Here at Go Folic! we want to spread the word about the importance of folic acid in as many ways as possible. When you pick up a bottle of free multivitamins at your clinic or check out our website, we hope that you think this is a cool idea and something you want to share with your friends. This is called word-of-mouth promotion. It’s how ideas spread from person to person. It’s how we hope to make thousands of San Francisco women healthier, day by day.
Today, sites like Facebook and other social media networks make it very easy to share information. All somebody has to do is post a link or a status update on their profile and suddenly hundreds, sometimes thousands of people can see what they want to share. This happens really quickly especially when it’s a funny video or a current event or birthday wishes to a friend. It’s a little harder when you’re an project wanting to spread information about health.
Lately everybody has been using Facebook and other sites like Twitter to promote their businesses and their interests. But how well does it work when it’s no longer about something personal? Or when it’s not attached to a celebrity or a company offer? What makes us “like” causes online? Would we listen to nutrition advice if we saw our Facebook friends paying attention? How “social” can we be with our health?
These are all questions that we think about everyday as we try to spread the word about Go Folic! There are already great organizations in the Bay Area, like ISIS and others, that have had great success using social media and text messages to promote sexual health. By having an active blog, website, and Facebook page, we at Go Folic! hope we can spread the word about folic acid too.
What about you…Do you think Facebook can help spread the word about health issues? What would you tweet? Do you think that social media can help people make healthier choices?
Go Folic! Be Healthy! 