SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY WORKSHEET

Use this worksheet to help you strategize about your audience, and the potential social media tools and channels you may want to use for your campaign or communication activity.

1. Target Audience

Describe the person(s) you want to reach with your communication; be as specific as possible. More than one audience may be listed. Include a primary and secondary (influencers) audience if appropriate. (Examples: Mothers of children younger than two years old living in Atlanta, Pediatricians practicing in Nevada.)

I. Male and female 13-18-year-old adolescents who vape

II. Parents of such adolescents

2. Determine your objective

What do you want to achieve through your social media outreach and communication? This could include something you want your target audience to do as a direct result of experiencing the communication. Objectives may include (but are not limited to) the following:

a) Provide information

•Highlight a campaign

•Encourage a health behavior

•Reinforce health messages

•Encourage interaction

•Obtain feedback/exchange ideas

•Collaborate with partners (Example: Increase awareness of immunization campaign.)

I. Increase public awareness on the dangers of vaping

II. Highlight a campaign

III. Promote cessation

b) Restate your objectives in SMART terms:

Specific – state in concrete, detailed and well-defined terms – What exactly are we going to do for whom?

Measurable – should be quantifiable and the source of measurement has been identified.

Attainable/Achievable – can the objective be achieved in the proposed time frame with the resources available? Relevant/Realistic – is the objective directly related to the overarching communication goal from your communication plan?

Time-bound – have deadlines been set?

(Example: By December 2012 (time-bound), there will be a 5% increase (measureable) in recognition of the immunization campaign name (specific), as measured through surveying, by moms of children under two in the Metro Atlanta area (specific).)

I. By May 2022, every school in Florida will provide a scientific-based curriculum designed to prevent e-cigarette use among teens. The curriculum will also focus on topics such as self-image, lung injuries and deaths, reducing marketing influences from tobacco industry and enforcing restrictions on tobacco sales.

Additional information on writing SMART objectives can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief3b.pdf and http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/programs/nhdsp_program/evaluation_guides/smart_objectives.htm

3. Define Audience Communication Needs

People access information in various ways, at different times of the day, and for different reasons. If possible, define your audience needs by using market research and other data. You can use the following resources:

•Pew Internet and American Life Project: http://www.pewinternet.org/

•Tools of Change Planning Guide: http://www.toolsofchange.com/en/planning-guide/

(This is a non-CDC site. This link does not imply endorsement.)

Describe your audiences and their health information needs.

Male and female 13-18-year-old adolescents who are unaware that vaping could potentially lead to harmful effects and who may think that vaping is a healthier alternative to smoking.

4. Goal Integration

a) Describe how your social media objectives support your organization’s mission and/or overall communications plan.

My social media objectives to increase public awareness on the dangers of vaping and to promote cessation among adolescents is at the core of my organization’s mission to provide a scientific-based information designed to prevent e-cigarette use among teens.

b) How does it support other online or offline components – what events (either national/state/local) present communication opportunities?

It will advertise local events that will provide crucial information about the dangers of vaping.

5. Message Development

Develop the key messages based on the target audience and objectives identified.

(Example: for moms of young children to encourage late season flu vaccination, “It’s not too late to vaccinate.”)

I. What everyone needs to know about the truth of vaping.

II. “Vaping unveiled” coming to Orlando, FL

6. Resources and Capacity

Determine who in your organization will be responsible for implementation, and determine the number of hours they can allocate for content creation and maintenance.

Rachel Pearce will be the health education responsible to implement this program. She will allocate 10 hours per week for content creation and maintenance of social media websites.

7. Identify Social Media Tools

Determine what tools will effectively reach your target audience. Match the needs of the target audience with the tools that best support your objectives and resources. (Example: Because Facebook has a large population of young women who have children, is free, and requires minimal technical expertise, it may be a good tool for a mom-centered program while only requiring a small amount of funding for social media activities.)

I. Adolescents use a lot of social media. Therefore, Facebook is a great tool to draw attention on the dangers of vaping.

8. Define Activities

Based on all of the elements above, list the specific activities you will undertake to reach your communication goals and objectives. (Example: Develop and promote Facebook fan page for diabetes education program.)

I. Develop and promote Facebook fan page for vaping cessation program.

9. Identify your key partners and their roles and responsibilities

My key partners will be the Orlando Health Department, CVS pharmacy, and Advent Health.