We live in a world with information at our fingertips. When we want information, we want it now.When looking for health information we often turn to the internet before seeking out professional advice. So we need to be where the public is looking. If we are not there, they will find the self-styled health gurus instead of qualified nutritional professionals. In November last year, I was invited to attend a breakfast meeting by PR Company Porter Novelli, looking at effective ways of harnessing social media. As qualified nutritional professionals, we often get lost in the noise of big health influences with little or no health qualifications. The meeting had 2 social media stars who discussed how they managed to successfully build their brands on social media. The first was Dr Megan Rossi (The Gut Health Doctor) who is a research dietitian at Kings College London and works in private practice. Over the past 12 months, she has managed to accrue 52,000 followers on Instagram with her amazing photos and her excellent way of engaging the public with the latest research about food and health. The second was a food blogger, Annabelle Randles, who runs the blog ‘The Flexitarian’. Annabelle does not have any formal nutritional qualifications but is passionate about sustainability and the environment. Annabelle has a good following on social media and works a lot with brands on her blog.
Enjoyed listening to @TheGutHealthDoc @TheFlexitarian talking about how to get nutrition messages heard as health professionals #goopfree pic.twitter.com/emHmiA8HW4
— Louise Robertson (@louisedietitian) November 2, 2017
- Be proud of who we are, we should be shouting out that we are the experts.
- Don’t copy other accounts, but take best bits and put them together to make your own style.
- Choose a social media name that is like a brand – The Gut Health Doctor / The Flexitarian.
- Engage with like-minded people on social media. If the public see you engaging with other experts they will want to follow you too.
- Your posts need to be engaging and fun, people don’t want to read cold science. They want practical advice.
- Make your posts personable (include a few selfies – yes I know we all cringe doing them!) as followers like to see that you are engaging with them.
- Engaging with the public is more important than spending a long time creating good content.
- You don’t need to be on all social media channels. Find a platform you enjoy. Different platforms serve different purposes.
- Use planning, scheduling and time blocking to keep up with your social media. This way you won’t get distracted and it keeps your mind focused.
Let’s go goop free, see you on social media!

Thanks. I think the social media tips given for dietitians are great. I will definitely put some of the ones I’m not doing into practice.
Great, thanks for reading Kate
Thanks for the tip! I’ll take a look.