Diabetes UK leveraged World Diabetes Day last week to make the case for diabetes research with a social media campaign which reached 2.3 million Twitter users.
The diabetes charity promoted the hashtag #whoisBanting last Thursday to educate people on Twitter and Facebook about the impact research can have on the lives of diabetes sufferers. Frederick Banting was a diabetes research pioneer whose discoveries continue to impact on diabetes treatment today.
The campaign, fronted by ex-Spice Girl Mel C, ran on World Diabetes Day, and while its aim was to lay out the case for diabetes research, it did garner 220 text donations to a value of around £800.
On Twitter the #whoisBanting campaign received nearly 1,000 re-tweets and was used 1,651 individual times. On Facebook Diabetes UK's posts reached 137,000 people and garnered 1,819 'likes' and was shared 1,316 times.
A Diabetes UK spokesman said: "The main focus of this campaign is really about making the case for the importance of diabetes research. By raising awareness of Banting and the important role research has played in making life better for people with diabetes, we hope to start a conversation about the research that’s going on at the moment as well as the potential it offers for the future."
Reflecting on the impact Banting's work in the 1920s, Diabetes UK chief executive Barbara Young said: "Clearly, life for people with diabetes – and particularly Type 1 diabetes – is immeasurably better today than it was back then. It is no longer a death sentence and many people with diabetes live long and healthy lives. But as well as celebrating the past, World Diabetes Day is also a chance to focus on how much more we need to do.
"We need more research to bring this to an end, but the projects we are funding at the moment offer real hope for a future where no one has to die or have debilitating health complications just because they have been diagnosed with diabetes.”
The social media campaign coincided with real-world events, including lighting up landmarks in London, Blackpool and Birmingham blue - the Diabetes UK colour.
