Oh, I have a ball using social media for H&S engagement! We use FB over the other platforms as it’s what most people use anyway, and the only extra step they have to do is join the group. We have not found it to be difficult to manage, our GM is in the group so I think that stops anything super crazy from being posted and on the other side of that anything that, anything we have to moderate we do so without making a big fuss about it. So far no problem. This group is also used for multiple streams of content, both H&S, operational, cultural building activities, employee catch ups etc so this keeps it fresh and varied. The building blocks are:

• It’s a private group on FB. So it can be found by users but only content seen by members.
• There’s an approval process to join, including group rules.
• We have moderators and admins as per normal.
• We usually have this free for all members to post content and view automatically, but currently under COVID we have placed moderator approval on posts prior to viewing and some extra rules so this has meant that content creation is down.

I tend to run campaigns rather than regular content. I also have two HSR’s that are social media savy and help out a lot. I’ve found success is all about keeping it punchy, entertaining, and relevant to your audience (my audience are millennials and Gen Z). Some of the H&S content has included:
• Intsagram style short videos. Think Tasty style cooking video changed to how to put on a respirator. Our engagement was up 33% on this campaign compared to regular posts. Had a hashtag, #safetyatfirstsight gave out some prizes for content creation which included a mystery box prize. Went down really well.
• Boomerang posts are always well received.
• We did santas H&S elf posted to our FB group.
• We had another great campaign lined up this year using the title #safetysnaps - a mix of social media and polaroid photo board but have had to postpone.
• Going live hasn’t really taken off, staff are a little nervous something will happen in the background.
• We have tried the story function but it doesn’t work for a group which is a bit disappointing as it had a lot of promise.
• Next up I want to incorporate tiktok and want to make some H&S themed GIFs. Stay tuned!

I look towards our marketing team for ideas in this space, these are the people who are experts in engagement and building brands. I’m just taking those concepts and making them fit my agenda. It was satisfying and amusing when one manager said to me, ‘Health and safety at work, and in your Facebook feed!' :)