This document provides guidance for local public health agencies on creating and using online communities through social media. It discusses getting started with Facebook and Twitter accounts, making the most of a Facebook page through customizing settings and posts, and why an agency should use Twitter to connect with the community, media, and other organizations. Example posts and analytics tools are also referenced.

1. Creating and Connecting
with an Online Community:
A Social Media Guide for Local Public Health
Agencies
Created for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department by Allison Kline
Springfield-Greene County Health Department
227 E. Chestnut Expressway
Springfield, MO 65802
417-864-1658, http://www.springfieldmo.gov/health
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2. Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Getting Started with Social Media
Facebook 3
Making the Most of Your Facebook Page 6
Twitter 9
What is Twitter and Why Should I Use It? 12
YouTube 14
Social Media Policy 17
Glossary 18
Social Media Resources 20
Appendix A: Sample Posts 22
Appendix B: Facebook Insights 24
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3. “[Social media is] about making people’s lives, businesses and
community a little better with each interaction.” –Jay Conrad Levinson &
Shane Gibson in Guerilla Social Media Marketing (2010)
What do social media and public health have in common? Community. Local public health
agencies connect with the community to provide education about topics like healthy living,
disease treatment and prevention, food safety, and environmental health. Social media becomes
an effective channel for communication when users connect to form communities based on
shared interests.
What can social media do for me? Social media tools help us connect with our community and
share our knowledge, while highlighting the services that local public health agencies provide.
Social media will allow us to educate the public about the field of public health and its wide
scope. Additionally, social media can be used to promote existing programs, introduce new
programs, partner with other organizations, connect with potential clients and volunteers and
gain community support for programs and projects.
Like public health messages, social media can only be effective when it is perceived as credible,
informative and useful. Social media can help you gain credibility with your audience by
providing them with relevant, interesting, and relatable information. This guide will show you
how to start a social media presence and provide tips on how to use social media to connect with
your community.
Fast Facts on Social Media:
• 1 of 6 minutes spent online is spent on a social networking site
• If Facebook was a country it would be one of the largest in the world (700 million users)
• In May 2011, 157.2 million people visited Facebook.com
• In 2010 there were two billion YouTube videos viewed each day
• An average YouTube user spends 15 minutes on the site per day (2010)
• It would take you 1700 years to watch every video uploaded to YouTube
• As of March 2011, Twitter users posted an average of one billion tweets per week
• In February 2011 there were 460,000 new Twitter accounts created each day
Statistics from:
Facebook: Social Networking Accounts for 1 of every 6 Minutes Spent Online by Ben Parr for Mashable.com (June 2011)
YouTube: Five Years In, YouTube is Now Streaming Two Billion Views Per Day by Jason Kincaid for TechCrunch.com (May 2010)
Twitter: Twitter Statistics by KissMetrics Marketing blog
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4. Getting Started with Social Media
Facebook
1. Go to www.facebook.com in any internet browser, this will direct you to the main log-in
screen (shown below).
2. Click the “Create a Page” link at the bottom right. Remember: Facebook profiles are only
for personal accounts, Facebook can delete a profile created for a business or
organization under its terms of use.
3. Choose the type of page from Facebook’s pre-defined categories. If you are creating your
Facebook page for a health department, then you want to categorize it as an organization.
After your page is set up, you can designate your page as a government organization in
the “Information” tab.
4. Set your page’s name and agree to Facebook’s terms of use.
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5. 5. You are now ready to create and customize your Facebook page. The page shown below
will give you the option to create a page connected to a personal account or to create a
new account for the page.
6. Facebook will then direct you to your new page where you will be able to add
information about your organization and invite others to become fans of your page.
On this screen you can also:
1) Add a profile picture by clicking “Upload an Image”
2) Suggest to Facebook friends (using your personal profile)
3) Import e-mail contacts to let business contacts know about your page
4) Post a status update
5) Create a website badge that will direct users to your Facebook page
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6. 7. Click the “edit info” button under the page name to add a description of your
organization and your website address. You will also be able to add a profile picture and
change your settings on this tab.
