Share4Rare toolkit for patient advocacy

Due to its wide-reaching nature and easy access, social media can be a very important tool in your advocacy. It allows you to promote your cause and related events in real time and can also be a tool for making connections. The visual nature of social media can help lend a face to a cause, increasing engagement and empathy as well as raising the profile of your advocacy.

Social media can seem complex and daunting at first, but take little time to master and it will keep your advocacy on the radar of others, as well as allowing you to see what’s going on in the arena you’re focused on.

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As with any other tool, there are cons as well. Social media leaves the door open to anyone, and not everyone is likely to be friendly. Provide information if you think it necessary, but avoid engaging with a negative debate. Especially avoid getting into heated arguments, which could leave a bad impression about you and your advocacy.

Plan your messages in advance to maximize impact while keeping effort within perks. There are several (free) publishing tools that may help you pick the best time to post.

Conduct some research and follow important persons and influencers in your field. Try to engage with them by tagging them into messages to spark a conversation.

Visuals and moving images gain the best attraction on all social media platforms. There are many template websites to choose from to create basic banners, infographics and posters to disseminate, like Canva. With free video editing software, you can record and edit videos you’ve shot on your camera and create a professional look and feel.

To get started with your social media strategy, check out our Share4Rare toolkit for social media or watch our Social media webinar: