Presentation by Nicholas Carah or the University of Queensland. Drawing on a range of case studies of alcohol brands and health promotion campaigns this presentation examines effective and creative uses of social media. By examining both commercial and health promotion uses of social media around alcohol consumption we can both scope and learn from the competition. The presentation illustrates how social media depends on the participation of ordinary people and integration with everyday life. Presented at the DrugInfo 'Leveraging social media' seminar, held in Melbourne, Australia, 16 July 2013.

1. Nicholas Carah
University of Queensland
n.carah@uq.edu.au
Leveraging
Social
Media

2. Do you have a smart phone?
Where do you keep your photos?
Did you check social media before you got out of
bed this morning?

4. 1. Creating and circulating content
2. Collaboration
3. Identity
4. Everyday life: feelings, practices,
memories
5. Telling Stories
6. Real world
7. Culture, language and tone
8. Visual
9. Mobile and locational
10. Watching and responding
10 characteristics of social
media…
… & the shape of media to come

5. Identity, social life, collaboration

6. Real life, visual, collaboration

7. Friendships, feelings, memories

8. Culture, language, tone

9. Everyday lives and identities

10. Pastimes and passions

11. Social media at work in health promotion
1. Controlling the production of content
2. Using peer leaders and influencers
3. Facilitating user-generated content

12. Making content in the real world

13. Using peer leaders and influencers

14. Facilitating user-generated content
“Once we arrived at our hotel we were drilled by the manager and warned of everything
we were not to do. Then the drinking began. There was never any intention amongst my
mates to just have a couple. We were getting smashed, in the pursuit of a good night. As a
schoolie the pressure to drink is absolutly ridiculous. Even as I sit here this morning writing
my mates are trying to force beers on me. It's so much easier to jsut give in and drink than
to mAke a change to the drinking culture and resist.”
“First night out – Sasha at the met! First half of the night was rough, something so familiar
about the feeling it was nearly impossible not to go straight to the bar. Like a default
patter. In, up to spy, shot, CC, shot, dance, air synths, repeat 3-7. I know this isn’t going to
be the last time I have this conflict either. The first shot was the hardest, kinda like leaving
a friend hanging on a high five, and enduring the awkward pause while they check if
you’re serious or not. First hurdle clear and almost instantly a CC appears in my hand, if
this is a test… It’s bullshit! I bleed CC!... After a period of contemplative drink warming I
find an over for that one too…”

15. Facilitating user-generated content
“I am the ringleader, I am the one who encouraged all my friends to start drinking, I
provided the alcohol (an advantage of having an older brother when I was younger), I am
the one who always has the last drink. Though I don't think I have a problem, I want to
prove that I can live without alcohol, that I don't need a drink to party with my friends and
that I can go out and not spend all my money on one crazy night (as a poor uni student I've
noticed, the morning after a good night, my funds are almost nil!). So here I am. Let's see
how the first weekend goes. I've got a friend's 18th on his property and pre-drinks (well no
drinking for me) at my boyfriend's place. Should be interesting to say the least.”
“There've been a couple of occasions where I thought " Fuck it - I'm just going to have a
drink!" I even once bought a bottle of wine - and then let my friends drink it. Anyway -
yesterday I pulled up my Google calendar for something for work and I could actually SEE
the end date highlighted for the 11th of July and I thought " FUCK! It's actually in sight!
Wow!”

16. Facilitating user-generated content
“Now I meditate and so many simple things in life seem miraculous. I used to be so busy
trying, planning, worrying, chasing experiences - there wasn't the mind space to notice
what a marvel this life is and how extraordinary people are. At that time it was all about
peak moments. I don't try so much now - enthusiasm is infectious. If I'm doing a good
thing and loving it, that is enough. Company is the icing on the cake, and a little bit of icing
is enough to make a cake sweet.”
“Alcohol is an accepted part of rural Australian culture. In the late teens and early twenties
young people develop the habits that will persist throughout their lives. 13% of young
males have symptoms associated with substance use disorder.*”
“I am going to concentrate on the good friendships I have and develop nourishing
relationships instead of draining ones. My god I have some great people in my life.”

17. Evaluating

18. Mobile apps: personal, social, games

19. Social competitions

20. Step 1: Log in and listen
Step 2: Identify your audience
Step 3: match your social media strategy to your organisation’s
objectives
Step 4: Consider content and collaboration
Step 5: Ready your resources
Step 6: Evaluate your impact
Going Social

21. • Who is using the platform?
• How is the platform used and for what?
• What do users talk about?
• What kinds of content do they share?
• What is the tone of conversations and exchanges?
• When are people using the platform?
Step 1: listen

22. • What is your audience doing on social media?
• Are they doing different things on different platforms?
• When and where are they using social media?
• Who are the influences and intermediaries influencing
discussion?
• Does the audience identify with you and your message?
• Do they want to talk about it?
• What personality and tone will engage them?
Step 2: what’s the audience doing?

23. • How can social media complement or enhance current
communication strategies and objectives?
• What are the everyday activities and conversations in which
your organisation is already engaged?
• Which social media platforms could amplify these activities and
conversations?
• What audience conversations and practices could we engage
with using social media?
Step 3: the daily life and business of
your organisation

24. • What kind of content should be produced?
• Who will engage with and circulate the content?
• What kind of collaboration and action are we seeing?
• Who do we want leading our conversation?
• What kind of community are we trying to build?
Step 4: content and collaboration

25. • What resources are required to produce content?
• What resources, people and skills are required to build
communities and moderate conversations?
• Are there resources for ongoing content production?
• What resources are required to monitor and respond to
conversations?
• Who will be responsible for responding to users?
• Do they have the cultural capacity to understand and maintain
the tone of conversation with your target audience?
• Do they have the authority to respond to the audience and
moderate the conversation as required?
Step 5: resources

26. • Track who is engaging, how often, where and when.
• Identify community norms, influential cultural intermediaries
and peer leaders.
• Adapt and deliver content to different groups simultaneously.
• Understand how practices, viewpoints and identities change
over time.
• Use resources efficiently by adapting in real time and refining
targeting.
• Use sentiment and text analytics to track changes in
conversations, sentiments, feelings and attitudes in populations
over time, and
• Link analysis of user activity on social media with population
health data.
Step 6: evaluate your impact