According to David Fouse, Director of Communications and Marketing, American Public Health Association (APHA), staying abreast of changes in social media is important:
"Just as we adapt to emerging health threats, we also need to keep up with the tools and technologies that can help us prevent and protect against those threats. And considering how rapidly social media evolves and its potential to promote health, it's important to remain proficient."
Two ways you can stay abreast of these changes in social media are to set up an appointment for social media TA with HIV.gov's Virtual Office Hours or attend the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting social media lab.
Our Fall One-on-One Social Media Assistance Schedule Is Now Open
Our Fall 2018 schedule for Virtual Office Hours (VOH) is now open for appointments. With a VOH appointment, you can discuss your social media questions with our experts. Maybe your question is "how should/could changes in digital platforms inform my HIV communication?". Maybe it's "how can I be sure I'm interpreting platform analytics correctly when the dashboard just changed?". Whatever your questions, we are here to serve.
APHA 2018 Social Media Lab
The HIV.gov team will be part of the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting social media labExit Disclaimer, offering personalized and group training on social media use and communications planning. Here's how to take part:
When: Monday, November 12 and Tuesday, November 13, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
What: Hands-on advice and instruction on everything from sending your first tweet to developing a social media strategy. Whether you're new to social media or a longtime user, we can help you improve your impact.
How: Conference goers can walk-in to any session scheduled below or reserve your spot for one-on-one coachingExit Disclaimer or drop by for these sessions:
Monday, November 12
12:40 p.m. How did you score? Using quizzes for social media engagement
2:40 p.m. Build your brand! 1: Intro to finding your voice
4:40 p.m. Build your brand! 2: This time, it's professional
Tuesday, November 13
12:40 p.m. How to make Snapchat work for public health
2:40 p.m. How Instagram stories can help build your brand
4:40 p.m. The age of AI: Chatbots and public health
Why We Provide Social Media Technical Assistance
HIV.gov is a trusted name in digital communication and training. For years, we have been training the HIV and public health community to use social media and other online tools to extend the reach of HIV prevention, care, and treatment information. Our social media labs and Virtual Office Hours training opportunities help provide insights into changes in how we reflect communicated HIV related content.
We regularly look at three facets of change: 1) what's new in HIV prevention, care, and treatment information; 2) what's effective in using digital tools (our own use and at large); and 3) what's changing in social media platform functionality. That means that the information that needs to be communicated to the HIV community is frequently changing, as well as how we create digital content to deliver that information. Who would have thought that PrEP or treatment as prevention would be part of the content? Who knew that there'd be Snapchat's popular yet disappearing content? And, now there are chatbots for personalized health communication.
With this knowledge, we offer social media labs and Virtual Office Hours TA to the HIV and public health community throughout our program year. We hope you take up these training opportunities. To be in the loop about digital communication related to HIV and viral hepatitis, and all things HIV.gov, subscribe to the HIV.gov blog.