Factors Engaging Users of Diabetes Social Media Channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: Observational Study

Gabarrón, Elia; Larbi, Dillys; Dorronzoro, Enrique; Hasvold, Per; Wynn, Rolf; Årsand, Eirik

doi:10.2196/21204

Cited by 30 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In terms of engagement on Facebook, and likes and comments on Instagram, featured story submissions appeared to perform the strongest relative to other types of campaign posts, including supplemental content related to the featured story, winner announcements, and information resources. This finding is similar to a study by Gabarron et al who found that on the Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for the Norwegian Diabetes Association, posts containing stories and personal interviews had the most likes, comments, and shares compared to other types of posts over a 3-year period [ 63 ]. They also found that posts with information on recipes and food-related information received less engagement [ 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…This finding is similar to a study by Gabarron et al who found that on the Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for the Norwegian Diabetes Association, posts containing stories and personal interviews had the most likes, comments, and shares compared to other types of posts over a 3-year period [ 63 ]. They also found that posts with information on recipes and food-related information received less engagement [ 63 ]. In addition, Pedersen et al also found that in a social media campaign on human papillomavirus vaccine promotion, posts with personal stories had the best engagement and created positive comments [ 64 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign in Saskatchewan to Promote Healthy Eating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Media Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

Grantham¹,

Verishagen²,

Whiting³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic presented many sudden challenges regarding food, including grocery shopping changes (eg, reduced store hours, capacity restrictions, and empty store shelves due to food hoarding), restaurant closures, the need to cook more at home, and closures of food access programs. Eat Well Saskatchewan (EWS) implemented a 16-week social media campaign, #eatwellcovid19, led by a dietitian and nutrition student that focused on sharing stories submitted by the Saskatchewan public about how they were eating healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The goal of this study was to describe the implementation of the #eatwellcovid19 social media campaign and the results from the evaluation of the campaign, which included campaign performance using social media metrics and experiences and perspectives of campaign followers. Methods Residents of Saskatchewan, Canada, were invited to submit personal stories and experiences to EWS about how they were eating healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic from April to August 2020. Each week, one to three stories were featured on EWS social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—along with evidence-based nutrition information to help residents become more resilient to challenges related to food and nutrition experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who submitted stories were entered into a weekly draw for a Can $100 grocery gift card. Social media metrics and semistructured qualitative interviews of campaign followers were used to evaluate the #eatwellcovid19 campaign. Results In total, 75 stories were submitted by 74 individuals on a variety of topics (eg, grocery shopping, traditional skills, and gardening), and 42 stories were featured on social media. EWS shared 194 #eatwellcovid19 posts across social media platforms (Facebook: n=100; Instagram: n=55; and Twitter: n=39). On Facebook, #eatawellcovid19 reached 100,571 followers and left 128,818 impressions, resulting in 9575 engagements. On Instagram, the campaign reached 11,310 followers, made 14,145 impressions, and received 823 likes and 15 comments. On Twitter, #eatwellcovid19 made 15,199 impressions and received 424 engagements. Featured story submission posts had the best engagement on Facebook and the most likes and comments on Instagram. The EWS social media pages reported increases in their following during the campaign (Instagram: +30%; Facebook: +14%; and Twitter: +12%). Results from the interviews revealed that there were two types of campaign followers: those who appreciated hearing the stories submitted by followers, as it helped them to feel connected to the community during social isolation, and those who appreciated the evidence-based information. Conclusions Numerous stories were submitted to the #eatwellcovid19 social media campaign on various topics. On Instagram and Facebook, posts that featured these stories had the highest engagement. During this campaign, EWS’s social media following increased by more than 10% on each platform. The approach used for the #eatwellcovid19 campaign could be considered by others looking to develop health promotion campaigns.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign in Saskatchewan to Promote Healthy Eating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Media Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

Grantham¹,

Verishagen²,

Whiting³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Each of the extracted posts was classified according to its main contents into "health education" or "physical activity promotion". The inter-rater agreement was found to be substantial, further details are published elsewhere 15 . Two independent reviewers with a background in psychology (EG, RW) read the posts and coded them according to their type of social support, following the Social Support Behaviour Code 10 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…There is room to increase the number of social media posts dedicated to diabetes health education and physical activity promotion, given the known positive effect these have on this group. Educational posts could also make use of emojis, pictures, and videos, which have also been shown to have an effect on users' engagement 15 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging Social Media Users with Health Education and Physical Activity Promotion

