Pete Blackshaw, on the ConsumerGeneratedMedia.com blog, critiques the FDA’s Web site and provides some ideas about how the FDA could use social networking and digital media to better reach and educate consumers about the recent Salmonella outbreak.
He points out that this is a timely issue “as we have a new administration that’s already set a high bar on creative, if not breakthrough, use of the web as a communications channel, loyalty builder, and rapid-response tool.”
Among his suggestions:
- Use video to connect with and reassure consumers
- Include links that make it easy for people to share the content through e-mail and social networking sites
- Create a presence on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace
- Create widgets that can be used on other Web sites to help share FDA information
- Build a blog that provides a steady stream of information about the recalls
- Use photos of product involved in the recall
What other government agencies might be better served by a new look at their online presence and strategy?
