The Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit

This guide to using social media is designed to help organisations improve the reach of health messages, increase access to content, further participation with audiences, and advance transparency to improve health communication efforts. The toolkit was developed by the Electronic Media Branch, Division of News and Electronic Media at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It aims to share lessons learned in more than three years of integrating social media into CDC health communication campaigns, activities, and emergency response efforts.
The guide offers information to help organisations get started using social media - from developing governance to determining which channels best meet organisational communication objectives to creating a social media strategy. It looks at different channels which can be used to incorporate into a social media plan, such as blogs, video-sharing sites, mobile applications, and RSS feeds.
According to the publishers, this toolkit is intended for a beginner audience, although some viewers with an intermediate level may find parts of the toolkit useful. This is a revised version of the first edition which was published in August 2010.
The toolkit includes the following content:
1. Social Media Introduction

• Social Media Overview
• Getting Your Feet Wet With Social Media
• CDC's Top Lessons Learned from Using Social Media
• Developing a Social Media Strategy
• Social Media Monitoring and Evaluation
• Governing Social Media Efforts

2. Social Media Tools

• Buttons and Badges
• Image Sharing
• Content Syndication
• RSS Feeds
• Podcasts
• Online Video Sharing
• Widgets
• eCards
• Mobile Technologies
• Twitter
• Blogs
• Facebook

3. Social Media Campaign Example CDC Vital Signs Campaign
4. More Social Media Resources
5. Social Media Communications Strategy Worksheet