4) Team Lightship: Tweeting Empathy
In our introduction, we briefly understood an introduction to how social media-based marketing at 7 Cups uses a project called Team Lightship.
In this discussion, we will understand how the Lightship initiative works in terms of using tweets for spreading awareness, support, as well as 7 Cups content and other service information. We will also learn how the Twitter platform can be used to outreach to people requiring and in search of mental health support, in order to ensure that mental health is not ignored or stigmatized on social media.
(i) Using Tweets to Spread Awareness, Support, and Content/Service Information:
As previously discussed, the goal of Lightship is to use social media to reach out to those in need using kind and empathetic messages.
General tips include:
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What you tweet about should reflect the compassionate, supportive, and kind community that 7 Cups is. Use your best judgment.
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View your Team Lightship account as a force for good, and for spreading the 7 Cups mission and values.
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Feel free to discuss emotions, situations, and topics that often occur on 7 Cups.
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You might also want to post/retweet quotes or pictures, and that’s 100% okay! Just remember that reaching out to people should be a priority. Think of how social media graphics can be used in that sense, to engage people.
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Note: Lightship uses referral links (found on your dashboard page under the list of chats) to direct users to the 7 Cups site.
Tips in regards to which areas or services of 7 Cups you can mention (apart from the general fact about 1:1 or group chats!): Self-Help Guides, Expert Articles, Free Mindfulness Exercises.
Sample Tweets:
Having a tough time? Don't keep it all inside. If you want to talk, we're here to listen 24/7 #7Cups https://www.7cups.com/17156123 #MentalHealthMatters
Need inspiration from people who have overcome Postnatal Depression? Read these stories of women using their recovery to aid others! https://www.7cups.com/experts/postnatal-depression-recovery
(ii) Using Twitter to Outreach People Seeking Support:
The following steps are helpful ways to identify and respond to people seeking support:
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Search for Keywords
Some keywords or hashtags can prominently help search for people in need of support.
Note: The following and other mental health-related tags on social media platforms can contain potentially triggering content.
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Prominent Tags: need to vent, need a friend, feeling lonely, anxious, and depressed.
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Other Tags Examples:
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#depressed #anxious #depression #mentalhealth (high volume tags)
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#needtotalk
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#bullying
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#chronicpain #chroniclife
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#coping
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#peersupport
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#selfcare
Note: These keywords or hashtags can also be used in your own tweets to help ensure visibility and engagement.
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Reply to Tweets
After your search for important hashtags and keywords, when you find someone who has tweeted using one of those tags, and looks to be in need of support, reach out to them! Respond to their tweet with a message that includes information about how 7 Cups can support them.
Activity
Using what you learned about the Lightship protocol:
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Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
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Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:
3. Reply to one other student’s responses for both (1) and (2) and offer a review about their response: don’t forget to mention strengths as well as improvements they can make!
Please do not forget to personally save your activity answers as well as your reply to another user’s answer (recommended on Google Doc or other means) as you will be asked to share this for your Weekly Progress Report.
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This post is brought to you by the Content Development and Marketing Program, find out more information about the program here
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate
it's okay to ask for help. you are allowed to ask for help. you deserve help, you are always welcomed to 7cups to reach for help and we are ready to listen :) #roadtorecovery
@iwishuwell
I love your username here. 😊 I don't know if grammar matters when it comes to tweeting, but if it does, then I'd tighten that up and definitely add capitals at the start of your sentences. You stayed within Twitter's allotted character amount, which is tough to do!
@GoldenNest2727
Thank you soo much for the advice, I'll be better with my punctuation !! again thank you
@iwishuwell
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:
It's sad to see that many people are disrespecting the COVID rules. If you want someone to talk to or vent to, 7cups is always available. #7cups
@iwishuwell
I like this message. You validated the user's feelings and gave them a direction to take in order to move forward. Nice!
@iwishuwell
@SoulfullyAButterfly
1. Today is Friday why day! Why did I get through it and improve myself. Why did I focus on positives, why did I focus on what helps me love myself. Why am I extraordinary! Hope you all did something for yourself today. Remember you are good enough and deserve the very best.