8. When your page has 25 or more fans you can use the “edit info” section to create a
username for your page. This creates a user-friendly website address that makes it easy
for users to go straight to your page (ex: www.facebook.com/SGCHD). This makes it
easier for you to promote your Facebook page offline. Usernames cannot be changed
once they are assigned to a page. See page 7 for instructions on creating a username.
9. Create your first post by clicking on the “wall” tab and updating your page’s status. Your
first status should introduce your page’s purpose and encourage your fans to suggest your
page to their friends.
Additional Facebook Resources:
• Facebook’s Resources page provides best practices guides for community and
government organizations
• Facebook’s Insights feature tracks the amount of pages views and interactions; it is
accessible from the page at any time. Page administrators will also receive a weekly
Insights e-mail. See Appendix B (p. 24) for examples of Facebook Insights.
• Mashable’s Facebook Guide provides more tips for setting up and maintaining a
Facebook page
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7. Making the Most of Your Facebook Page: Information Tab
When you create your Facebook fan page you will be asked to fill in fields with a short
description of your organization’s mission, your contact information and locations. To edit your
information, go to your page and click “edit info” under the page’s title.
About: The “about” field will appear on your information tab and on the sidebar of your
page. This section should be a short (one sentence) description of your organization.
This is how the "About"
box will appear on your
page's main screen.
General Information: This will only appear on the “info” tab of your page. This is
where you provide a thorough description of your organization’s mission and the services
that you provide to the community. You may also want to include a comments policy or
an organizational policy statement on social media use. This will provide your Facebook
community with guidelines for interacting with your page. The following example is the
comment policy posted on SGCHD’s page:
SGCHD’s Comment Policy (Located in “General Info” section on “Info” tab):
Your comments are important in helping us make Springfield a healthier, happier
place to live. Please be respectful of all members of our online community and
keep comments free of profanity and personal attacks. All comments deemed
offensive under this policy will be deleted.
Description: The “description” section is very similar to “general information”. This
field provides you with the chance to tell the community what your organization does.
Usually, either the “general information” field or the “description” field needs to be
filled. A large amount of text on your “info” tab will discourage users from reading it.
Other fields: Facebook provides a variety of other information fields to help you
customize your page, including: Mission, Awards, and Products. They can be filled in
with one to two sentence descriptions if desired. Most likely, these areas will already be
addressed in your “about” and “general information/description” fields.
Contact Information: At the bottom of the “edit profile” page is the contact information
section. Make sure that all contact information provided is correct and current. You may
also want to provide an e-mail address for the staff member that is responsible for the
Facebook page. This lets your online community know who they are interacting with and
will allow them to contact your staff with any questions or concerns, making your
Facebook page a valuable customer service resource. It is also a good idea to test the link
to your website to make sure that it is functional.
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8. Making the Most of Your Facebook Page: Likes and Interests
Likes and Interests: This section of the “Info” tab also appears on your page’s main
screen. It lists all of the pages that you are connected to online. It is a good idea to
connect with other organizations with similar missions so that you can share content and
find opportunities to partner with other organizations.
This is how “Likes and
This is how “Likes and Interests” will Interests” will appear on
appear on your page’s main screen. the “Info” tab of your
You can also mention an organization/group/person that your page has “liked” in one of
your posts by using the @ symbol and typing in the first letters of the page’s name.
Facebook will then give you a drop down menu to choose the page you want to mention.
When you have successfully tagged a page in your post it will appear as a blue link.
The blue link indicates that
Springfield-Greene County WIC
has been tagged in SGCHD’s
post.
When you tag another page in your post, the post will appear on your wall, as well as the
wall of the page that you tagged. This allows you to reach other page’s fans, and give
them a chance to learn more about your organization and become a fan of your page.
Other organizations also appreciate it when you share their posted material. They may
even share one of your posts on their wall.
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9. Making the Most of Your Facebook Page: Custom URL
(Username)
Once your page has 25 fans, Facebook gives you the option to create a username using the “Info”
tab. A username is a customized URL that will give users a direct link to your Facebook page.
