PBH Conquering Social Media

Consumers, public health communities, and the fruit and vegetable industry have helped the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) garner 100,000-plus likes for the nonprofit’s “Fruits & Veggies-More Matters” national health campaign Facebook page and 25,000-plus followers on Twitter.

PBH also started a Pinterest account in June 2012 and currently has just under 2,500 followers.

Elizabeth Pivonka, president and CEO of Hockessin, Del.-based PBH, said she was “pleased to know we are reaching so many consumers, fruit and vegetable industry members, health care workers, bloggers, and others through our social media efforts.”

Information on fruits and vegetables, including About the Buzz (which helps visitors keep up with the latest news and research), recipes, selection, storage tips, pictures of healthy meals that follow the MyPlate nutrition guideline, and articles written by supermarket dietitians all appear on the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Facebook page and as links in tweets on Twitter.

PBH has also shared social media “lessons learned and tips” with donors over the past several months via Twitter chats, one-on-one outreach, and by providing sample posts and tweets. On Feb. 27, the foundation will host a “Social Media 101’ Twitter chat from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (hashtag #socialmedia101). Additionally, PBH hosts monthly Twitter chats on the first Wednesday of each month, with easily customized sample monthly posts and tweets available on its website.