What can the mental health sector learn from business blogging?

Leeds Mind social media surgery, 19 Sept 2012Helen Standing, Director, Engage Comms

What is a blog?

• y ANYONE who wants to write/publish something online

• og of opinions, thoughts, ideas, advice

• nline article that you can interact with in some way – that’s what makes them SOCIAL media

• athers together words, images, audio and video from across the web

What are the business benefits of blogging?

• To demonstrate expertise/become a thought leader

• To start conversations/act as a ‘door opener’ with people they want to talk to

• To make themselves/their brand more engaging/’open’

• To drive traffic to their website via searches for topical/relevant articles

The 10 rules of good business blogging

1. Catchy title to grab attention (see above!)2. Relevant #keywords3. Conversational tone4. Headlines, sound bites and bite size chunks5. Use of multimedia content to bring it to life >>6. Open-ended questions that spark debate7. Named author with a ‘face’ and biography8. USEFUL and topical not salesy9. Call to action at the end10. Easily shareable across other social media platforms

How is blogging being used in the mental health sector?

Organisations raising awareness of

issues, policy etc

How is blogging being used in the mental health sector?

Researchers and practitioners

sharing insights and ideas

Organisations raising awareness of

issues, policy etc

How is blogging being used in the mental health sector?

Patients documenting thoughts and feelings as a means of

therapy (consciously or unconsciously)

Researchers and practitioners

sharing insights and ideas

Organisations raising awareness of

issues, policy etc

What are the risks and issues?

• Vulnerable people leaving themselves open to cyber bullying

• Confidential information being shared online• Mental health professionals/practice being

vindicated/criticised• Lack of understanding leading to false

information/advice, further fuelling the problem

The Littlefeet case

“The biggest risk in health care social media is not participating

in the conversation”

Farris Timimi, Medical Director, Mayo Clinic for Social Media

Mental health-related blogs• http://www.mind.org.uk/blog • http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/join-the-conversation • http://notsobigsociety.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/laffaire

-littlefeet-blogging-and-inpatient-care/• http://chaosandcontrol.wordpress.com (LittleFeet’s blog)• http://leedswellbeingweb.wordpress.com • http://digitalmentalhealth.co.uk/wp/?page_id=12• http://notnigellanotjamie.blogspot.co.uk/• http://Sehappyplace.blogspot.com/• http://www.oneinfourmag.org/index.php/blog/• http://polarbearblog.blogspot.com/