Usernames should be short and (if possible) match your page’s name or one of your
organization’s other usernames (Google, Twitter, YouTube, etc.). Consistent usernames will help
your online community find you on multiple social media platforms.
Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s Usernames:
Facebook: Facebook.com/SGCHD
Twitter: @SGCHD
YouTube: SGCHDMO
Finding Information on Facebook
The primary way that Facebook users find information is through the news feed feature (left). A
news feed collects posts from friends and pages on Facebook’s main screen. Most Facebook
users see posts from pages that they “like” in their news feeds rather than going to the page
directly.
A news feed collects posts from “walls” or the page on Facebook that allows users to create
posts and share links, videos and pictures. Each Facebook page and profile has a wall, and an
example of a page’s wall is shown to the right.
An example of a page’s wall
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10. Getting Started with Social Media
Twitter
1. Go to http://twitter.com in an internet browser.
2. Sign up for an account by filling out the fields shown above.
3. Create your Twitter username and set up a password. Your username should be
descriptive and easy-to-recognize. To create your account you must also agree to
Twitter’s terms of service.
4. After you have joined Twitter you will always be able to monitor and change your
account settings using the settings tab. This is also where you will add a background,
profile picture, description and location to your Twitter profile (explained in steps 5 & 6).
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11. 5. Go to the “profile” tab on the settings page to add a description, location, website and
picture to your profile. Twitter requires that the description be 160 characters or less. The
description should be similar to the one that appears on your Facebook page and/or
website and should briefly state your organization’s mission.
The Profile tab allows you to edit your information at any
The Design tab lets you customize your profile's background.
time.
6. Using the “design” tab (shown above) you can set a background and theme colors. A
theme includes the colors of the text, links and tags. You can use Twitter’s pre-set
backgrounds and themes or customize your own.
7. After you’ve created your Twitter profile, it’s time to start tweeting. Use Twitter’s
homepage to create useful updates by sharing links and pictures and interacting with the
Twitter community in 140 characters or less. For ideas on what to Tweet, see the
examples in Appendix A (p. 20).
8. Next, you will want to start following Twitter users that are interested in aspects of your
organization’s mission. Use the “Who to Follow” tab at the top of the screen to see
Twitter’s recommendations, as shown in the image below. You can also use the search
bar to search by name, Twitter username, or e-mail address. Using the tabs at the top of
the “Who to Follow” screen (show below) you can browse by interest or import your e-
mail contact list.
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12. 9. To tag another Twitter user in one of your posts use the @username format. On Twitter,
tagging someone in one of your tweets is called a “mention.” This user will be notified
that you used his or her name in a tweet. Below is an example of an @ mention:
You can also communicate with users who follow you via direct message (DM). A direct
message does not appear on your Twitter profile, and is similar to an e-mail (but must be
done in Twitter’s standard 140 characters or less format). Direct messages can be
accessed through the “Messages” tab on the home screen.
10. Post links, pictures, and videos to Twitter as often as possible. Remember that Twitter is
a way to communicate directly with various members of an online community, don’t be
afraid to mention someone or send a DM when you find their post interesting or want to
ask a question.
Additional Twitter Resources:
• Mashable’s Twitter for Beginners provides more suggestions on how to connect with
other Twitter users and build a Twitter community
• HowTo.gov’s Twitter Best Practices guide gives strategies to effectively use Twitter and
suggests applications that can make using Twitter easier and more effective
• Twitter Cheat Sheet provides definitions of basic Twitter terms and tips for using your
account effectively.
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13. What is Twitter and Why Should I Use It?
Twitter gives you the chance to let your followers know about your organization’s programs,
services and promotions in 140 characters (letters, numbers and spaces) or less. Twitter provides
users with updates from others they “follow” in real time, meaning that the updates appear in
chronological order. Twitter is used for personal communication, dissemination of news,
promotion of products/services and building a network of contacts.
