The Trust recently launched a new social media channel. Instagram is a social networking app which is ideal for sharing photos, graphics and videos from a mobile device. Similar to other social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter, users who sign up for an Instagram account have a profile and a news feed. When you post an image or video on Instagram, it will be displayed on your profile.

 

 

Ahead of the trust's upcoming Social Media Week in September, we spoke to social media officer Kyle Grieve about the reason behind the Trust’s decision to launch an Instagram account and how they are using social media to communicate with NHS service users 

Why did you decide to start an Instagram account?

The idea for this originally came from talking with our Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service (EWMHS) team and some of our NELFT youth ambassadors around using social media to interact with our younger service users. Research is showing that Instagram has been on the rise in recent years, reaching 700 million monthly users worldwide in April 2017 * and that more young people are using Instagram and Snapchat, as opposed to Facebook and Twitter.

Therefore, to ensure that we continue to provide the best service to our patients and service users across the NELFT patch, we needed to ensure that we were engaging with them on all of our online platforms.

Instagram is our opportunity to further engage with all of our service users and raise awareness around mental health and community health. Our social media officer @kgrieve16 officially launches Instagram! #launchweek #nhscomms #healthcare #mentalhealth #communityhealth

12 Likes, 1 Comments - NELFT NHS Foundation Trust (@nelft_nhs) on Instagram: "Instagram is our opportunity to further engage with all of our service users and raise awareness..."

When did it launch and how many followers have we already got?

We launched the account at the end of January and we have 156 followers so far.

Is it easy to set up an Instagram account?

Yes. Because Instagram is a mobile-based application, you will need to download the app on your phone/tablet and register an account (similar to setting up a Facebook account). You can then add a profile picture and a bio (be creative – although you can copy your Twitter bio if you have one) and follow your friends/family/celebrities/organisations.

For organisations, you can link this in with your company page on Facebook in order to get Instagram analytics. I would also make sure that you have an existing collection of photos and videos ready for instant content. If you do not, I would recommend starting to collect these. This is important because Instagram is an image-based platform.

How can people access the NELFT account?

By searching for nelft_nhs on Instagram or clicking on the link in our Twitter bio.

What kind of content will you be sharing with followers?

Like all of our social media platforms, we focus on sharing advice and support around taking care of your mental health and physical health. Through Instagram, we will be looking to tailor this around our younger demographic, while signposting them to our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and physical health services.

We also share updates around recruitment fairs and photos from our events. We also help to support national awareness campaigns such as Children’s Mental Health Week and Diabetes Week.

All this week, join us in helping to spread #alittlekindness for Children and Young People's mental health week! Show your support at #childrensmhw http://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk

16 Likes, 1 Comments - NELFT NHS Foundation Trust (@nelft_nhs) on Instagram: "All this week, join us in helping to spread #alittlekindness for Children and Young People's mental..."

Who would benefit from following the NELFT account?

Instagram would suit anyone who would like to learn more about our services and support available, although the app tends to be popular with younger people and parents. We are also available to help if users would like to send us a direct message.

We also encourage our healthcare partners, local councils, charities and fellow NHS trusts to keep in touch and find out about our upcoming events and how we can work together to help provide the best care to our local communities.

What other platforms does the Trust use?

For our corporate accounts, we have our main Facebook account, three Twitter accounts @NELFT, @NELFTjobs and @NELFTLetsEngage (which is our staff engagement account) and also LinkedIn.

We have also worked with our services in the last 12 months to set up their own Facebook and Twitter accounts - which you can access by searching for NELFT. By doing so, we are allowing members of the public to interact and engage with their local service, while our staff are able to share relevant advice and support, including advertising clinic timetables and events

What top tips would you give to an organisation setting up an Instagram account?

Be creative! Make sure you have a library of eye catching photos/videos. However, stick to a happy medium between sharing photos and videos.

Avoid spamming - don’t overload your followers with lots of updates on their feed, otherwise they will unfollow you.

Launch it with a campaign which gives people a sense of what you are trying to achieve with your account: We chose to launch it around the same time as Children’s Mental Health Week where we focused our activity for the week on Instagram. This covered two of our main themes - young people and mental health and we also interjected this with other topics including recruitment.

As part of #childrensmhw, we're proud to launch our #mymindmatters campaign! Thank you to @chynadesveaux for working with us in making the video! #whatdoesmentalhealthmeantoyou

15 Likes, 1 Comments - NELFT NHS Foundation Trust (@nelft_nhs) on Instagram: "As part of #childrensmhw, we're proud to launch our #mymindmatters campaign! Thank you to..."

Tell the world - link it on your Twitter bio and start to share a few posts through Twitter and Facebook.

Remember your audience and tailor your content to them

Spending time with Epping Forest youth council, helping to raise awareness around #mentalhealth in #Essex! #boomerang #ewmhs #mymindapp #instavideo #nhs

12 Likes, 1 Comments - NELFT NHS Foundation Trust (@nelft_nhs) on Instagram: "Spending time with Epping Forest youth council, helping to raise awareness around #mentalhealth in..."

* - http://uk.businessinsider.com/instagram-number-of-users-700-million-2017-4?r=US&IR=T

NELFT Social Media Week will be taking place on the 11th-15th September. Keep following our social media channels for more updates. If you would like to be involved, contact communications@nelft.nhs.uk