoverviewofRSS feeds:http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

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Podcasts
Podcastshelptodeliverinformationin aconvenientandenjoyableformat, andcanbeplayedonthegofromaniPod,mobile device,orotherportableplayer.Podcastscanalso beviewedonwebsites.CDCprovidespodcaststo increaseaccesstohealthmessagesanddeliver healthinformationinaconvenientformat. WhatisaPodcast? Apodcastisadigitalaudioor videofilethatcanbesavedfor playbackonaportablemedia deviceorcomputer.Theterm podcastreferstoboththe actualcontentofthemediafile andthemethodbywhichthe contentissyndicated.(Centers forDiseaseControland Prevention,2010e).

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 webusersintheUnited Statessaidtheyhad downloadedapodcastin 2008(Madden&Jones, 2008). 13

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,themainhealthmessagesand communicationgoalpriortodevelopingcontent. 2. Createaudiencerelevantcontent.Designingapodcastwithaparticularaudienceinmind requirescarefulconsiderationofcontent.Podcastsdesignedtoreachhealthprofessionals maycontainmedicalterminologywhereasthoseforthegeneralpublicshouldmakeuseof commontermssuchaschickenpoxinsteadofvaricella.Thisisparticularlyimportantwith podcasts,sincelistenersorviewersmayhavedownloadedthepodcastforlisteningor viewingonapersonaldeviceandnotabletoaccesstheinternetoradictionary. 3. Considerlength.Thereisnohardandfastrulethatdictatestherecommendedlengthofa podcast.Itishelpfultoconsiderthecommunicationgoalsandthetargetaudience.Some messagescanbeeffectivelycommunicatedinfiveortenminuteswhileothertopicsmay requirealongerpodcasttoexplainadequately. 4. Developareleasescheduleandpostfrequently.Podcaststhatarepartofaserieswith frequentreleaseshaveabroaderlistenerbase. 5. Utilizecrossmarketing.Toincreaseexposureforpodcastepisodesorseries,leveragea varietyofexistingandnoorlowcostchannels.Externalpodcastdirectoriesallowpodcast registration,anduserscansearchbykeywordandcategory.Consideraddingabuttonon otherwebpagesdirectingpeopletothePodcastURL.

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6.

Provideadditionalinformation.Directthelistenertomoreinformationorresources relatedtothetopicbyfullyarticulatingallURLsmentionedinthepodcast.Thiswillbe usefulformanyusers,butkeepinmindthatotherpeoplemaylistentopodcastswhilethey areawayfromacomputer,orareunabletowrite,sothecontentshouldstandalone withoutadditionalinformation.

7.

Connectwiththeaudience.Carefulselectionofahostensuresaconnectionwiththe audience.OftenaQ&Aformatwillhelplistenerstobetterunderstandthetopicby providingnaturalbreaksduringthediscussion.

8.

Evaluateyourpodcastingactivities.Forexample,youcancollectbasicinformationon howmanytimeseachpodcastisdownloadedorplayed.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

OnlineVideoSharing

WhatisOnlineVideoSharing? Onlinevideosharingcanbeused bypartnerstosharetailored healthcommunicationmessages. Onlinevideosites,suchas YouTube,MSNandYahoohave emergedaspopularandpowerful videosharingsites.(Centersfor DiseaseControlandPrevention, 2010f) 15

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 varietyofhealthtopics.Withaninternetconnection,partnerscanupload,view,shareand 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 16

 SixBestPracticesforOnlineVideoProduction 1. Preparecontentthatisappropriateforyourtargetaudience.Contentshouldbeengaging, visuallypleasing,andpresentedatalevelappropriateforthetargetaudience.Forinstance, theuseofjargon,technicalinformation,ordetailedchartsandgraphsshouldbeavoided. Simple,easytofollowstorieswithasinglemessageorcalltoactionaremorelikelyto becomeviral,atermreferringtowhenviewersvoluntarilysharelinksorembedvideoson theirownwebsites,blogs,andsocialnetworkingprofiles. 2. Keepthevideosshort.Checkthetechnicalrequirementsforthesitebeingutilizedforvideo posting.Themajorityofvideosharingsiteswillhavetimelimitsonthelengthofthevideo. CDCdatashowthatmanyusersstartdroppingoffafterthreeminutes. 3. Createapromotionalplan.Listthevideosharingsite(s)whereyouplantopostthevideo, partnerstohelpyoudisseminateit,thewebpagesonyoursitewherethevideowillbe embedded,andothersocialspaceslikeMySpace,FacebookorTwitterwhereyoucan postandpromoteit. 4. Choosemusicappropriately.Musicyouuseshouldbepurposefulandthoughtful,and complementtheintendedmessage.Unlessyouplantopayformusic,chooseselectionsthat arecopyrightfree. 5. IncludeaURLformoreinformation.IncludeaspecificURLattheendofthevideotodirect theusertoadditionalinformationonthetopic.

6. Evaluate.Aswithallcommunicationsactivities,evaluationisimportant.Dependingonthe
siteutilizedforvideoposting,metricsmaybeprovidedtoassistwiththeevaluation.For instance,youmaybeabletomeasureortrack: Thenumberoftimeseachvideohasbeenviewed Viewerratingsandcomments Channelsubscribers Pointsinthevideowhenviewershipdropsoff

VideoSharingResources: YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/ GoogleVideohttp://video.google.com/ Yahoo!videohttp://video.yahoo.com/ 17

FormoreinformationononlinevideoatCDC,please see:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.html SeeCDCsYouTubeandOnlineVideoGuidelinesandBestPracticeforadditional information:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/onlinevideo.pdf

Widgets
MadepopularbyGoogle,Facebook, andproviderssuchasWidgetbox, widgetsprovideinteractive informationandfreshcontentwith minimalusermaintenance.The contentinawidgetcanbeupdated automatically,ensuringaccesstoupto

WhatisaWidget? Awidgetisanapplicationthatcan beutilizedbypartnerstodisplay featuredhealthcontentdirectly ontheirdesktop,websiteorsocial mediasite.Widgetscanalso generallybesharedwithfriends. (CentersforDiseaseControland Prevention,2010g).