2. I can see you are anxious because there are rules in place that people are ignoring. There are some options you have such as reporting them. If the situation is hindering your everyday routine a good idea would be to report them. Another idea is you can form a group to help your area to keep everything going according to the rules.
@MarinaLecubet
1. I love your creative way to engage with 'why day'. I was curious to read it right away:) Furthermore, it triggers to ask self those questions which are very good for mental health. The positive and warm tone of the message may make readers feel welcome to connect with 7 Cups. Well done! What hashtags do you think we can use with that tweet to boost engagement?
2. This tweet shows your genuine interest and compassion about the problem. The phrasing is again excellent, kind and gentle. The one important thing to remember when tweeting as a Lightship member is that is our aim to spread the information about cups, so more people are able to reach out for support. It is effective to add links to 7 cups or encourage connecting with listeners to cope with their anxiety. In Tweeter, it is the same as here in Cups, we can not provide direct advice from the Lightship account (like the suggestion to report); instead, we usually use our active listening skills to validate feelings, support people.
1. Are you feeling #overwhelmed and #lonely, but you're not ready to talk to a person? Talk with the most empathetic robot ever at #7Cups. #Noni #mentalhealth
2. Sometimes it's healthy to #vent. Share your worries with a #trained #listener at #7Cups who can help you work through some #coping #strategies. We're in this together! #pandemic
@GoldenNest2727
1. Are you feeling #overwhelmed and #lonely, but you're not ready to talk to a person? Talk with the most empathetic robot ever at #7Cups. #Noni #mentalhealth
Golden, I like the lighthearted manner and creative approach to the tweet. Moreover, You have found a hidden value of 7 cups (our Noni) about which, to be honest, I have never even thought. For sure there are people, who may not feel like talking to someone and who are not up to journaling, Noni would be perfect for them. *Genuinely bows* So thoughtful of you! The only thing that might be good to add is that we have real people too, sowe do not mislead people that only robots are on 7 cups. It may be a short sentence like ' If you feel like talking to people, do not fret, real people, listeners are also on cups and provide free of cost support'.
2. Sometimes it's healthy to #vent. Share your worries with a #trained #listener at #7Cups who can help you work through some #coping #strategies. We're in this together! #pandemic
Nice tweet. After 'share your worries..' would be appropriate to add the link to Cups, call to action, so readers may directly click and 'share their worries..'. It might be good to add some response to the tweet about covid and social distance, so your tweet is not seen as an advertisement but as a genuine response. For this, we can validate their concerns or show understanding. I think you have great potential in Social Media.
@AriadneLove
Oh, you're spot on with that one, AdrianeLove! I don't want folks to think there aren't real humans behind the listener program. Those volunteers are awesome! I also could've mentioned the support chat as another option. Thanks for pointing that out!
@AriadneLove
@AriadneLove
Well, she was venting about how some folks weren't following the CDC guidelines, so that was why I went with what I did. I tried to validate her need to get it off her chest (vent). I thought my call to action was, "share your worries with a trained listener..."
Should I have included a link with that phrase? Would a different call to action be more suitable? Or, is that not a call to action. I have no marketing experience, so I'm soaking all this up. I'll read up on it this week, so I can improve. I don't want to sound like a shill, and those are so easy to spot! Thanks for the feedback!
@GoldenNest2727
1. I was very impressed with your hashtag work.
I liked how you pointed out that the person doesn't have to talk to a person and that there are other recourses.
I would recommend maybe suggesting other paths such as mindfulness activities or the growth path.
2. I liked how you focused on talking to a listener.
I enjoyed how empathetic you come across.
If I were to tweak anything maybe I'd make it a tad more personal. So they know its a human not a machine they are getting the message from.