So why use Twitter? You might find that Twitter is not the best channel to connect with your
target audience (i.e. the people in your community who use your services). However, it can be
used as an outlet to connect with the local media. Many reporters for print and broadcast media
have Twitter accounts that they use to promote their own stories and look for new leads. You can
tag or message a reporter directly to let them know about your agency’s new program or
upcoming event. Twitter is also an effective platform for connecting with other community
organizations and observing how they communicate with their online following.
Twitter is also a great resource to find content posted by others that you want to share. By
following news organizations, experts in certain fields, and local media, you can find many
relevant links to stories, videos and pictures to share with your followers.
How to Tag a User in a post:
To tag (or mention) another Twitter account, use the @username format. For example, to
mention the Springfield-Greene County Health Department (username: SGCHD) in a tweet you
would use @SGCHD.
What do I post to Twitter? Twitter’s 140 character limit makes it a great place to post links to:
• News articles
• Video (original or outside source material relevant to your organization)
• Photos of events and programs
When posting a link, make sure to post a short description to give your followers a preview of
what you’re posting, making them more likely to click the link.
Twitter’s Retweet feature also allows you to share content produced by others. If you see content
that is relevant to your organization and think it is something that your followers would find
interesting, then you can use the Retweet button to publish it to your profile. The Retweet button
is found underneath every Tweet (shown below).
The Retweet button appears
below every tweet.
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14. Sharing Links on Twitter
Twitter is a great platform for sharing links to news stories, photos and videos created by others.
A common practice on Twitter is to shorten website addresses to keep links from limiting what
you can say in a tweet. The free web tools that take the long website address and convert it to a
short (Twitter-friendly) address are called URL-shorteners.
Example of a shortened URL:
Original website URL: http://www.springfieldmo.gov/health/index.jsp#page=publicHealth
Shortened URL: http://1.usa.gov/lVVB10
*Websites ending in .gov will automatically be shortened using the 1.usa.gov format
Recommended URLShorteners:
• http://bitly.com/ Creating an account with Bitly will allow you to track the number of
clicks on your link
• http://tinyurl.com/ Use the “custom alias” option to customize the URL to make the link
more descriptive, ex: http://tinyurl.com/twitterexamplesgchd
• http://goo.gl/ Google URL Shortener
When sharing a shortened URL it is always a good idea to test the link to make sure it is
functional and will direct users to the correct webpage.
Hashtags
According to Twitter’s official Help Center, hashtags are “used to mark keywords or topics in a
Tweet… as a way to categorize messages.” Hashtags begin with the # symbol and are followed
by words, phrases, or acronyms without spaces or punctuation. Clicking on a hashtag allows
users to see tweets on similar topics. For example, tweets about Springfield, MO are categorized
using #SGF. For more information on hashtags and hashtag best practices, see Twitter’s Help
Center.
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15. Getting Started with Social Media
YouTube
YouTube is the internet’s most popular video-hosting site. It also provides its users with the
chance to create free customized “channels” of their own content. A YouTube channel is similar
to a cable TV channel in that it gives users a place to look for content that caters to their specific
interests. Cable TV channels create programming about specific subjects (i.e. ESPN and sports
programming, Lifetime and women’s programming). Your YouTube channel will feature videos
on the different areas of your organization in one place, just like a cable channel features
different shows on similar topics.
YouTube is considered a form of social media because users can subscribe to others’ channels
and share content with one another on the site. However, it is mainly used as a form of support
for social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. YouTube can be used on both sites to host
video and is more functional and user-friendly than the video platforms that those sites offer (like
Facebook Video and TwitVid). YouTube is owned by Google, so if you have a Google account
you can use that to sign in to YouTube.
1. Log in to your Google or YouTube account or go to http://www.youtube.com in any
internet browser.
2. If you do not have a Google or YouTube account, click “Create Account” in the top right
corner (shown in red square).
3. Fill in the fields of basic information and choose a username. Your username should be
similar to usernames used on Facebook and Twitter to make it easy for your fans and
followers to see that the content is yours.
4. When your account set-up is completed you can upload your first video by clicking the
“Upload” button on the main screen (shown in the green square above).
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16. 5. You can either upload a video file from your computer or record video from a webcam.
