LeadingAge has created a toolkit with social media ideas to make participating in this month’s Older Americans Month easy. The 2019 theme is Connect, Create, Contribute, which encourages older adults and their communities to: 

• Connect with friends, family, and services that support participation.
• Create by engaging in activities that promote learning, health, and personal enrichment.
• Contribute time, talent, and life experience to benefit others.

Ways to Engage on Social Media

Each week, LeadingAge will focus on a mini-theme:

Week 1: Volunteerism and Education

Week 2: Affordable Senior Housing and Intergenerational Programs

Week 3: Older Women’s Health (In partnership with the HHS Office on Women’s Health for National Women’s Health Week #NWHW)

Week 4: Social Isolation and Technology

Week 5: Wellness

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM:

• Like @LeadingAge and @ACLGov
• Share and like OAM content on ours and other sites to help spread the word.
• Add the hashtag #OAM19 to your posts/tweets so all campaign participants can see them.
• Use our OAM infocards (check back each week for new images).

SAMPLE POSTS/TWEETS:

• May is Older Americans Month. Let’s amplify the many voices of seniors & raise awareness of critical aging issues across the country. #OAM19 https://oam.acl.gov/
• When asked, “What do you love about affordable senior housing and the community you live in,” older adults overwhelmingly are grateful and enthusiastic about their communities. We need more affordable housing to serve more older adults! #OAM19 [use one of our housing quote infocards]
• Older women need their annual well-woman visit just as much as anyone! Be sure to check in with your doctor about diet and activity levels, mental health concerns, and health care directives. #NWHW #OAM19 https://www.womenshealth.gov/healthy-living-age [use one of our NWHW infocards]
• Social engagement is essential in combating the detrimental effects of loneliness in older adults. Here is a great resource for ideas and opportunities for older adults to engage in their communities: https://www.engagingolderadults.org/ #OAM19

IDEAS FOR INSTAGRAM:

• Take a picture of an older adult and post a story from them.
• Share one of our infocards with interesting stats or inspirational quotes about older adults.

If you have additional ideas for promotion or would like LeadingAge to share/like your posts, email Tessa Atkinson-Adams.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Administration for Community Living (ACL)