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 whoreportusingabroadband connectiontotheinternetandthe useofdigitalmedia)addwidgetson theirdesktops,and62%usethemonsitessuchasFacebookandiGoogle. 18

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,orcelebratesahealthandsafetyrelated event. CDCprovidesalargecollectionofHealtheCardswithmorethan200cardsonawiderangeof healthtopics.eCardscanbedirectedtoclinicians,healthcareworkers,publichealth practitionersandthegeneralpublic.PartnerscanutilizeCDCseCardstosendpersonalhealth 19

messagestotheiraudiences.Partnersalsohavetheoptiontopostthumbnailimagesandlinks toCDCeCardsontheirwebsites,connectingtheiruserstotheCDCeCardapplicationwhere individualscanpersonalizeandsendcardstotheirfriends,familyandcoworkers. WhoUseseCards? eCardsarepopularwithAmericansofallages.AccordingtotheGreetingCardAssociation,an estimated500millionecardsaresenteachyearworldwide(GreetingCardAssociation,2010). ExamplesofHealthrelatedeCards CDC.gov:http://www.cdc.gov/eCards/ Healthfinder.gov:http://www.healthfinder.gov/ecards/DisplayCard.aspx?CardID=20 TobaccoFreeCalifornia:http://www.tobaccofreeca.com/ecards.html InSpotsSTDNotification eCards:http://www.inspot.org/TellThem/tabid/58/language/enUS/Default.aspx SixTipsforDevelopingeCards 1. Definethepurpose.Identifythetargetaudience,thekeyhealthmessages,and communicationgoalspriortodevelopingcontent. 2. Createcontentrelevanttoyouraudience.DesigninganeCardwithaparticularaudiencein mindrequirescarefulconsiderationofcontent.Therearetwoaudiencestoconsiderwhen developingeCardsthesenderandtherecipient.eCardsshouldcontainmessagingand imagesconsideredappropriateforsendingandreceivingbyfriends,familymembers,or colleagues. 3. IncludeURLformoreinformation.IncludeaspecificURLinsidetheeCardtodirectthe recipienttoadditionalinformationonthetopic.Oncelinksaredetermined,developashort textdescriptionthatisacalltoactionforthehyperlinkedtext. 4. Utilizecrossmarketing.ToincreaseexposureforneweCards,leverageavarietyofexisting andnocostchannels,includingyourwebsiteandothersocialmediachannels. 5. Evaluate.Aswithallcommunicationsactivities,evaluationisimportant.Dependingonyour webanalyticssoftware,metricsmaybeavailabletoassistwiththeevaluation.Forinstance, youmaybeabletomeasureortrack: ThenumberoftimeseacheCardhasbeensentandviewed. 20

ThenumberofclickthroughsfromtheeCardtoyourwebsite. Thenumberofclickthroug fromtheeCardtoyourwebsite.

6. ReviewtheCDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDevelopingeCardslistedintheresource ReviewtheCDCsGuidelin andBestPra ces for velopingeCardslistedintheresour sectionbelowformoretips. ectionbelow formoretips. eCardResources: eCardResources: CDCsHealtheCards: CDCsHealth Cards: http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/ http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/ CDCseCardsOverviewPage: http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/eCards.html CDCsGuidelinesandBestPracticesforDeveloping eCards:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/ecards.pdf

ElectronicGames
eGamescanreachnewaudiences withpertinentandtargeted healthmessages.Infact,eGames havebeenshowntoinfluencepositivehealthrelated changesinavarietyoftargetaudiencesandfora numberofhealthissues(Baranowski,Buday, Thompson&Baranowski,2008). HowDoIStartDevelopinganeGame?

WhatareeGames? Electronicgames,oreGames,are interactivegamesthatareplayed throughanelectronicapplication suchastheInternet,avideo gameconsole,oramobilephone. CentersforDiseaseControland Prevention,(2009h). Prevention,(2009h).

Generally,eGamestakesignificantskillandresourcestodevelop.Ifyouchoosetodevelopan eGame,thereareanumberofgroupsandorganizationsthatspecializeingamesforhealthor seriousgames. WhoUseseGames? TwothirdsofAmericanhouseholdsplaycomputerorvideogames,accordingtothe EntertainmentSoftwareAssociation.AlmostallteensplayeGamesandtheaveragegame playersagein2010is34yearsofage(26%ofgamersareover50yearsofagein2010).More menplaygames,butwomenarecatchingup.(EntertainmentSoftwareAssociation,2010) 21

ExamplesofHealthrelatedeGames: 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 UnicefsVoicesforYouth game:http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.html HumanaGamesforHealth:http://www.humanagames.com/ HopeLabsRemissionGame:http://www.remission.net/site/game/ Playnormous.com:http://www.playnormous.com/