Most likely, you will be uploading a video from your computer, so you will select
“Upload.” Browse for the file on your computer and click “Open.”
6. While your file is uploading you will be asked to create a title, description and tags.
a. Title: Your title should be descriptive and should use key words that would
appear in a search for the video’s subject. For example, a video about staying safe
in hot weather could be called “Heat Safety Tips” or “Stay Safe in the Heat.”
These titles are descriptive and use words that make it easy for others to find the
video in an internet search. A descriptive title also makes it easy to tell what the
video will be about.
b. Description: The description of your video should be brief and include the same
key words from the title. The description is also a good place to credit the video’s
creator or to provide a link to your website or other social media accounts.
c. Tags: Tags are like the searchable terms from the title: one word descriptions of
what’s happening in your video. YouTube will usually suggest tags based on the
content or description of the video, but you can also add your own. Make sure to
keep your tags simple to make your video easy to find through a YouTube or
Google search. The heat safety video from the earlier example could use the tags
“heat safety” or “summer safety.” You may also want to tag any people that
appear in the video, as well as your organization. Make sure to stay consistent
when tagging videos in a series or multiple videos on the same subject.
7. YouTube will also ask you to categorize your video using its pre-defined categories.
Categories that would be relevant to public health include: education, news, and science
and technology. For example, the heat safety video mentioned earlier would be tagged as
education.
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17. 8. You will also be able to control the privacy settings of your video. You can choose to
make it public (searchable and can be viewed by anyone), unlisted (cannot be searched,
but can be viewed by those with the link) or private (only certain users are allowed to
view the video). Most likely, you will want your video to be public.
9. Finally, at the very bottom of the Upload page YouTube gives you the option to connect
your YouTube account to other social networking sites. If you choose to connect your
accounts then your video will be automatically sent to those social networking sites. If
you connect your YouTube and Twitter accounts a “follow this user” suggestion will
appear after your video or after anyone shares your video. This can help increase the
traffic to your Twitter profile.
Additional YouTube Resources:
• YouTube’s Video Editor is a very simple way to cut and trim videos that have already
been added to the site. YouTube’s editor also allows you to add music and use some very
basic transitions. Go to http://www.youtube.com/editor to try it out. If you want some
help navigating the editor check out this Mashable YouTube Video Editor tutorial.
• HowTo.gov’s Do-It-Yourself Video Guide for Government Agencies gives step-by-step
guidelines on how to shoot, edit and share video.
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18. Social Media Policy
A social media policy provides guidelines for how representatives of an organization present
themselves online. When an employee lists you as his or her employer on a social networking
site, their actions represent your organization to their online connections. A social media policy
sets an expectation that all employees will engage in appropriate behavior online. It also provides
employers with a course of action in the case of inappropriate online behavior.
Your policy should be short and concise, making it an easy reference for employees. Social
media policies will differ for each organization. The Resources section (p. 20) provides links to
more social media policy sources.
Questions to ask when drafting a social media policy:
• Who is using social media and for what purpose? There may be separate sections of the
policy that address personal and professional social media use.
• How do we distinguish personal social media use from professional social media use?
• What social media platforms should we include in our policy? You may have to decide
whether you want to limit your policy to platforms your organization uses or expand to
all social sites. Policies for each site may differ.
• Will the policy apply only to employees who list my organization as an employer or will
it be uniform?
• What are the consequences of violating the social media policy?
• What is the process for reporting a violation?
• What are the guidelines for employee commentary on an organizational account?
For an example of a government social media policy, visit the Online Database of Social Media
Policies and search for the City of Hampton, VA’s Social Media Policy.
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19. Glossary
Badge: a small graphic, generally placed on the side of a website, that re-directs users to other
related content
Channel: the means through which a message is delivered, social media channels include
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
Custom URL: a feature of a Facebook page that allows you to create a website address that is
easy for users to remember and share
Example: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001819668048 becomes
http://facebook.com/SGCHD
Direct Message (DM): A Twitter feature that allows users to exchange private messages that do
not appear on their Twitter profiles. To send a direct message you must first follow the user that
you wish to message. DMs must follow Twitter’s standard 140-characters-or-less format.
