19th May is the birthday of Diabetes.co.uk’s Facebook page. This year we are celebrating its 11-year anniversary. Our Facebook page is a place for everyone to find support, share experiences and ask questions.
The page is run by our social media team who communicate directly with members, share content with the wider audience and keep up to date with what’s going on in the world.
In 2018, we reached a total of 98 million people, in 2019, we reached a total of 112 million people and so far in 2020 we’ve reached 24 million people . Through connecting with others, we are changing people’s understanding about diabetes and positively affecting health outcomes.
To celebrate this milestone, we wanted to share with you some of our achievements over the past 10 years and the impact our platform has had on healthcare.
#BloodSugarSelfie raises £3774 for JDRF
In 2014, we launched the #bloodsugarselfie campaign to raise funds for the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF. The selfies that were posted across our social media platforms were viewed by over 650,000 people and helped to raise diabetes awareness among those who maybe did not know much about diabetes before. It also helped to raise an incredible £3774 for JDRF, helping to fund research into type 1 diabetes. In 2015 #bloodsugarselfie won ‘best use of social media in healthcare’ at the EHI awards.
Low Carb Program celebrates over 400,000 members
The Low Carb Program was launched on World Diabetes Day in 2015 and has helped thousands of people reduce medication dependency, achieve sustainable weight loss and lowered blood glucose levels. Through sharing this success with the wider audience, the Low Carb Program has gained over 400,000 members and we are edging closer to achieving our mission of redefining metabolic health.
Hit 300,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook
During Diabetes Awareness Month in 2016, we celebrated the milestone of over 300,000 likes on Facebook, showing users that they were not alone in their experience with diabetes. During the month we encouraged users to share their #BlueNovember selfie and join us in helping to raise awareness, inspire others and break stereotypes.
100,000 Facebook frame users for #DiabetesAwarenessMonth2017
Each year the social media team hold social campaigns to raise awareness of diabetes and encourage others to share their story. In 2017 we encouraged users to join us in #GoBlueForNovember and over 106,000 people added our frame to their profile picture to help spread diabetes awareness and beat the stigma.
Launch of the Hypo Program
In partnership with Novo Nordisk, the newly-improved Hypo Program was launched in January 2019. The Hypo Program is an education tool designed to increase awareness of hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose. Through sharing this news across our digital platforms over 6,500 people signed up during the first month. Since its first launch in 2015, 88% of people now know how to spot a hypo, 89% of people know how to treat a hypo and after six months and 63% are experiencing fewer severe hypos.
Diabetes Forum hit 315,000 members
In 2020 we announced that over 315,000 people had joined the world’s largest diabetes community meaning that we were now reaching almost one in 10 of the UK’s population.
Hit 380,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook
Only yesterday (18th May, 2020) did we reach the amazing achievement of 380,000 likes on our Facebook page. Thank you to every single member of the community who helps to make it what it is!
Thank you to everyone who has shared their experience with us, we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together over the next 11 years!
