Social Media:
The Basics
Teresa Marks
School Community Oral Health Conference
Friday, October 16, 2015
Session Description
“This session will walk novice users through the steps of
creating a social media presence. They will set up an
account, learn the basics, and simple navigation for:”
What is “social media”?

Definition:
“Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for
social networking and microblogging) through which
users create online communities to share information,
ideas, personal messages, and other content (as
videos)” – Merriam-Webster, 2015.

In other words, social media is a set of tools one can use
to communicate, engage, and connect with others.
Why use social media?

Approximately 3 out of 4 adults online use social
networking sites (74%)

71% of online adults use Facebook

23% use Twitter

26% use Instagram

Social media is used across all education and economic
levels

Usage is most variable by age groups:

Ages 18-29 = 89%

30-49 = 82%

50-64 = 65%

65+ = 49%
Pew Research Center's Internet Project January Omnibus Survey, January 23-26,
2014.
Who is the social media
audience?
The answer is EVERYONE.

General public

Policy makers

Patients

Parents

Students

Teachers

Advocates
Basic rules to Social Media

Listen

Engage

Measure
You don’t have to use every tool!
Where do I begin?

Get personally active!

You will not be successful at communicating information
from these platforms unless you are comfortable with
them.

Select a platform you have heard of and get started.
What is Facebook?
Facebook a multifacted social media platform that allows
easy sharing of information - thoughts, news articles,
photos, videos and much more!
Facebook: Getting Started
Things you need:

An email address

An interest in learning

Patience

Some free time
http://www.facebook.com/
Common Facebook Terms

Friend: Someone you are connected to on
Facebook. All friendships must be confirmed by
both people to be official.

Post: Both the act of sharing information and the
information itself. Ex. You “post” a picture and the
picture is your “post”.

Status update: a short post you share talking about
what you’re doing, thinking, or feeling at the
moment.

Wall/Timeline: your Profile Page. Contains all your:
posts, photos, videos, a list of your friends,
biographical information you’ve chosen to share,
etc. You can also update your status from your
wall.

News feed/live feed: Your default homepage on
Facebook. It is a continuous stream of status
updates and posts about your friends’ activities.
Facebook tips

When you post on your wall, everyone who is your
“friend” can see this on their news feed.

When you post on someone else’s wall, your friends
do not see that on their news feed.
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a microblog where you can post very short pieces
of information (140 characters or less).
Twitter: Getting Started
Things you need:

An email address

An interest in learning

Patience

Some free time

http://twitter.com/
Common Twitter Terms

Follower: You “follow” other users and users who
“follow” you are your “followers.” The more followers
you have, the more your information is seen and
potentially shared. Unlike Facebook, relationships are
not necessarily reciprocal.

Tweet: Like a “post” on Facebook, a tweet is the
action of sharing information and also the information
itself. Tweets must be 140 characters or less.

Retweet: Sharing another users tweet and giving them
credit. You must use the @ sign before the avatar name
to ensure it gets linked.

Hashtag: The pound sign (#); allows for tweets to be
labeled and become searchable by users.

Trending: When a term or hashtag is extremely popular
on Twitter at any given moment; these change VERY
quickly.
Common Twitter Terms

Feed: The stream of users’ tweets and retweets.
Your homepage will be the stream of everyone who
you are following. Your feed is arranged in
chronological order, with the most recent
information at the top.

Direct Message (DM): A private message between
two users. You can use DM before a person’s avatar
to label that message as a direct message.

Example – “DM @WVOHCoalition” would mean you are
directing that message just to @WVOHCoalition (WV
Oral Health Coalition’s Twitter account).
Twitter Tips

Anything you say on Twitter is public unless you check a
box to make all tweets private. This can be found in
your settings.

The more users you follow, the more interesting your
Twitter experience will be.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a photo sharing and editing application that
can connect with other social media tools, including
Facebook and Twitter.
Instagram: Getting Started
Things you need:

A smart phone (iPhone or Android) with a camera

An interest in learning and photography

Other social media account (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Patience

Some free time

Mobile app
Common Instagram Terms

Followers: Just like Twitter; you follow others and they can
follow you.

Tag (hashtag): Again, just like Twitter. You can include
labels using the # to make your photos searchable.

Feed: Guess what? Just like Twitter! Those you follow will
appear in chronological order on your home page/feed.

Filters: The popular aspect of Instagram. You can use
filters (a digital layer) with your photos and give them a
professionally-edited look (enhance colors, age, soften etc.)

@mention: A way of including other Instagram users in your
photo posting. Use the @ followed by their user name in
your photo caption.
Instagram tips

Instagram accounts are by default public; if you want to
choose who sees your photos, you will need to make
your account private in the settings.

You can find friends/followers easily by linking with
your Facebook and/or Twitter account.

You will have the option of with each photo of sharing
only on Instagram or other social media sites as well.

You can also access your account online at
Instagram.com, but you only upload photos and videos
through the mobile application.
Questions?
Thank you!

Like the WV Oral Health Coalition on Facebook

Follow the WV Oral Health Coalition on Twitter
(@WVOHCoalition) and Instagram (@wvoralhealth)