Social media

How to be safe online

It is important to keep yourself safe online. When posting, do not share your or another person's personal details and information such as phone number, address, etc.

Remember that if you have enabled sharing on your post, your followers will be able to share your post outside of your own social network. This will help raise more awareness, but it is also important that you are comfortable with your story and images being shared outside of your network.

If someone is harassing you, you do not need to engage with them. You can block them so that they can no longer see your profile and your posts. You can report them to the relevant social media platform. Here's how to report someone on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Our safeguarding Policy can be found here. You can find out more about staying safe online here. If you come across any images or material you consider a risk or indecent, you can report this to the National Crime Agency via this link. 

Other profiles

You can also find local community groups, organisations, and other campaigners on social media. By connecting to them, you can create an online network and ask them to share your posts. This will help you reach more people and tell them about the Cut the Crap campaign.

Your social profile

Your social media profile can either be your personal account, or you might create a new account to specifically promote the campaign #CutTheCrap, and share your diagnosis story. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your profile:

• On your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles, you can choose a profile picture and a cover photo. The cover photo is the background to your profile. You can use our campaign image on your cover photo, and your profile picture can just be a headshot of yourself.
• You can write a biography on your profile. You can use our campaign hashtag #CutTheCrap and list your interests. Always finish your biography with 'all views my own'. This helps identify your profile as being personal, even if you're volunteering for one or more charities/organisations.

Messaging and photos across social media

• You can share our Cut the Crap posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• You can also create your own post. If you do this, please use some of our key messaging. You can also add your personal story around diagnosis. Please also include a link to our symptom checker to encourage people to check their symptoms.
• Use our hashtag #CutTheCrap when you post. Hashtags can help you reach more people. A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # symbol, which can help identify tweets on specific topics.
• Tag us in your post.
• If you are adding your own photos and videos to your post, landscape is best for Twitter and portrait is best for Instagram. On Facebook, you can use either format.
• Always check spelling and grammar before posting.
• See here for specific guidance for posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

Making a video

You might want to make a short video to direct people to use our symptom checker. Here are a few top tips to help you:

• For Instagram and Facebook, videos should ideally be 1 minute or less. For Twitter, between 44 seconds and 2 minutes 20 seconds is the recommended length. If you want to produce a longer video for another platform, 2 - 5 minutes is okay.
• If you are creating a reel for Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, we recommend you take a portrait video of no longer than 1 minute. If you are looking to create a video for the other channels, landscape is okay.
• A video should be short, engaging, and include a clear action to visit the symptom checker. Start with something that will grab people's attention. Think about the key messages you want to include. Try not to read off a script, be as natural as you can by imagining that you are talking to a friend.
• Pick a location where the light is good and there is no background noise so people can clearly hear what you are saying.

Using Twitter

• Please use #CutTheCrap hashtag when you post. A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # symbol, which can help identify tweets on specific topics.
• You can share our Cut the Crap Twitter post here.
• You can also create your own post. If you are creating your own post, please remember:
  • Tweets are limited to 280 characters (this includes spaces)
  • Landscape images are best on Twitter
  • Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap
  • Tag us in your post @CrohnsColitisUK
  • Include a link to our symptom checker to encourage people to check their symptoms
  • Use our key messaging to help you think about any stats you want to include
• You can tweet information to local community accounts (such as a neighbourhood Facebook group/page) or decision-makers (like your local politician) to spread the word.
• If you have already sent your local politician a letter or email and have not heard back yet, a tweet can be a great way to follow up. Many tweets from people affected by an issue will often make a decision-maker take notice. You can tell your local politician about the campaign using our step by step guide.
• Most local media outlets will have a Twitter account. Find your local paper or radio station and tag them in your post. You can also get in touch with reporters and journalists directly.

Using Facebook

• You can share our Cut the Crap Facebook post.
• You can also create your own post. If you are creating your own post, please remember:
  • Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap. A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # symbol, which can help identify posts on specific topics.
  • Tag us in your post, @Crohns&ColitisUK.
  • Include a link to our symptom checker to encourage people to check their symptoms. 
  • Use our key messaging to help you think about any stats you want to include.
• Join Facebook groups for your local area or organisation. In those groups you can share our campaign posts, your personal posts about your diagnosis journey, our campaign pledge and symptom checker.
• You can create a Facebook page or group for other people to join.
• You can contact local media outlets through Facebook to draw attention to your events by posting on their pages. You can search for your local paper or radio station.

Using Instagram

• You can reshare or save our Cut the Crap Instagram posts to your stories.
• Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap in stories or when resharing our posts. A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # symbol, which can help identify posts on specific topics.
• Include a link to our symptom checker in your bio.
• You can also create your own post. If you are creating your own post, remember:
  • Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap
  • Tag us in your post @Crohns&ColitisUK
  • Use our key messaging to help you think about any stats you want to include

Using LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is used as a professional network for people to connect with colleagues.
• You can use LinkedIn to contact businesses, connect with other campaigners, and give updates on your page.
• LinkedIn allows you to write blogs on your profile that you can share in a post. Writing a blog is useful if you want to share a more detailed account of your diagnosis journey.
• You can share our Cut the Crap LinkedIn post.
• You can also create your own post. If you are creating your own post, please remember:
  • Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap
  • Tag us in your post @Crohns&ColitisUK
  • Include a link to our symptom checker to encourage people to check their symptoms
  • Use our key messaging to help you think about any stats you want to include

Using TikTok

• Crohn's & Colitis UK do not currently have an account on TikTok so, if you do, you can help us tell even more people about Cut the Crap and our symptom checker.
• To create your own post:
  • Use the hashtag: #CutTheCrap
  • Create your own video signposting people to the symptom checker. See our guidance on making a video. Remember relatable videos showing your uniqueness work best on TikTok.

When to post

Most people check their social media accounts in the morning and evening. Between 7am-9am and 7pm-9pm is usually the best time post. If you know what time works best for your own profile and audience, then go with that. Our social media team operates between the hours of 9am and 5pm. We aim to engage with posts during that time, though due to the number of posts we're tagged in we cannot respond to everyone.