It's Time for a Glow Up: The Power of Timely Content

Are you old enough to remember #ThrowbackThursdays? Are you young enough for a photo dump? ??

Whether it’s a #SelfCareSunday or a random Tuesday night where you feel like ‘dumping’ unseen photos, these trendy movements captivate social media users. When they first started, something about them felt fresh, exciting and a little intimate. From A-list celebrities to nano-influencers, everyone was participating.? How can we join in on the fun too? ??

Being timely with your health communication and marketing is crucial in the world we live in today. Algorithms have made virality worth tracking and making space for new and trendy audio, visuals, and dances that can do crazy things to our engagement and reach numbers. Even chocolate covered strawberries got their moment. ????

Health communicators, content managers and health agencies love public health observances. Observances really have been the bread and butter for health education, promotion and awareness. ?? But we’ve milked this strategy for long enough – it’s time to take our communication and marketing efforts to the next level. ????

Here are three examples:

1. Beyoncé – don’t act surprised. ??

From a surprise album drop in 2013 and?announcing Cowboy Carter earlier this year during a Super Bowl commercial, ?? to introducing Team USA during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Queen B and her team know when the world will be watching, whether we know it or not. ?? Although we don’t have any albums up our sleeves (or the bank Queen B does), it shouldn’t stop us from thinking how we can promote our products across different channels by looking to see where our audience actually is or will be. Need we say more? That’s mother! ??

2. Let’s Talk Public Health Memes

Now, we don’t mean to toot our own horn or anything (but we will). ?? Meme culture is pervasive in the modern world, speaking to every demographic in their own way. Their customizability makes it easy to connect any audience with a variety of interests, no matter how niche. On Instagram, our public health memes capture the shared experiences of public health students and professionals through humor.

This example above was released during ‘I Heart Public Health Month’ in February of this year, happening around the same time big buzz was happening between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj. Using a meme format can help you connect with and engage your audience. ??

3. Schools of Public Health

Whoever is hiding behind these Instagram accounts deserves a raise and a medal. ?? On Instagram, the creativity and wit of Yale School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is top tier … and talk about knowing your audience! They educate on a range of public health topics with references that their audiences know, from using famous Olympians to personify water contaminants to redesigning Bumble ads with public health messages. ?? Anticipating conversations around events that your audience is likely to tune into and in formats that they already know and love (please no more brochures) can inspire you to be creative with delivering health education content.

Inspiration is everywhere. Now, these are just a few examples of where you can take creative inspiration from. However, it all goes back to understanding your audiences’ interests, characteristics, and how to appropriately use humor.?