MobileHealth
WhatisMobileHealth? mHealthormobilehealthisa termusedtodescribethepractice ofusingmobiletechnologies mobilephones,textmessaging services,orapplicationsto supportpublichealthand medicine. medicine. Mobileapplicationsofferremarkableopportunitiesforimprovingthehealth,safety,and preparednessofpeopleintheU.S.andaroundtheworld.Becauseofitsportability, affordability,andavailability,thepotentialofmobiletechnologiesforsharinghealthinformation andcollectingdisease/healthdatarepresentsatremendousopportunity(CentersforDisease ControlandPrevention,2010i).Mobiletechnologies,particularlytextmessaging,arequickly becomingavitaltoolforthedeliveryofhealthinformationandengaginguserstoimprovetheir health.Recentresearchindicatesthatinterventionsdeliveredbytextmessageshavepositive 22

shorttermbehavioraloutcomes.ImportantfeaturesofSMSdeliveryincludedialogueinitiation, tailoringofcontent,andinteractivity(Fjeldsoe,Marshall&Miller,2009). Whousesmobileapplications? Theoveralluseofmobiletechnologiesisontherise: In2010,91%ofU.S.adultssubscribedtoamobileservice(CTIA,2010). Textmessagevolumecontinuestoincrease;in2009,morethan1.56trillionshorttext messages(SMS)weresentupfrom81billionin2005.(CTIA,2009). A2009PewreportstatesthatmoreAfricanAmericans(48%)andLatinos(47%)are accessingtheinternetwithhandhelddevices(Horrigan,2009). HowdoIgetstartedusingmobiletechnologies? Textmessagingsystemsandmobileapplicationsareusuallydeliveredthroughcontractswith outsidevendors.Therearevariousfactorsthatcanimpactthecostofimplementingamobile textmessagingcampaignincludinglengthofprogram,numberofsubscribers,andthenumber ofmessagessent. ExamplesofPublicHealthMobileApplications CDCstextmessagingcampaignallowssubscriberstoreceiveH1N1fluandtimelyhealth information:http://www.cdc.gov/mobile/ CDCsmobilewebsitedeliverscontentdesignedtobeviewedonamobiledevice:m.cdc.gov Text4baby,aneducationalprogramoftheNationalHealthyMothers,HealthyBabies Coalition,allowssubscriberstoreceiveweeklymessagesonpregnancyandinfantcarein EnglishandSpanish:http://text4baby.org/ TextMessagingBestPractices 1. Keepmessagesshort.Textmessagesshouldbeshortandconcise.Theentiremessage shouldbelessthan160characters,includingspaces,punctuation,andtoallowforany brandingorlinkstoadditionalinformation. 23 CaliforniaPublicHealthDepartmentsNOFLUprogramallowsuserstolocatevaccinesites andreceivevitalflurelatedinformation:http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR10003.aspx ThePersonalPublicServiceAnnouncement:http://www.mynmi.net/aids_ppsa/

2. Makemessagesengaging.Writerelevant,timely,clear,andactionablemessages.Tryto begineachmessagewithaninterestingfactorquestionsothatuserswillbemorelikelyto openthetextmessagetoreadtherestoftheinformation. 3. Makecontentreadable.Allcontentshouldbewrittenatnohigherthanan8thgradereading level. 4. Useabbreviationssparingly.Becausetextmessageshaveacharacterlimit,itisacceptable touseabbreviations,butonlywhentheyareeasilyunderstoodanddonotchangethe meaningofthemessage. 5. LimitLatincharacters.PleasenotethatnonLatinoraccentedlettersdonotalwayswork, dependingonthemobilecarrier. 6. Provideaccesstoadditionalinformation.Includeyourorganizationnameinthetextso usersknowwhoissendingthemessage.Includeawayforuserstofollowuporrespondto themessage,suchasaphonenumberand/orURLtoamobilewebsite.Linkstotraditional websitesshouldbeavoided.Allphonenumbersshouldbeformattedsotheusercanclick tocallthenumberautomaticallyfromtheircellphone.AllURLsshouldincludethehttp:// asnotallphonesworkwithoutthis. 7. Includeoptoutoptions.Textmessagesmayalsoincludeinformationonhowtooptoutof thetextmessagingprogram.Thesecharactersalsoneedtobefiguredintothemaximum lengthof160characters. 8. Promoteyourtextmessagingefforts.Createapromotionplanthatincludespromotingon mobilesites,socialmedia,andotherspaces. 9. Evaluateyourefforts.Evaluationcanbeaccomplishedwithsurveysandmetricsreviews. Standardsurveymessagetestingcanlookatquality,clarity,thestrengthofthemessage,as wellastheeffectivenessofthemessage.Whenevaluatingtextmessagingactivities,there aremanywaystoevaluatetheeffort: Collectbasicmetricsonhowmanyusersaresignedupfortheprogramandhowmany userstakepartininteractivemessagingefforts. Ifpossible,collectdemographicdataaboutusers:age,sex,geographiclocation. Surveyuserstogatherinformationonwhattypesofmessagestheyprefer,anduse informationtoshapemessagesforyourtextmessagingprogram. Whenpossible,usesurveys(viatextmessagingorbysendinguserstoawebsurvey)to evaluatechangesinknowledge,attitude,andbehavior. 24

MobileResources CDCsTextMessaging Guidance:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdf Guidance:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/textmessages.pdf CTIATheWirelessAssociation:http://www.ctia.org/aboutCTIA/ MobileMarketingAssociation:http://mmaglobal.com/main MobileHealthNews:http://mobihealthnews.com/ FierceMobileHealthcarehttp://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/Weeklynewsletter thatprovidesthelatestnewsontherapidlyevolvingmobilehealthcareenvironment. PewInternet&AmericanLifeProjectsMobileAccesstoDataandInformation: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/MobileAccesstoDataandInformation.aspx

Microblogs
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 profilepageandintheir and intheir followersfeed.Twitterusers followersfeed.Twitterusers canalsohighlightcertainaudio canalsohighlightcertain udio orvideocontent. orvideocontent. 25

CDCusesTwittertoseekandsharehealthandsafety informationinrealtimewithpeopleinterestedin CDCshealthtopics.Twitterhasbecomean importantplatformforconnectingpeopleinterested inspecifichealthandsafetyinformation.Twitter isntjustaboutbroadcastinginformation;italso providesopportunitiestolistenandgather information.Twitterssearchengine (http://search.twitter.com)isagreattoolfor monitoringconversationsonanygiventopicon Twitteritisgenerallylimitedtothepast2weeksof publictweets.