Facebook…
Page: function as profiles for businesses, products and organizations
Interactions: number of likes, clicks and comments on a page
Insights: a Facebook feature that measures the number of page views, likes,
active users, and comments for a Facebook page
Profile: personal pages on Facebook, they are not for business use
Profile picture: the picture that appears beside every Facebook post and in the top left
corner of a page or profile
Wall: the area for sharing links, pictures, and videos on a profile or page.
Follow: how users connect and share information on Twitter
Hashtag: # symbol followed by a word or phrase with no spaces or punctuation, used to
categorize posts on Twitter
Mention: using the @username format on Twitter to name another Twitter user in a post
News Feed: a feature of Facebook that collects posts, videos and photos from friends and pages
to display on a Facebook homepage.
Retweet: sharing someone else’s post through Twitter
Tag: a way to categorize posts, links, videos and photos by topic (YouTube), a way to alert
another user that they appear in your post (Facebook, Twitter)
Tweet: an individual post to Twitter
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20. URL-Shortener: a website that makes web addresses shorter and easier to share
Video hosting site: a web site that stores and plays video, YouTube is the most popular video
hosting site
YouTube Channel: User profiles on YouTube are called channels, channel pages list
information about a user and all videos uploaded
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21. Social Media Resources
Online Resources:
CDC’s Social Media Toolkit
Mashable Social Media (news)
Social Media Policy Best Practices
Online Database of Social Media Policies
Ford Motor Company’s Digital Participation Guidelines
Facebook:
Facebook Pages: Resources (links to best-practices guides for community and government
organizations)
Converting a Facebook profile into a page
Mashable’s HOW TO: Set Up a Facebook Page
Building Your Business with Facebook Pages
Twitter:
Mashable’s Twitter for Beginners
Twitter Best Practices Guide by HowTo.gov (US Government website on customer service)
Twitter Cheat Sheet
Video:
Do-It-Yourself Video Guide for Government Agencies (HowTo.gov)
Print Resources:
Guerilla Social Media Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson & Shane Gibson (2010)
Content Rules by Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman (2011)
The Associated Press Stylebook: And Briefing on Media Law 2011 edited by Darrell Christian,
Sally Jacobsen, & David Minthorn (section on Social Media Guidelines, p. 311, also available as
an online subscription service)
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22. Appendix A: Sample Posts
Facebook
Facebook posts should be timely and
provide fans with information that they
will want to share. This post informs
the public of the upcoming renovations
to the SGCHD Animal Control
Shelter. It also provides links to a
gallery with photos of the shelter.
When possible, make your posts
interactive and include photos and
Facebook
video.
You can also share relevant
information from other organizations
or users through tagging. See page 7
for instructions on tagging other users.
Twitter
Twitter posts should also be informative, and should
Twitter posts should use shortened
encourage users to share via the Retweet.
URLs, like this one.
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23. Retweeting, or sharing another user’s tweet on your profile allows you to connect your
R
followers with other credible sources of information and content.
This is how a Retweet will appear on a Twitter
profile page.
Retweeting can be done through the Retweet button that appears at the bottom of every tweet
(shown on p. 12). You can also copy and paste the tweet and use the RT @username format
shown below.
The “RT @username” format
indicates that the following text and
link were copied from another user.
You can also use Twitter to connect
with media outlets. You can use @
mentions to alert them of upcoming
events or to let them know that
you’re posting their content.
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24. Appendix B: Facebook Insights
Figure 1 is an example of a Facebook Insights e-mail. These e-mails are sent by Facebook to
page administrators (admins) on a weekly basis. It also provides you with a link to your
Facebook Insights Page, shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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25. Connect with Us on Social Media!
Facebook.com/SGCHD
Twitter.com/SGCHD
YouTube.com/SGCHDMO
Do you have questions about social media? The Springfield-
Greene County Health Department is happy to assist you!
Please contact Allison Kline at akline@springfieldmo.gov or
417-864-1573.
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