guide to using social media for NHS Staff in Blackburn with Darwen

guide to using social media for NHS Staff in Blackburn with Darwen

Why should you read it? Why use social media? The guidelines are designed to help you get the best out of the social media tools available whilst maintaining a safe and professional environment and protecting yourself and the Care Trust. What is in here? NHS Blackburn with Darwen is committed to using social media to improve how it interacts with residents, other organisations and key opinion formers such as journalists, politicians and civil servants. The Care Trust is committed to making the best use of all available technology and innovation to improve the way it goes about its business. This includes using all reasonable and cost-effective means to improve the way we communicate, reach out to and interact with the different communities we serve. As a shared function across the NHS and Blackburn with Darwen Council, we are recognised for some innovative approaches to social media, most notably BwD Winter www.facebook.com/bwdwinter which has provided accurate real time information relating to adverse weather and the impact on services. This has been running for four years and has an active community who use the channel to communicate with the Council but also This document contains some guidelines to consider before using or developing any social media work. to each other. We have also undertaken live tweet campaigns from Blackburn hospital to raise awareness of inappropriate use of A&E. We have also used Google+ to help NHS professionals interact with each other through the video hangout facility as well as Huddle for Blackburn with Darwen s CCG. what is social media? Social media is the term commonly given to webbased tools which allow users to communicate with one another in some way, by sharing information, opinions, knowledge and interests online. People still talk to each other as they always have done but now they will do it online. This might be through online gaming, online forums such as mumsnet, newspaper website forums or sites such as Facebook. As the name implies, social media involves the building of online communities or networks to encourage participation and engagement. social networking sites such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and content sharing websites, such as Flickr and YouTube, residents now expect to be able to be contacted in the medium they prefer. There is great scope to use social networking as a way to reach audiences that are sometimes missed by traditional channels. However, the practical application of such technologies by the Care Trust is not without risk and there are many things to consider. The growth of social media has given the NHS a new way of communicating with communities and patients on key social and public health issues. With more and more people signing up to To help staff avoid making potential mistakes and turning well-meaning social media experiments into reputational concerns it is important that we take a common-sense and strategic approach.

Developing your social media strategy Regardless of the huge number of people using social media, people will not migrate to your pages unless they have a reason to do so. There are many examples of sites that have been set up with little thought about the purpose, how they will be maintained and how their success will be measured. To help you develop your social media strategy we have created 10 simple actions as part of a checklist which, if completed, should ensure you maximise the impact of your social media work. ACTION SET OUT YOUR GOALS What do you want success to look like? IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE Who are they? FIND OUT WHERE YOUR AUDIENCE IS Where do they talk to each other and who are their influencers? COMPLETE A CHANNEL AUDIT Find out what people are currently saying about your organisation on social media and where they are talking about you. KEEP TO A PLAN You can t be everywhere so make sure you focus on the most important discussions and platforms. LOGISTICS Who is going to manage your sites? Have they been trained? DEVELOP YOUR MESSAGES AND STICK TO THEM What is your organisation s narrative and what messages have you developed to help communicate this? When you have your messages agreed make sure you use them on your social media platforms. This includes the tone of your message is it informal, chatty, formal etc? INTEGRATION Make sure your social media platforms operate as hubs each one linking with the other and ultimately driving traffic to your website. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT How will you measure the success of your social media activity? Set clear and realistic targets. DON T GIVE UP A developed social media profile will not happen overnight. It can take months/years to grow and develop. Do not let this deter you, remember Rome wasn t built in a day!

Professional use of social media - some do s and don ts do Always consider the NHS s reputation in anything you say online. Use social media as a resource to keep up to date with current thinking and best practice or for engaging with local people. Adapt the tone you use to the social media channel you are using. Know when to get involved and when to back away. Some people simply cannot be reasoned with. Use social media to attend conferences through live streaming that you could not attend in person Feel comfortable in using social media to find out answers to problems and challenges but beware of how much information you reveal use generic circumstances. Ensure you are fully aware of information governance restrictions and advice in this area. Ensure you have thought about the objectives you want to achieve before deciding the channels to use. Consider whether social media is appropriate or useful in assisting you to carry out your day to day service to the public. Market the fact you are there. People rarely stumble upon Facebook or Twitter feeds tell the public you are using them. do not Upload confidential information of any kind to any social network. Even if it s private. Make any claims about things unless you are sure they are true. Libel laws apply on social media as any other channel so be careful about what you say. Call into question the validity or experience of other professionals either in public or in private. Take things personally. Think that deleting something makes it go away. Google remembers old content for a period of time and a simple screen grab will turn your page entry into an image file which can be shared. Set up a social media presence without giving evaluation, safety, safe guarding or reputation good consideration. Bury your head in the sand if you re struggling to keep up. Ask for help. Bring the Care Trust into disrepute. Allow your comments to be taken out of context. Give an official opinion on behalf of your organisation unless you have been authorised to do so. Forget to check which account you are posting from if you have work and personal accounts. Get into public arguments

PERSONAL use of social media - some do s and don ts do Whilst we are aware that working hours end at 5-6pm, social media changes the rules a little. If you can be easily identified as having links to the NHS then your behaviour there will reflect on the NHS, whether you want it to or not. You have no control over people s perceptions of you and additionally, you have a responsibility to ensure problems and issues at work do not leak over into your use of social media. Put a disclaimer on any account where you speak about your Care Trust role or the Trust in general stating that the opinions are you own and not those of your employer. This includes Facebook if you identify on there that you work here. Understand that this disclaimer will not protect you from your public comments being taken out of context as the Press Complaints Commission recently ruled. Friend other professionals/ Councillors who you meet at conferences and events, if you are comfortable doing so. Understand that as soon as you post in your work capacity on your personal account, you have crossed the line into the professional guidelines above. Never say anything on social media you would not be happy to say to your boss or your mother. do not Tag inappropriate photos on Facebook which are public (and if they re not beware of the friends of friends sharing setting). Make disparaging remarks about people you work with or the public you come into contact with at work, even if your privacy settings are closed. Post anything privately you would not be happy showing to your manager or saying to your manager s face. Assume hiding a comment behind a privacy setting means it will never see the light of day. It s easy for people to take a screenshot with your words in black and white. Blur the lines between professional and personal. Keep clear boundaries about who you will and will not friend or follow and flag areas of concern to your line manager. Keep notes if necessary and remember. Assume deleting a comment means it has disappeared. Google keeps records of blogs etc and people can copy and paste or screenshot your comments for later use. Make disparaging remarks about service users or colleagues even if your privacy settings are set to friends only. Write or post anything which could be used as evidence you are not fit for your post. Forget to keep a close eye on which photographs you are tagging with your name. Past situations have resulted in professionals being dismissed on the basis of their personal opinions and conduct. Be careful.

Further references and articles relating to social media Social media guidance for civil servants http://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/2012/05/17/cabinet-office-launches -social-media-guidance-for-civil-servants/ Department of Health digital strategy http://hale.dh.gov.uk/2012/12/20/the-dh-digital-strategy/?utm_ source=feedburner&utmmedium=feed&utm_campaign=feed%3a+dhhale+%28stephen+hale%29 UK Professionals Online Safety Helpline: 0844 381 772 or helpline@saferinternet.org.uk FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact Marc Schmid on 07736 008380 or tweet me @marcschmid email me at marc.schmid@blackburn.gov.uk