Blogging workshop at Leeds Mind's social media surgery 19 Sept 2012. Aimed at mental health practitioners, researchers and patients, the presentation looks at what the sector can learn from business blogging.

1. What can the mental health sector
learn from business blogging?
Leeds Mind social media surgery, 19 Sept 2012
Helen Standing, Director, Engage Comms

2. 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

3. 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

4. The 10 rules of good business blogging
1. Catchy title to grab attention (see above!)
2. Relevant #keywords
3. Conversational tone
4. Headlines, sound bites and bite size chunks
5. Use of multimedia content to bring it to life >>
6. Open-ended questions that spark debate
7. Named author with a ‘face’ and biography
8. USEFUL and topical not salesy
9. Call to action at the end
10. Easily shareable across other social media platforms

5. How is blogging being used
in the mental health sector?
Organisations
raising
awareness of
issues, policy etc

7. How is blogging being used
in the mental health sector?
Researchers and Organisations
practitioners raising
awareness of
sharing insights
issues, policy etc
and ideas

9. Patients documenting thoughts
and feelings as a means of
therapy (consciously or
unconsciously)
How is blogging being used
in the mental health sector?
Researchers and Organisations
practitioners raising
awareness of
sharing insights
issues, policy etc
and ideas

11. 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

12. The Littlefeet case

13. “The biggest risk in health care
social media is not participating
in the conversation”
Farris Timimi, Medical Director,
Mayo Clinic for Social Media

14. 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/