@GoldenNest2727 I liked how you introduced Noni to this tweet. And it's Straight to the point. I may suggest adding the other helpful resources we have in addition to noni <3
Hashtags are precise too in the second tweet. It's welcoming and has the tone of happy to help and supportive! It would have been nice to add the website link I thought. Overall a short and sweet tweet! :) I loved it
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Here's my activity! Loved writing these 💜
a. Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate:
From time to time, we all feel the need to be heard and understood. #7Cups is here to lend you a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on! You can join us on 7cups.com 💜 #MentalHealth #NeedToTalk
b. Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:
I hear where you are coming from 💜 The pandemic has taken its toll on people's mental health too. You can always talk about your anxiety in a free, supportive, and anonymous online space: 7cups.com #Covid19 #Anxiety #MentalHealth
@amazingNutella24
Hello, Nuty!💜
Sorry for a bit late review, I have missed your tweets earlier🥺.
From time to time, we all feel the need to be heard and understood. #7Cups is here to lend you a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on! You can join us on 7cups.com 💜 #MentalHealth #NeedToTalk
It is a kind and welcoming tweet. The length is good and you have used tags well. It is excellent that you have added CTA, as readers can directly follow to Cups. To make CTA stronger we can set readers expectations, what would readers find if they connect (eg ou can join us on 7cups.com for free emotional support). Another great tool to boost engagement with your tweet is to use power words, those are instant attention, so we would try using them at the beginning of the tweet.
I hear where you are coming from 💜 The pandemic has taken its toll on people's mental health too. You can always talk about your anxiety in a free, supportive, and anonymous online space: 7cups.com #Covid19 #Anxiety #MentalHealth
I could admire this empathetic and respectful message, but I know you well enough and expected nothing less😝 You tackled the main idea of engaging as a listener and have masterfully used your active listener's skills to comment on a tweet. You have named their emotion and set expectations about 7 cups. It does not sound like a promotion, but a friendly suggestion of a person who cares, just what we look for in SM. People do not trust apps, companies etc, it always needs to be humanised, thus when you wrote 'talk about anxiety, not 'supported etc' you've connected with the user and highlighted the personal touch.
I am very glad you have enjoyed Tweeting, I hope you'll continue sharing your thoughts tweets💜
Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
Everyone struggles with things from time to time, there is nothing wrong with that! It is important to get the challenging thoughts out and get the assistance you need! If that sounds like the support that you would like, 7 Cups is the perfect community to be in! Here in 7 Cups, the non-judgemental community, your words matter and you are free to express yourselves! You can sign up to be a member and connect with a listener to have private chats to discuss your worries, all for free! There are also many more resources here that you can easily access such as the Expert Articles, Free Mindfulness Exercises! I am looking forward to chatting with you!
#mentalhealth #peersupport #needtotalk #selfcare #coping
Respond to the Tweet using the outreaching tips:
I am so sorry to hear that! Sadly, it is very common now that people are becoming numb about covid and ignore all the safety measures. I am totally with you, during this sensitive time, it is the worst when we are doing our parts while others don’t care about other people’s lives. The pandemic itself is already very stressful, on top of all the rest of the things that we are going through in life, encountering selfish people is the last thing that we want. It seems like you might benefit from telling your concerns and letting them out, 7 Cups would be a great place to be in, a community where you are allowed to rant all you want! I am a trained and verified listener here in 7 Cups, we can listen and be with you in difficult situations that you might be coping with now. Come join the community, you won’t regret it, I promise!
@29amy
@AriadneLove @29amy
@AriadneLove
This is the revised version! Thank you so much for the feedback, I doubled check to make sure that it's within the 280 character limit!
Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
It is important to get the support you need! Feel free to stop by www.7cups.com! In the 7 Cups community, you are free to express yourself. You can sign up to be a member and connect with a listener, all for free!
#mentalhealth #peersupport #needtotalk #selfcare #coping
Respond to the Tweet using the outreaching tips:
I am so sorry to hear that! Sadly, it is very common now that people are becoming numb about covid and ignore the safety measures. If you would like to talk to someone about anything, 7 Cups is a great place to be in, it is a community where you are allowed to rant all you want!