Gabarrón

Larbi

Årsand

et al. 2021

Studies in Health Technology and Informatics

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Health-dedicated groups on social media provide different contents and social support to their peers. Our objective is to analyze users’ engagement with health education and physical activity promotion posts according to the expressed social support and social media. All health education and physical activity promotion posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram during 2017–2019 by a diabetes association were extracted. We identified the type of social support within these posts; and analysed the users’ engagement with these posts according to the type of social support and social media channel. A total of 260 posts dealing with health education (n=200) and physical activity promotion (n=60) were published. Posts promoting physical activity received 54% more likes than posts on health education (p<0.05), but they were 69% less likely to receive comments and be shared (both p<0.01). Posts expressing tangible assistance received 6 times more likes (p<0.001), and the ones indicating network support almost 11 times more shares (p<0.05). Posts expressing two or more types of social support were the most engaging (3 times more likes, 2 times more comments, and over 6 times more shares, all p<0.001). Health-dedicated social media groups can be effective channels for providing health education and for promoting physical activity among individuals with diabetes. Our findings suggest that engagement with health education and physical activity promotion posts can be increased by providing tangible assistance, network support, or expressing two or more types of social support; and by posting on Facebook and Instagram.

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“…Online forums have many uses in the T1D community, including emotional support [ 11 ], promotion of events, circulation of educational resources [ 32 ], and interactive technical support from peers and mentors with diabetes technology [ 11 ]. Snowball sampling or direct messages on media produced by these forums were, therefore, low cost and high return, although they were demographically biased recruitment strategies in our study (ie, overrepresenting optimal glycemic control and possibly other factors beyond our statistical power) and in previous work (ie, overrepresenting women and college education) [ 9 , 11 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Web-Based and In-Person Methods to Recruit Adults With Type 1 Diabetes for a Mobile Exercise Intervention: Prospective Observational Study

Ash¹,

Griggs²,

Nally³

et al. 2021

JMIR Diabetes

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Background Our clinical trial of a mobile exercise intervention for adults 18 to 65 years old with type 1 diabetes (T1D) occurred during COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, prompting us to test web-based recruitment methods previously underexplored for this demographic. Objective Our objectives for this study were to (1) evaluate the effectiveness and cost of using social media news feed advertisements, a clinic-based approach method, and web-based snowball sampling to reach inadequately active adults with T1D and (2) compare characteristics of enrollees against normative data. Methods Participants were recruited between November 2019 and August 2020. In method #1, Facebook and Instagram news feed advertisements ran for five 1-to-8-day windows targeting adults (18 to 64 years old) in the greater New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, areas with one or more diabetes-related profile interest. If interested, participants completed a webform so that the research team could contact them for eligibility screening. In method #2, patients 18 to 24 years old with T1D were approached in person at clinical visits in November and December 2019. Those who were interested immediately completed eligibility screening. Older patients could not be approached due to clinic restrictions. In method #3, snowball sampling was conducted by physically active individuals with T1D contacting their peers on Facebook and via email for 48 days, with details to contact the research staff to express interest and complete eligibility screening. Other methods referred participants to the study similarly to snowball sampling. Results In method #1, advertisements were displayed to 11,738 unique viewers and attracted 274 clickers (2.33%); 20 participants from this group (7.3%) volunteered, of whom 8 (40%) were eligible. Costs averaged US $1.20 per click and US $95.88 per eligible volunteer. Men had lower click rates than women (1.71% vs 3.17%; P<.001), but their responsiveness and eligibility rates did not differ. In method #2, we approached 40 patients; 32 of these patients (80%) inquired about the study, of whom 20 (63%) volunteered, and 2 of these volunteers (10%) were eligible. Costs including personnel for in-person approaches averaged US $21.01 per inquirer and US $479.79 per eligible volunteer. In method #3, snowball sampling generated 13 inquirers; 12 of these inquirers (92%) volunteered, of whom 8 (67%) were eligible. Incremental costs to attract inquirers were negligible, and total costs averaged US $20.59 per eligible volunteer. Other methods yielded 7 inquirers; 5 of these inquirers (71%) volunteered, of whom 2 (40%) were eligible. Incremental costs to attract inquirers were negligible, and total costs averaged US $34.94 per eligible volunteer. Demographic overrepresentations emerged in the overall cohort (ie, optimal glycemic control, obesity, and low exercise), among those recruited by news feed advertisements (ie, obesity and older age), and among those recruited by snowball sampling (ie, optimal glycemic control and low exercise). Conclusions Web-based advertising and recruitment strategies are a promising means to attract adults with T1D to clinical trials and exercise interventions, with costs comparing favorably to prior trials despite targeting an uncommon condition (ie, T1D) and commitment to an intervention. These strategies should be tailored in future studies to increase access to higher-risk participants. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04204733; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04204733

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Factors Engaging Users of Diabetes Social Media Channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: Observational Study

Cited by 30 publications

References 31 publications

Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign in Saskatchewan to Promote Healthy Eating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Media Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign in Saskatchewan to Promote Healthy Eating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Media Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

Engaging Social Media Users with Health Education and Physical Activity Promotion

Evaluation of Web-Based and In-Person Methods to Recruit Adults With Type 1 Diabetes for a Mobile Exercise Intervention: Prospective Observational Study

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