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
TwitterBestPractices 1. AccountsetuprecommendationsProfileName,ImageandBiography a. ProfilenameEachTwitteraccounthasauniqueprofilenamethatdescribesthesubject matteroftheaccount,nameoftheorganizationorcontainsakeyworddescribingthe natureoftheorganization.(e.g.CDC_eHealth,FluGov).Theprofilenameshouldbe shortandconcise(maximum15characters). b. BiographyThebiographyisa160characterdescriptionoftheprofile.Thisbiographical statementshouldbethefirstpostfromanewprofile. c. ImageAlogoorgraphicthatrepresentsyourorganizationoragency. 2. Keepcontentshortandsimple.CDCrecommendswritingtweetsof120characterssothat messagescaneasilyberetweeted,(thepracticeofpostinganotheruserstweet),without 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

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editing.Ifatweetcontainsthemaximum140characters,userswhowanttoshareyour messagebyretweetingwillneedtoeditthemessagetoreducethecharactercount. 3. ProvidemoreinformationwithashortenedURL.Ifpossible,providealinkbacktoyour mainwebsiteformoreinformation.YoucansavespacebyusingURLsthatareshorter. Severalwebsitesareavailablethatcanhelpyou:http://tinyurl.com,http://is.gd orhttp://tr.im. 4. PromoteyourTwitterprofile.ProvidelinkstoyourTwitterprofileonother communicationsmaterialsthatyouhaveprepared,includingbothtraditionalandsocial media,andworkwithotherTwitterprofilestobuildyouraudiencebasestrategically. 5. Keepfollowersengaged.Settingaregularpostingschedulewillhelpengagefollowers. 6. Postotherrelevantcontent.Developastrategyforretweetingpostsfrompartnersand followers. 7. SearchTwitterforcommentsaboutyourorganizationorhealthtopic:Youcanuse search.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.AnRSSfeedcanalsobesetuptotrack thesesearchresults. Analyzefollowers:Becausemicrobloggingsitesarewebbased,itmaybepossibleto designanonlinesurvey(throughatoolsuchasSurveyMonkey)tomeasureuser satisfaction,increasesinknowledgeduetoyourprofile,orchangesinbehavioror attitudes. TwitterResources: CDC.govSocialMediaTools:Micro blogs:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/MicroBlogs.html CDCsSocialMediaToolsGuidanceonMicro Blogging:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/microblogging.pdf WebContent.govsTwitterBest Practices:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/microblogging/twitter.shtml

Blogs
WhatisaBlog? 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 targetsschoolnurses,healthcareandsafetyprofessionals,andcampusmedicalstaff 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. 29

BloggingBestPractices: 1. Observetheblogosphere.Beforebeginningablogofyourown,readotherblogsthatdeal withsimilartopicstolearnwhatworkswellandwhotheinfluencersareinthetopicarea. OnecanfindblogsthroughtheblogsearchenginessuchasTechnorati (www.technorati.com). 2. Providelinks.Supportpostswithlinkstootherwebpagesthatprovidecontexttoyourpost. 3. Keeppostsasshortaspossible.Provideenoughinformationtosupportmainpoints,butbe succinct.Shorterposts(acoupleofparagraphs)aremorelikelytobereadintheirentirety thanlongerposts.However,ifanissueisparticularlycomplex,itmayrequirealongerpost. 4. Makeheadlinesattentiongrabbing.Justlikeanewspaperarticle,ablogpoststitleshould captureareadersattentionandsummarizethemainpointofthepost.Looktonational newspaperstogetideasforwritingheadlines. 5. Includenumberedorbulletedlists.Liststructuredinformationinaneasilydigestible format. 6. Makepostseasytoscan.Insertsubheadingswhereapplicableandmakesentencesand headlinesshortandtothepoint.Chunkinginformationmakesiteasierforimportant informationtostandout. 7. Keepaconsistentstyle.Readersliketoknowwhattoexpect.Findawritingstylethatworks fortheintendedaudienceandmaintainitthroughouteachblogpost.Sincethiscanbe difficultwhenworkingwithateamofauthors,appointonepersontoreviewallpostsfor styleandconsistency. 8. Usekeywordsstrategically.Thinkaboutwhatkeywordspeoplewouldusetosearchfora postandincludetheminthebodytextandheaders.Makesurethekeywordplacementis naturalanddoesnotseemoutofplace. 9. Edityourpost.Goodwritingisintheediting.Beforehittingthesubmitbutton,rereadthe postandeditforbrevityandclarity. 10. Promoteyourblog.Haveapromotionplaninplacebeforelaunchingablog.IfTwitterisa partofyouroverallcommunicationstrategy,itcanbeagoodplacetopromoteanewpost. Sendingdirectemailupdatestopartnersandthosewhohaveshowninterestinthe organizationcanalsobeagreatwaytopromoteablog.

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11. Determinehowtohandlecomments.Willyouallowreaderstoleaveresponsesor commentsabouttheblog?Ifso,considerhowthesewillbemonitored.Haveaprotocolin placeregardinghowtohandleresponses. 12. Makeuseofwebanalyticstools.Twopopularwebanalyticstoolstoconsiderusingare listedbelow: GoogleAnalyticshttp://www.google.com/analytics/ Yahoo!WebAnalyticshttp://web.analytics.yahoo.com/

Itisadvisedtoreviewyourpolicyandprivacyimplicationsbeforeutilizinganyanalytictools. 13. Evaluateyourefforts.Usingawebanalyticstoolallowsyoutodeterminethenumberof peoplewhohavevisitedthepageinaparticulartimeperiod.Itisalsoimportanttotrackthe numberofcommentsreceivedoneachblogpost.Itisespeciallyusefultolookforpatterns inblogpoststhatdrawthemostcommentsanddetermineifthelength,topic,ortimeof dayyoupostedtheblogdrawsmorereaderengagement.Utilizingofficialbloggersoftware allowsablogtobecataloguedbyblogsearchengines,suchasTechnorati (www.technorati.com).Technoratialsoassignsanauthoritynumbertoblogsitcatalogues. Theauthorityreferstothenumberofwebsiteslinkingtoablogintheprevioussix months.Ahigherauthoritymeansthatmorepeoplearelinkingtoablog,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) GoogleBlogSearch(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/ 31

Probloggers23QuestionsforProspective Bloggers:http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/14/isablogrightforyou/

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

SocialNetworkingSites
WhatisaSocialNetworkingSite? Socialnetworkingsitesareonline communitieswherepeoplecan interactwithfriends,family, coworkers,acquaintances,and otherswithsimilarinterests. Mostsocialnetworkingsites providemultiplewaysfortheir userstointeractsuchaschat, email,video,voicechat,file sharing,blogging,anddiscussion groups.