1.create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate
if you need someone to listen to you and feel you wherever and whenever you are feel free to drop by https://www.7cups.com/19210123
#YouAreWorthy #YourMentalHealthMatters
#SelfCare
2.Respond this tweet using the outreaching tips:
sometimes we need someone to hear and feel us please take care of yourself because you matter , please visit us https://www.7cups.com/19210123 and our team will do their best to cheer you up by 1 on 1 chat , thank you again for your interest
@optimisticMoment4139 Both of the tweets are very simple and precise, I also liked the hashtags you used. Maybe it would help to show that you understand what they're going through regarding their anxiety and covid when you're responding to the tweet (:
@SoulfullyAButterfly
1. Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
Feeling sad and isolated? It’s more than okay to let it out. 7cups.com is a free and safe space full of trained active listeners ready to listen to you without judgment 24/7.
#7cups #MentalHealthMatters #peersupport #selfcare
2. Respond to tweet
It is frustrating to see people not socially distance and risk spreading #covid. #Anxiety is rough to deal with but you don’t have to go through it alone. Our compassionate listeners on 7cups.com are here to lend you an ear and a shoulder. #7cups
Additionally, these mindfulness exercises might help calm your anxiety: https://www.7cups.com/exercises/mindfulness/
@bubblingSea6361 and regarding the first activity, i really like the question you used and how you described 7cups!
@bubblingSea6361
Wonderful 💜
The second tweet is exceeded the maximum number of characters in a real tweet. However, I enjoy reading your empathetic tweets and how you introduce 7 Cups to those who need it. Well done 💫
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Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
do you #needtotalk to someone? join #7cups to receive #peersupport from our trained #listeners! https://www.7cups.com/110643061 #youmatter
2. Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:it sounds like a really #stressful situation. #covid for sure has made many of us feel #anxious nowadays, especially when rules are not being followed. feel free to check out this #guide on #7cups! https://www.7cups.com/anxiety-help/ #support #anxiety #mentalhealthawareness
@KateDoskocilova
I like your use of hashtags! The question that you have added in your first answer is awesome too. Love the fact that you also shared a relevant resource and showed them how welcoming the 7 cups community is :)
The point is, people improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don't?
@KateDoskocilova
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do you #needtotalk to someone? join #7cups to receive #peersupport from our trained #listeners! https://www.7cups.com/110643061 #youmatter
This is a nice tweet, with good hashtags. Starting Tweet with a question is a fantastic way to engage people. For Tweet not to be overlooked it is better to balance tweet in a way that it has more text than hashtags. What do you thing you can add to pass the message effectively?
2. Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:it sounds like a really #stressful situation. #covid for sure has made many of us feel #anxious nowadays, especially when rules are not being followed. feel free to check out this #guide on #7cups! https://www.7cups.com/anxiety-help/ #support #anxiety #mentalhealthawareness
You have show understanding and validated what user is giving through, it is a great work. Hashtags are bit overloaded, it better not use more that 5 in 1 tweet. Not usury hashtags in the sentence may also increase the comfort level and will sound more genuine. It is great idea to share a guide here and anxiety is just the topic they need support with.
Using what you learned about the Lightship protocol:
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Create one general hypothetical tweet that is supportive and compassionate.
Not sure how to share how you feel and fear the judgement of sharing with your close ones? Feel free to create a free account on a completely anonymous support platform - www.7cups.com. Reaching out makes a difference! #Support #MentalHealth #Anonymous #Venting #NoJudgement
Character count: 274; Words used: 43
Respond to this Tweet using the outreaching tips:
I appreciate you reaching out for support with #anxiety because of the pandemic. It's valid to feel #frustrated when people don't take basic #precautions for #covid. Consider connecting to a free listener at www.7cups.com if you'd like #EmotionalSupport. It's free + anonymous!
Character count: 278; Words used: 42
The point is, people improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don't?
@lueurspace I like how you open up with a question. I think that opens up the opportunity for the user to think and gauge if that question resonates with them. “Judgement” is spelt without an ‘e.’ Although you could use as many hashtags as you’d like, Twitter recommends using no more than two (Source: https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/how-to-use-hashtags). Great job!
@lueurspace I like how you validated the user’s feelings and provided a free resource should they be interested in receiving more reassurance or help.