CDC’s Guide to Writing for Social Media was written to provide guidance and share the lessons learned in more than three years of creating social media messages in CDC health communication campaigns, activities, and emergency response efforts. In this guide, you will find information to help you write more effectively using multiple social media channels, particularly Facebook, Twitter, and mobile phone text messaging. Some of the topics covered:- How to incorporate the principles of health literacy in your messages
- How social media should be part of your overall health communication efforts
- Separate chapters on writing for Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging
There are a couple of ways you can access the Guide:
The link to the actual PDF of the Writing Guide
The Writing Guide on the Gateway “Tools and Templates” webpage
We want to hear from you! Leave a comment with your thoughts about the Guide – what you liked, and what you would like to see improved in the next edition. In particular, we want to hear about your successes in writing for social media – what techniques you have used to better reach your own audiences. We will take all your comments and suggestions into account as we prepare the next edition of the Guide.
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May 9, 2012 at 1:37 pm ET - Kate Harrison Whiteside
Hello. Thanks a million for this resource. I can’t believe the serendipity. I am delivering a social media workshop to literacy coordinators Friday. Your guide – especially the re-write examples and checklists – are brilliant. I have credited you and promoted it on LinkedIn and Twitter. I will also be looking at it as a plain language resource.
Cheers Kate
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June 21, 2012 at 9:59 am ET - Cindy Wright/CJW Associates
The key concept is to view your social media efforts as part of an overall health communications strategy. Agencies can quickly fall into a trap of pursing social media as ‘the campaign’. The health behavior, for example, should be incorporated into the ultimate goal and achieved through a series of strategies, including social media. Always understand each audience group as a customer of your information. Hone the messages for each ‘audience’ and work deliberately to reach individuals with those specific health messages.
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July 28, 2012 at 9:18 pm ET - Ashwin Narayan
Excellent article. Social Media is a huge deal now for all our clients and a great way to disseminate information. My company uses Social Media on a daily basis to help out our clients and get the information out. My wife is a Public Health student and she was telling me how they are starting to use the campaigns to get the information out to their “audience” and how it will be beneficial in the future to getting timely information out to those who need it.
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September 17, 2012 at 5:15 am ET - E Okul
Hi. I would like to thank you too for this great resource. I needed such a source especially for Facebook. Thanks again.
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September 17, 2012 at 8:50 am ET - Wanda Anglin
The social media guide is an excellent source of information and can provide a framework for many agencies as a best practice. I plan to utilize this reference for my own private company’s social media efforts including how to form ideas for my blog. Even internet marketers should consider their audience rather than planning a campaign from one point of view. I hope other governmental agencies, nonprofits, and private sector can learn from your example.
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September 19, 2012 at 3:55 am ET - CDC publishes a guide on writing for social media | BeCHANGE
[...] part of the US Department of Department of Health and Human Services, recently published a new guide on writing for social media mainly targeted to public health professionals working for the CDC, but also open to “other [...]
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