2019 Annual Conference

This session is designed to enhance Recreational Therapists' ability to advocate using social media by providing basic tools and knowledge for developing social media campaigns. As individuals and agencies, advocacy for the field of Therapeutic Recreation, for Recreational Therapists, and for those who use our services is essential to the continued growth and value of the profession. Social media is an increasingly important and powerful method of advocacy, allowing us to reach and influence more individuals and organizations than ever before. However, most Recreational Therapists are not trained in designing effective social media campaigns and do not have the personal or agency resources to hire a social media manager. Therefore, this session will introduce the foundations of social media and social media campaigns, types of social media content, tools for creating social media graphics, and strategies for managing social media campaigns. Participants will put this information into practice by creating a social media campaign and developing a social media toolbox for later use.