This is a decent resource, but its a shame that there has been no concerted effort to promote it to the people who might benefit.
This is not a job for amateurs, but we can certainly let our friends know about it a bit more. However, really the site owners - who presumably receive some public funding - do have a responsibility to get the message out there on social media, maybe with a targeted promotional advert on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
This is cheap, and not that complex = 'targeted" being the key word here - make sure it is seen by people with an interest …
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I see that this forum is still notable by the lack of promotion and very low participation rates, despite my gentle nudges. Broadly speaking, there is not much point hosting a forum unless it is actively promoted - if anyone is being paid to run it, then can they please respond with a Plan to make it accessible and useful?
I agree it would be great if it was a bit busier. There are a reasonable number of people viewing the posts, but probably too few people contributing to make it as useful a resource as it could be. For example, often people are looking for advice about a SDS practice in a specific LA area, which really benefits from having people with experience from that area. I know that SDS Scotland promote it within the SDS community - through their Facebook page, for example - but I don’t know how well it is known outside of this. I don’t think it’s used much by PAs or to advertise training or jobs, but maybe it’s not needed for this as most areas have their own online spaces.
@Kayleigh Could SDS Scotland could put together a promo pack or something like this for advice agencies and other organisations to use to promote this and the SDS Handbook? Or maybe have ‘champions’ to promote it in different localities?
@Scally Do you have any thoughts on where/how it could be pushed a little more?
Our GP surgery and local pharmacies carry leaflets on a range of topics - these are useful as people often have to wait there and need reading material.
But it isn’t rocket science to identify key Scottish social media sites on specific - often condition-focused - illnesses or conditions such as Dementia or Autism and join them together with a simple story and link. Most of them will welcome this kind of content.
A small budget for advertising on social media will also help to spread the word - and adverts can be targeted very specifically to particular demographics and interest groups .