Socialnetworkingsitesareverypopularandare beingusedbymillionsofpeopleeverydayto interact,share,andlearn.OnFacebookalone,users spendalmostanhouradayonthesite.Social

networkingsitesprovideanimmediateandpersonalwaytodeliverprograms,products,and information.ByfarthemostpopularsocialnetworkingsiteisFacebook,whichhasjustreached over400millionusers(July2010).OtherpopularsitesincludeMySpace,Linkedin,and Foursquare.Therearealsohundredsofnichesocialnetworkingsitesthattargetaudienceslike momsandphysicians,oraddresstopicsliketravelorhealthissues. WhoUsesSocialNetworkingSites? Therehasbeentremendousgrowthinsocialnetworkingsiteusesince2005.Infact,46%of onlineAmericanadults18yearsoldandolderuseasocialnetworkingsitelikeMySpace, FacebookandLinkedIn,upfrom8%inFebruary2005(Lenhart,2009).Additionaldemographic informationaboutsocialnetworkingsitesinclude: FacebookUserProfile:(Quantcast,2010a) 55%female Highestpercentageofusersinthe1334yearagegroup 32

46%havechildren017inhousehold 42%arecollegegraduates Facebookusersaregenerallymoreaffluent(58%haveannualincomesover$60,000) Caucasianusersmakeup75%ofuserswhile11%areAfricanAmericans

MySpaceUserProfile:(Quantcast2010b) 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/ 51%male 58%are1834 42%havechildren017intheirhouseholds 64%havenocollegeeducation MySpaceusersareconsideredmiddleincomewith44%ofusersinthe$30,000$60,000 incomebracket 26%ofMySpaceusersareAfricanAmericans

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SocialNetworkingBestPractices 1. Becomefamiliarwiththesite.Therearehundredsofsocialnetworkingsitesavailable,each withdistincttargets,purposes,andfunctions.Visitthesitestogainanunderstandingofthe participants,theculture,andthefunctionality. 2. Considertheoverallcommunicationsstrategyandobjectives.Beforelaunchingapage, makesuresocialnetworkingactivitiesmeshwiththecommunicationstrategyand objectives. 3. Bethoughtfulaboutresources.Ensurethatadequateresources(timeandstaff)are availabletosupporttheongoingmaintenanceofthepagetokeepcontentfreshandfans engaged. 4. Provideengagingpostsandcommunicationmaterialonthesite.Incorporatevideos, quizzes,widgets,games,imagesandothermaterialstoactivelyandrepeatedlyengage users. 5. Createacommentpolicy.Developapolicythatcoverstheresponsetoinappropriateor derogatorycomments.RefertoCDCsSocialNetworkingCommentPolicyforan example:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/CommentPolicy.html. 6. Collectandstorecomments.Developasystemtoarchivecomments. 7. Developapromotionplan.Establishapromotionplanbeforelaunchingthepage; encouragefanstoshareandcrosspromoteusingothersocialmediachannelsandweb pages. 8. Developanevaluationplan.Haveanevaluationandmetricsplaninplacepriortolaunchto determineifeffortsaresuccessful.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.

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Considertrackingtheamountoftrafficbeingdriventoawebsitefromanorganizations Facebookpage.Ifusingananalyticstoolforawebsite(suchasGoogleAnalyticsor WebTrends),thattoolwillshowthesourceoftraffictoapage,andthenumberofusers whoarevisitorscomingviaalinkontheFacebookpage.

Plantoevaluatewithanonlinesurvey(throughatoolsuchasSurveyMonkey)to measureusersatisfaction,increasesinknowledgeduetothesocialnetworkingpage,or changesinbehaviororattitudes.

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 whoenjoytheimmersive experience.(CentersforDisease ControlandPrevention,2010k).

Virtualworldsprovideanimmersiveexperience whereuserscangethealthinformationandpractice healthybehaviors.Researchinhealth communicationdemonstratesthatbehaviorsfrom virtualworldscantranslatetotherealworld.Real lifebehaviorscanbeinfluencedforuserswhoengagein

arangeofhealthrelatedactivitiesinvirtualworlds(Beard,Wilson,Morra&Keelen,2009). 35

CDCparticipatesinavirtualworldcalled Whyvillethathasbeendevelopedfor tweens(sometimescalledpre adolescents).InWhyville,userscreate avatarsthatinteractwithotherusers andparticipateinengagingeducational activitiesandgames. Forseveralyears,CDChasworkedwith Whyvilletopromotevirtualvaccinations forseasonalinfluenzaandprovide influenzapreventioninformation, empoweringtheparticipantstopractice betterhealthbehaviorsduringtheflu season.Educatingtweensempowers themtopassalongvaccinerelatedinformationtoothersintheirhouseholdswhowouldbenefit frombeingvaccinated.DuringarecentWhyvillecampaign,Whyvillecitizenshadthe opportunitytobevirtuallyvaccinated,preventingthemfromcatchingthe"WhyFlu",which involvedredspotsonanavatar'sfaceandsneezeswhilechatting.Duringthesixweekactivity, thousandsofWhyvillianswerevaccinated. ExamplesofHealthrelatedVirtualWorldActivities VirtualWorldResources: CDCsVirtualWorldOverview Page:http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/VirtualWorlds.html AIDS.govsVirtualWorldPage:http://aids.gov/usingnewmedia/tools/virtualworlds/ HealthandMedicineinSecondLifeBlogfromtheNationalLibraryof Medicine:http://healthinfoisland.blogspot.com/ WhyEatinWhyville:http://b.whyville.net/top/pdf/the_whyeat_handout.pdf

