The CDC’s social team raises eyebrows and awareness

Even a poppy seed muffin can be controversial, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found out with a clever, albeit gross, image of a muffin with ticks the size of … poppy seeds.

With Lyme disease reaching epidemic levels, the visual attracted attention online via comments and retweets far surpassing CDC’s typical social engagement. The CDC posted another tweet apologizing for “ticking” some people off but left the original post intact.

Whether the move resulted in cheers or jeers, the interaction suggests this tactic achieved its goal. The lesson? Online, a picture really is worth 1,000 words.

– Hollie Geitner, WordWrite Communications