How social media
is being used to
improve health
Four Experts Share Their Experience and Insights
#SM4PH
Promoting good health falls under
What is social marketing*:
Uses commercial marketing approach to
change behavior
Uses the four P’s of marketing:
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
social marketing
*Glanz, Rimer,
Viswanath, 2008
Role of research
Theoretical foundation
Audience segmentation
Types of approaches
Product-driven
Consumer-driven
Market-driven
Developing an
effective campaign
www.cancer.gov
Examples of
social marketing b.s.m. (before social media)
1958-1961
Sponsor: CDC
1983 - Present
Sponsors: U.S. Dept. of Transportation/NHTSA
1985 - Present
Sponsors: U.S. Dept. of Transportation/NHTSA
1988 - 1990
Sponsors: Amer. Fdn. for
AIDS Research/Nat. AIDS
Networks
2011
Sponsor: Behind German Walls
Sponsor:
BMW
2012
Sponsors: Glee/NHTSA/The Ad Council
2005
Sponsor: Montana Meth Project
Launched 2003
175 million users*
Launched 2004
1 billion users*
Along comes
social media
Launched 2006
500 million users*
Launched 2011
400 million users*
* As of 2012
How can social media be used to
promote health?
Insights of some
industry experts
Frances Heilig
Jeff Picarello
@jeffpicarello
Melissa Taylor
@groovymomma
Jana Leigh Thomas
Linkedin.com/in/janaleighthomas
Corinne
Shefner-Rogers
Q1: How has social media
changed social marketing?
More concise messages with links.
(Shefner-Rogers)
Two-way communication. (Heilig)
Get to the point quickly. (Thomas)
What is the “social ask”?
What the experts
had to say
With social media, the feedback loop is
much shorter.
Thoughts from
Jeff Picarello
Q2: What are the
benefits of using social media in social marketing campaigns?
Quick, multi-channel responses. (Picarello)
More immediate and interactive
communication with consumers.
(Thomas/Taylor)
Targeted messages with real-time
feedback. (Heilig)
What the experts
had to say
Once you put a message out
there, anyone can access it at
any time.
Thoughts from
Corinne Shefner-Rogers
Q3: What are the
drawbacks of using social media in social marketing campaigns?
Competition and clutter. (Shefner-Rogers)
Not all social networks are the same.
(Heilig)
Need to give good information – or else
you’re giving misinformation. (Picarello)
What the experts
had to say
…the perceived ease and low
cost to many of the channels
makes it tempting to do
everything vs. picking the ones
and investing strategically.
Thoughts from
Jana Leigh Thomas
Q4: Will you share some
best practices or lessons learned?
Content control through blogging.
(Thomas/Taylor and Picarello)
“Care and feeding.” (Picarello)
What the experts
had to say
Using Social Media Platforms to
Amplify Public Health Messages http://smexchange.ogilvypr.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/11/OW_SM_WhitePaper.pdf
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute’s the Heart Truth campaign http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/downloads/html/sm-study.htm
Recommendations from
Frances Heilig
Q5: What does the
future hold for social media and social marketing campaigns?
Focus on the story we have to tell and let
that guide us to a social media strategy.
(Thomas/Taylor)
Give people a voice. (Heilig)
Mobile technology and near field
communication. (Picarello)
What the experts
had to say
The challenge will be to
find ways to reach
people who have not yet
heard and are not
actively seeking the
public health information.
Thoughts from
Jana Leigh Thomas
Many of today’s social marketing campaigns
have a social media component
@AmericanCancer
@AlzAssociation @dontdrivendtext
@KomenfortheCure
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ActAgainstAIDS?fref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/SurfDogRicochet?sk=app_320180588040301#!/stopbullyingspeakup
From all of this, here are
the key themes Social media is not a magic bullet.
Age-old rule still applies – Right message to
the right people through the right channel.
Remember: it’s “social media.” People
expect interaction.
If you are going to engage in social media,
take the time to do it well.
Some parting
points to ponder
Social media is kind of like the
Wild West. It’s a very self-
governing world. With
technology changing so fast,
you kind of just have to try
things and see what works.
I believe that people will be so
overwhelmed by social media
messaging that they will tune
out once the novelty of the
medium wears off, the same
way they did with PSAs and
other ‘old’ media channels, or
they will find their ‘niche
channel’ and narrow their
sources for information even
more.
How social media
is being used to
improve health
Four Experts Share Their Experience and Insights
#SM4PH