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SOCIALMEDIACAMPAIGNEXAMPLE
Inthelastfewyears,CDChasdevelopedanumberofintegratedsocialmediacampaigns, includingcampaignsforthenovelH1N1fluevent,theSalmonellaTyphimuriumoutbreak associatedwithpeanutbutterandpeanutcontainingproducts,aswellasannualseasonal influenzavaccinationcampaigns.Eachcampaignintegratesinnovativesocialmediaproducts withresearchdrivenstrategiestoensurethatCDCprotectsandpromotesthehealthofdiverse audiences.The20092010H1N1andSeasonalFluOutbreakCampaignbelowprovidesone exampleofhowyoucanusemanyofthetoolsoutlinedinthistoolkitinamajorhealth communicationcampaign.

20092010H1N1andSeasonalFluOutbreakCampaign
Duringthe20092010H1N1andSeasonalFluoutbreak,theCDCandtheU.S.Departmentof HealthandHumanServices(HHS)workedtogethertocreatesocialmediatoolsthatprovided consumersandpartnerswithcredible,sciencebasedinformation.Acomprehensivesetoftools wasdevelopedandutilizedtoencourageparticipationandachievetheoverallgoalof communicatingkeymessagestoinfluencehealthdecisions.Byutilizingmultipleformatsto disseminatemessages,usershadtheoptiontoparticipatebasedontheirknowledge,levelof access,andengagementwithsocialmedia. Avarietyofembeddabletoolsweremadeavailabletopartnerstofacilitatethesharingand promotionofH1N1andseasonalfluinformation.Toolswithportablecontent,suchaswidgets andonlinevideo,alloweduserstoeasilysharemessagesandbecomehealthadvocates. Buttons,orgraphicsutilizedforonlinepromotionofcampaigns,werecreatedspecificallyfor partnersandorganizationstopostontheirwebsitestoinformvisitorsofstepstotaketostop thespreadofH1N1andseasonalfluanddirectthemtoadditionalinformation.

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Badges,orgraphicsthatincludeamessageandalinktoawebpage, werecreatedforsocialnetworkusers.Userspostedbadgesonindividual socialnetworkingprofilesorpersonalblogs. ButtonsandbadgeswereavailableinSpanishandEnglishandcontainedhealthmessages targetedtomultipleaudiencesincludingpregnantwomen,healthcareproviders,schooland businesses. Theimagesbelowdemonstratetheuseofbuttonsonpublichealthpartnerwebpages. ButtonspromotingCDCs textingprogramandFlu messages
Source:OhioDepartmentofNaturalResourceshttp://ohiodnr.com/

ButtonspromotingCDCstextingprogram
Source:NorthGeorgiaHealthDistricthttp://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. TheuseofOnlineVideosharingsitesallowedforthedisseminationoftailoredhealtheducation 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

BothaudioandvideoH1N1Podcastswereproduced.Podcastswereavailablefordownloading fromtheCDC.govwebsiteaswellastoiTunescustomersthroughtheiTunesstore.Podcastson avarietyofflurelatedtopicswereavailable,includingaspecialpodcastforchildrenaboutflu prevention.H1N1relatedpodcastswereviewedatotalof2.67milliontimes.

Inadditiontoeasilydownloadabletools,CDCalsoofferedtoolsthatincorporatedsocialcontent suchaseCardsandtextmessages. AseriesofeCards,orelectronicgreetingcards,were developedtoallowuserstosendflurelatedhealth messagestofriends,family,andcoworkers.Theexample heredisplaysthereceiptofaneCardencouraging healthcareprofessionalstogetvaccinated.eCardsallow senderstoinsertpersonalmessages:

Encouragingyoutoatte ndourFluClinic onOctober25toreceiveyour vaccination. Hopetoseeyouthere! eCardsrelatedtoH1N1andseasonalfluhavebeensent morethan22,000timesandviewedacollective103,000 times. 40

TheCDCTextMessagingcampaignwaslaunchedinSeptember2009.Theprogramprovided threehealthmessagesaweektomorethan16,000subscribersonimportantCDCinformation aboutH1N1flu,seasonalfluandotherhealthrelatedtopics.

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 TheuseofTwitterprovidedCDCthe opportunitytocommunicaterapidlywitha wideaudienceofengagedusers.CDC providedrealtimeupdatesduringthe outbreakresponseonTwitterfromseveral officialCDCTwitterprofiles.TheCDCFluand CDCemergencyaccountswereused primarilytosharebriefupdatesonnew guidelines,resources,andthestatusofthe

Sampleavatar

Handwashing

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: Mashablehttp://mashable.com/socialmedia/Theworldslargestblogfocused exclusivelyonWeb2.0andSocialMedianews. PewInternet&AmericanLifeProjecthttp://www.pewinternet.org/Oneofsevenprojects thatmakeupthePewResearchCenter,theProjectisafacttankprovidinginformationon howinternetandtechnologytrends,issues,andattitudesareshapingtheU.S.andthe world. Siteanalyticshttp://www.compete.com/about/Awebanalyticcompanypoweredbythe largestpoolofonlineconsumerbehaviordataintheindustry. Quantcasthttp://www.quantcast.com/Siteprovidingdetailedaudienceprofile information. Technoratihttp://technorati.com/Ablogsearchengine. HubSpothttp://www.hubspot.com/products/Leadingmarketinganalyticcompanythat providessocialmediainformation,trainingandwebinarsonaperiodicbasis. NielsonOnlinehttp://enus.nielsen.com/Theworldsleadingmarketingandmedia informationcompanymeasuringaudienceanddemographicinformation. comScorehttp://www.comscore.com/Asourceofdigitalmarketingintelligence providingonlineaudiencemeasurementinformation. CTIATheWirelessAssociationhttp://www.ctia.org/Aninternationalnonprofit membershiporganizationthatrepresentsthewirelesscommunicationsindustry. FierceMobileHealthcarehttp://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/Weeklynewsletter thatprovidesthelatestnewsontherapidlyevolvingmobilehealthcareenvironment.

