Opioid prevention campaign social media toolkit

This social media toolkit was developed in 2017 by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Educational Service District 112, with funding from the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. This six-week campaign includes three primary key message categories: safe use, safe storage and safe disposal, and was intended to be used to raise awareness of the annual “National Prescription Drug Take Back Days.”

Campaign elements

Toolkit overview

Note: When this campaign was first launched, content directed users to StartTalkingNow.org. However, content should now be directed to the statewide opioid misuse and abuse prevention website GetTheFactsRx.com.

Social media posts from each of the three key message categories  

Sample Distribution Schedule

Below is a sample schedule that uses the included campaign elements of key messages, letter, flier and sample posts. Posts could be sent out daily or just a few times a week, and can be used multiple times throughout the campaign.

WEEK ONE: Introductory letter is sent to communicators - three posts on three separate days with at least one featuring safe disposal

WEEK TWO: three posts on three separate days. Posts on two days before Take Back Day and day of should feature safe disposal and, if possible, include local disposal sites

WEEK THREE: three posts on three separate days, one from each Key Message Category

WEEK FOUR: three posts on three separate days, one from each Key Message Category

WEEK FIVE: three posts on three separate days, one from each Key Message Category

WEEK SIX: three posts on three separate days, one from each Key Message Category

Short article about the opioid epidemic in Washington state

You might have noticed opioid abuse awareness posts popping up in your social media feed over the past few weeks. [YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME] has joined other organizations around the state to share information via social media to raise awareness about this serious public health crisis.

Drug overdose is a leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. and in Washington state, and now more Washingtonians are dying from opioid overdoses than car crashes[1].

In 2015, more than 700 people in Washington died from overdoses involving opioids[2], and 57 percent of people currently using heroin were dependent on prescription opioids before they began using heroin[3].

Our state is sounding the alarm, with Gov. Jay Inslee signing an executive order  intended to raise awareness about this epidemic in the hopes of preventing additional opioid-related addictions and deaths.

We encourage you to share these posts with your friends and organizations, so we can spread the word to encourage #safeuse, #safestorage and #safedisposal. This keeps youth of all ages safe and can prevent misuse, abuse and dependence.

For more information, and to learn how you can make an impact to keep youth safe in your home and community, please see GetTheFactsRx.com.

[1] Washington State Department of Health

[2] Washington State Department of Health

[3] UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute