Social Media: The Basics Teresa Marks School Community Oral Health Conference Friday, October 16, 2015

Session Description “This session will walk novice users through the steps of creating a social media presence. They will set up an account, learn the basics, and simple navigation for:”

What is “social media”?  Definition: “Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)” – Merriam-Webster,  In other words, social media is a set of tools one can use to communicate, engage, and connect with others.

Why use social media?  Approximately 3 out of 4 adults online use social networking sites (74%)  71% of online adults use Facebook  23% use Twitter  26% use Instagram  Social media is used across all education and economic levels  Usage is most variable by age groups:  Ages = 89%  = 82%  = 65%  65+ = 49% Pew Research Center's Internet Project January Omnibus Survey, January 23-26, 2014.

Who is the social media audience? The answer is EVERYONE.  General public  Policy makers  Patients  Parents  Students  Teachers  Advocates

Basic rules to Social Media  Listen  Engage  Measure

You don’t have to use every tool!

Where do I begin?  Get personally active!  You will not be successful at communicating information from these platforms unless you are comfortable with them.  Select a platform you have heard of and get started.

What is Facebook? Facebook a multifacted social media platform that allows easy sharing of information - thoughts, news articles, photos, videos and much more!

Facebook: Getting Started Things you need:  An address  An interest in learning  Patience  Some free time

Common Facebook Terms  Friend: Someone you are connected to on Facebook. All friendships must be confirmed by both people to be official.  Post: Both the act of sharing information and the information itself. Ex. You “post” a picture and the picture is your “post”.  Status update: a short post you share talking about what you’re doing, thinking, or feeling at the moment.  Wall/Timeline: your Profile Page. Contains all your: posts, photos, videos, a list of your friends, biographical information you’ve chosen to share, etc. You can also update your status from your wall.  News feed/live feed: Your default homepage on Facebook. It is a continuous stream of status updates and posts about your friends’ activities.

Facebook tips  When you post on your wall, everyone who is your “friend” can see this on their news feed.  When you post on someone else’s wall, your friends do not see that on their news feed.

What is Twitter? Twitter is a microblog where you can post very short pieces of information (140 characters or less).

Twitter: Getting Started Things you need:  An address  An interest in learning  Patience  Some free time 

Common Twitter Terms  Follower: You “follow” other users and users who “follow” you are your “followers.” The more followers you have, the more your information is seen and potentially shared. Unlike Facebook, relationships are not necessarily reciprocal.  Tweet: Like a “post” on Facebook, a tweet is the action of sharing information and also the information itself. Tweets must be 140 characters or less.  Retweet: Sharing another users tweet and giving them credit. You must use sign before the avatar name to ensure it gets linked.  Hashtag: The pound sign (#); allows for tweets to be labeled and become searchable by users.  Trending: When a term or hashtag is extremely popular on Twitter at any given moment; these change VERY quickly.

Common Twitter Terms  Feed: The stream of users’ tweets and retweets. Your homepage will be the stream of everyone who you are following. Your feed is arranged in chronological order, with the most recent information at the top.  Direct Message (DM): A private message between two users. You can use DM before a person’s avatar to label that message as a direct message.  Example – would mean you are directing that message just (WV Oral Health Coalition’s Twitter account).

Twitter Tips  Anything you say on Twitter is public unless you check a box to make all tweets private. This can be found in your settings.  The more users you follow, the more interesting your Twitter experience will be.

What is Instagram? Instagram is a photo sharing and editing application that can connect with other social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter.

Instagram: Getting Started Things you need:  A smart phone (iPhone or Android) with a camera  An interest in learning and photography  Other social media account (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)  Patience  Some free time  Mobile app

Common Instagram Terms  Followers: Just like Twitter; you follow others and they can follow you.  Tag (hashtag): Again, just like Twitter. You can include labels using the # to make your photos searchable.  Feed: Guess what? Just like Twitter! Those you follow will appear in chronological order on your home page/feed.  Filters: The popular aspect of Instagram. You can use filters (a digital layer) with your photos and give them a professionally-edited look (enhance colors, age, soften etc.) A way of including other Instagram users in your photo posting. Use followed by their user name in your photo caption.

Instagram tips  Instagram accounts are by default public; if you want to choose who sees your photos, you will need to make your account private in the settings.  You can find friends/followers easily by linking with your Facebook and/or Twitter account.  You will have the option of with each photo of sharing only on Instagram or other social media sites as well.  You can also access your account online at Instagram.com, but you only upload photos and videos through the mobile application.

Questions?

Thank you!  Like the WV Oral Health Coalition on Facebook  Follow the WV Oral Health Coalition on Twitter and Instagram