Page 48 - Focus on Prevention: Strategies and Programs to Prevent Substance Use

Social Media Event Promotion

120 or More Days  Identify your target audiences. If some or all of those audiences are active on social media,
Prior create a plan for social media promotion.
 Create accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and/or other social media sites that are
relevant to your target audiences, such as Instagram.
 Identify local community and prevention bloggers for targeted outreach and engagement.
 Create a YouTube promotional video.
60-90 Days Prior  Update your organization’s or group’s website and/or blog with information about your event
and upcoming activity dates and times.
 Create a detailed schedule for social media posts (on Twitter and Facebook) and blogger
outreach. Include dates and times when content should be posted.
— Draft social media posts and blogger outreach materials.
— Send bloggers outreach materials. Schedule a round of follow-up e-mails to bloggers who
haven’t responded by a given date to be determined by you/your organization.
 Create a unique #hashtag for your event.
 Begin disseminating social media posts using your organization’s Facebook and Twitter
accounts, and include the event’s unique #hashtag.
 Invite community members to participate.
30 Days Prior  Use your social media accounts to link to your organization’s website as well as SAMHSA’s
National Prevention Week (http://www.samhsa.gov/prevention-week) and your
partners’ websites.
 Send follow-up e-mails to identified bloggers.
Week of Event  Disseminate the final round of social media posts, highlighting the date and time of your
prevention event(s).
 On the day of your event: Disseminate social media posts highlighting your event activities.
Following Event  Send thank-you letters to bloggers that promoted your event.
 Post a message on Facebook and Twitter thanking community members for attending
the event.
 Post pictures and videos from your event on your organization’s website and/or social media
networks. Make sure to obtain necessary permissions from people featured in the photos
and videos before posting the pictures online or using them in print materials.

To boost your event’s online presence, consider:
 Asking local celebrities or well-known prevention advocates in your community to share a guest blog post, to be
promoted through your organization’s social media accounts.
 Hosting a “Twitter chat” with a local celebrity or prevention advocate in your community. For more information
about how to host a Twitter chat, see “The Ultimate Guide To Hosting A Tweet Chat” at http://www.forbes.com/
sites/stevecooper/2013/09/30/the-ultimate-guide-to-hosting-a-tweet-chat.

44 Focus On Prevention