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SOCIALMEDIACOMMUNICATIONSSTRATEGYWORKSHEET
Usethisworksheettohelpyoustrategizeaboutyouraudience,andthepotentialsocialmedia toolsandchannelsyoumaywanttouseforyourcampaignorcommunicationactivity. 1. TargetAudience Describetheperson(s)youwanttoreachwithyourcommunication;beasspecificas possible.Morethanoneaudiencemaybelisted.Includeaprimaryandsecondary (influencers)audienceifappropriate.(Examples:Mothersofchildrenyoungerthantwoyears oldlivinginAtlanta,PediatricianspracticinginNevada.) I. II. III. 2. Determineyourobjective Whatdoyouwanttoachievethroughyoursocialmediaoutreachandcommunication?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/Achievablecantheobjectivebeachievedintheproposedtimeframewith theresourcesavailable? Relevant/Realisticistheobjectivedirectlyrelatedtotheoverarchingcommunication goalfromyourcommunicationplan? Timeboundhavedeadlinesbeenset? 46

(Example:ByDecember2012(timebound),therewillbea5%increase(measureable)in recognitionoftheimmunizationcampaignname(specific),asmeasuredthrough surveying,bymomsofchildrenundertwointheMetroAtlantaarea(specific).) I. II. III. AdditionalinformationonwritingSMARTobjectivescanbefound athttp://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief3b.pdf andhttp://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/state_program/evaluation_guides/smart_objectives.ht m. 3. DefineAudienceCommunicationNeeds Peopleaccessinformationinvariousways,atdifferenttimesoftheday,andfordifferent reasons.Ifpossible,defineyouraudienceneedsbyusingmarketresearchandotherdata. Youcanusethefollowingresources: "KnowingYourAudience&DoingMarketResearch"from Webcontent.gov:http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/improving/evaluating/audience.sht ml PewInternetandAmericanLifeProject:http://www.pewinternet.org/ CDCeHealthDataBriefs:http://www.cdc.gov/HealthMarketing/ehm/databriefs/ Describeyouraudiencesandtheirhealthinformationneeds. 4. GoalIntegration a) Describehowyoursocialmediaobjectivessupportyourorganizationsmission and/oroverallcommunicationsplan. b) Howdoesitsupportotheronlineorofflinecomponentswhatevents(either national/state/local)presentcommunicationopportunities? 5. MessageDevelopment Developthekeymessagesbasedonthetargetaudienceandobjectivesidentified. (Example:formomsofyoungchildrentoencouragelateseasonfluvaccination,Itsnottoo latetovaccinate.) I. II. III. 47

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6. ResourcesandCapacity Determinewhoinyourorganizationwillberesponsibleforimplementationandthenumber ofhourstheycanallocateforcontentcreationandmaintenance. 7. IdentifySocialMediaTools Determinewhattoolswilleffectivelyreachyourtargetaudience.Matchtheneedsofthe targetaudiencewiththetoolsthatbestsupportyourobjectivesandresources.(Example: BecauseFacebookhasalargepopulationofyoungwomenwhohavechildren,isfree,and requiresminimaltechnicalexpertise,itmaybeagoodtoolforamomcenteredprogram whileonlyrequiringasmallamountoffundingforsocialmediaactivities.) I. II. III. 8. DefineActivities Basedonalloftheelementsabove,listthespecificactivitiesyouwillundertaketoreach yourcommunicationgoalsandobjectives.(Example:DevelopandpromoteFacebookfan pagefordiabeteseducationprogram.) I. II. III. 9. Identifyyourkeypartnersandtheirrolesandresponsibilities 10. DefineSuccessforEvaluation Whatareyourmeasuresofsuccess?Yourmeasuresofsuccessmaybedifferentdepending onyourgoalsandobjectives. 11.Evaluate Createanevaluationplan;seetheSocialMediaEvaluationPlanformoreinformation.

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SOCIALMEDIAEVALUATIONWORKSHEET
Thisdocumentfocusesondevelopingabasicstructureforevaluatingsocialmediaactivities.For moreindepthevaluationplanning,pleaserefertotheresourcesinthisdocument. Step1:DevelopingtheModel Usingtheactivitiesandobjectivesdeterminedinthesocialmediacommunicationsstrategy document,considerthefollowingforeachactivityinyourprogram.Notethattheremaybe multipleinputs,outputs,andoutcomesforeachactivity. 1. Whataretheinputs,orresources(bothtangibleandintangible),thatneedtobein placefortheactivitiestohappen? 2. Whataretheoutputsofeachofthoseactivities?Inotherwords,whatwillbethe resultingproducts(usuallytangible)? 3. Whataretheexpectedoutcomesoftheactivitiesandoutputs(usuallyintangible)?That is,whataretheresultsyouhopetosee?(Example:Increasedawarenessofvaccination campaign.)Ifpossible,breakoutcomesintoshorttermandlongterm.Theoutcomes maybeverysimilarto(orthesameas)theobjectivesyoudevelopedintheSocialMedia CommunicationStrategyWorksheet. Inputs Example: Messages developedby communication specialists; personnel; internetaccess 50 Example:Using Twitterto promote vaccination campaignto momsofyoung children Example: Tweetsposted; tweets retweetedby others; followersof Twitterprofile Activities Outputs Outcomes Shortterm Example: Increased awarenessof vaccination campaign Longterm Example: Increased likelihoodof vaccinating children

Step2:DevelopingtheQuestions Consideringtheinputs,outputs,andoutcomesidentifiedabove,thinkabouthowthesecanbe measuredandwhatdatacanbecollected. Inputs: Howcaneachofyourinputsbemeasured,counted,orotherwiseevaluated?Forexample,if oneoftheinputsismessagesdevelopedbycommunicationspecialists,whatelementsofthis inputcanandshouldbemeasured? Exampleevaluationquestion:Howmanyaudiencetestedmessageshavebeendeveloped? Evaluationquestion1: Evaluationquestion2: Evaluationquestion3: Outputs: Howcantheproductsofyouractivitiesbemeasured?Forsocialmediaactivities,these questionsmayutilizewebanalytics,suchasclickthroughsandpageviews,ortheycouldinclude numbersoffriends,followers,ormessagesposted. Exampleevaluationquestions:ToevaluateoutputsofaTwitteraccount:Howmanymessages didwepost(duringasettimeframe)?Howmanyofthesemessageswereretweeted?Howmany followersdidweacquire? Evaluationquestion1: Evaluationquestion2: Evaluationquestion3: Outcomes: Outcomescanoftenbehardertomeasurethanoutputs,butoffergreatvalue.Theevaluation questionsforyouroutcomeswilllikelycomefromtheSMARTobjectivesyoudevelopedearlier. Forexample,ifyourobjectivewastoincreaseby5%thenumberoftargetaudiencemembers whowereawareofyourcampaign,yourevaluationquestionwouldreflectthisobjective. Exampleevaluationquestion:Whatpercentageofmomsofchildrenundertheageoftwointhe MetroAtlantaareahaveheardofthevaccinationcampaign? Evaluationquestion1: Evaluationquestion2: Evaluationquestion3: 51

Resources: http://www.cdc.gov/eval/resources.htm http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/progeval/default.htm http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/state_program/evaluation_guides/ W.K.KelloggFoundationLogicModelDevelopmentGuide,availableat http://www.wkkf.org/knowledgecenter/resources/2010/LogicModelDevelopmentGuide.aspx (ThisisanonCDCsite.Thislinkdoesnotimplyendorsement.)

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Lenhart,A.(2009).TheDemocratizationofSocialNetworks.RetrievedJanuary21,2010, fromhttp://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/41TheDemocratizationofOnline SocialNetworks.aspx Madden,M.(2009).TheAudienceforOnlineVideoSharingSitesShootsUp.RetrievedJanuary 28,2010,fromhttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/13TheAudienceforOnline VideoSharingSitesShootsUp.aspx Madden,M.,&Jones,S.(2008).Podcastdownloading2008.RetrievedMarch30,2010, fromhttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/PodcastDownloading2008.aspx SchoolKidsHealthcareBlog.(2010).RetrievedJanuary28,2010, fromhttp://www.schoolkidshealthcareblog.com/ ShotofPreventionBlog.(2010).RetrievedJanuary29,2010,fromhttp://shotofprevention.com/ Siteanalytics.(2010).Siteprofiles.RetrievedJuly19,2010, fromhttp://siteanalytics.compete.com/ Siteanalytics.(2010).SiteProfileforYouTube.com.RetrievedJanuary28,2010, fromhttp://siteanalytics.compete.com/youtube.com/ Sussman,M.(2009).Technorati:StateoftheBlogosphere2009,Day1:WhoaretheBloggers? RetrievedFebruary8,2010,fromhttp://technorati.com/blogging/article/day1whoare thebloggers1/ Quantcast.(2010a).Profileview.RetrievedJanuary21,2010, fromhttp://www.quantcast.com/facebook.com/demographics Quantcast.(2010b).Profileview.RetrievedJanuary21,2010, fromhttp://www.quantcast.com/myspace.com/demographics Quantcast.(2010c).Profileview.RetrievedJanuary21,2010, fromhttp://www.quantcast.com/twitter.com#demographics 55

TheHealthCommunicatorsSocialMediaToolkit
ThistoolkitwasdevelopedbytheElectronicMediaBranch,DivisionofNewsandElectronic Media,OfficeoftheAssociateDirectorofCommunicationattheCentersforDiseaseControland Prevention(CDC).Itwasdesignedtoprovideguidanceandtothesharelessonslearnedinmore thanthreeyearsofintegratingsocialmediaintoCDChealthcommunicationcampaigns, activitiesandemergencyresponseefforts.Inthisguide,youwillfindinformationtohelpyouget startedusingsocialmediafromdevelopinggovernancetodeterminingwhichchannelsbest meetyourcommunicationobjectivestocreatingasocialmediastrategy.Youwillalsolearn aboutpopularchannelsyoucanincorporateintoyourplan,likeblogs,videosharingsites, mobileapplicationsandRSSfeeds.Thistoolkitisintendedforabeginneraudience,although someviewerswithanintermediatelevelmayfindpartsofthetoolkituseful.

Acknowledgments
Anumberofdedicatedandhardworkingprofessionalscontributedtothecreationofthistoolkit. Fortheirinvaluableinput,wewouldliketothankthefollowingCDCstaffandcontractors: AnnAikin,MA,CDC HeatherBrink,MPH

DianeBrodalski,BS(NorthupGrummanContractor)

JessicaSchindelar,MPH(NorthupGrummanContractor) HolliSeitz,MPH CurtShannon,BA WewouldespeciallyliketothankDianeBrodalski,theprojectcoordinator,forkeepinguson taskandmakingsureallofthepiecescametogether.WealsoacknowledgeandthankGlen Nowak,CarolCrawford,andDoganEroglufortheirreviewandexcellentcontributionstothe guide. ThankstothestaffofCDCsElectronicMediaBranch,whosetechnicalknowledgeandexpertise haveenhancedthistoolkitscontentandquality.