Committed to Health: Key Factors to Improve Users’ Online Engagement through Facebook (original) (raw)
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Social media use by community-based organizations conducting health promotion: a content analysis
BMC Public Health, 2013
Background: Community-based organizations (CBOs) are critical channels for the delivery of health promotion programs. Much of their influence comes from the relationships they have with community members and other key stakeholders and they may be able to harness the power of social media tools to develop and maintain these relationships. There are limited data describing if and how CBOs are using social media. This study assesses the extent to which CBOs engaged in health promotion use popular social media channels, the types of content typically shared, and the extent to which the interactive aspects of social media tools are utilized. Methods: We assessed the social media presence and patterns of usage of CBOs engaged in health promotion in Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, Massachusetts. We coded content on three popular channels: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We used content analysis techniques to quantitatively summarize posts, tweets, and videos on these channels, respectively. For each organization, we coded all content put forth by the CBO on the three channels in a 30-day window. Two coders were trained and conducted the coding. Data were collected between November 2011 and January 2012. Results: A total of 166 organizations were included in our census. We found that 42% of organizations used at least one of the channels of interest. Across the three channels, organization promotion was the most common theme for content (66% of posts, 63% of tweets, and 93% of videos included this content). Most organizations updated Facebook and Twitter content at rates close to recommended frequencies. We found limited interaction/ engagement with audience members. Conclusions: Much of the use of social media tools appeared to be uni-directional, a flow of information from the organization to the audience. By better leveraging opportunities for interaction and user engagement, these organizations can reap greater benefits from the non-trivial investment required to use social media well. Future research should assess links between use patterns and organizational characteristics, staff perspectives, and audience engagement.
Social media tools and applications are increasingly being integrated into modern medicine. However, little is known about how healthcare institutions are interacting online with their populations. In this case study, we identified a convenience sample of 11 institutions in Central Pennsylvania with Facebook Pages and evaluated their interactions with online communities. From May-June 2013, we noted type of healthcare institution (e.g. hospital, family practice); number of overall “likes” accrued by the healthcare facility; number of overall posts and “likes”, “comments”, and “content shares” associated with those posts; as well as number of location check-ins by “followers”. We thematically categorized each institutional post. Average number of Facebook Page “likes” was 2,261, and average number of overall posts was 28.9, or about one post every three days. On average, each post generated 16 “likes”, 1 comment, and 2.4 shares. Average number of location “check-ins” by visiting patients was 6,348. Most commonly published content across all Pages was advertisements (89%) and institutional news (89%). Patient populations in Central PA are seeking out healthcare institutions on Facebook, although most communication appears unidirectional and involves institutional advertising and promotion. There are opportunities for institutions to focus on health promotion and undertake “social” preventive health strategies using social media.
BMC Public Health, 2015
Background: Online social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have grown rapidly in popularity, with opportunities for interaction enhancing their health promotion potential. Such platforms are being used for sexual health promotion but with varying success in reaching and engaging users. We aimed to identify Facebook and Twitter profiles that were able to engage large numbers of users, and to identify strategies used to successfully attract and engage users in sexual health promotion on these platforms. Methods: We identified active Facebook (n = 60) and Twitter (n = 40) profiles undertaking sexual health promotion through a previous systematic review, and assessed profile activity over a one-month period. Quantitative measures of numbers of friends and followers (reach) and social media interactions were assessed, and composite scores used to give profiles an 'engagement success' ranking. Associations between host activity, reach and interaction metrics were explored. Content of the top ten ranked Facebook and Twitter profiles was analysed using a thematic framework and compared with five poorly performing profiles to identify strategies for successful user engagement. Results: Profiles that were able to successfully engage large numbers of users were more active and had higher levels of interaction per user than lower-ranked profiles. Strategies used by the top ten ranked profiles included: making regular posts/tweets (median 46 posts or 124 tweets/month for top-ranked profiles versus six posts or six tweets for poorly-performing profiles); individualised interaction with users (85% of top-ranked profiles versus 0% for poorly-performing profiles); and encouraging interaction and conversation by posing questions (100% versus 40%). Uploading multimedia material (80% versus 30%) and highlighting celebrity involvement (70% versus 10%) were also key strategies.
Improving Health and Efficiency With Strategic Social Media Use in Health Organizations
Research Anthology on Public Health Services, Policies, and Education, 2021
The emergence of social networking systems as mainstream applications and an inherent element of daily life is a phenomenon observed throughout the world as the worldwide social media users exceeds 2.7 billion. Similar to other sectors, healthcare organizations have also started benefiting from social media in distinct ways such as collecting feedback, educating, communicating and supporting patients and citizens. Social networks can act as remarkable channels for healthcare providers, governmental institutions, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and others to educate, communicate to, listen, connect to and engage existing and potential customers, patients, physicians and healthcare professionals. Despite the various benefits offered, health institutions, health professionals and stakeholders are reluctant to utilize social media due to several barriers and lack of expertise. This chapter aims to provide a better understanding on the ways healthcare companies can utilize social net...
Multidimensional Perspectives and Global Analysis of Universal Health Coverage, 2020
The emergence of social networking systems as mainstream applications and an inherent element of daily life is a phenomenon observed throughout the world as the worldwide social media users exceeds 2.7 billion. Similar to other sectors, healthcare organizations have also started benefiting from social media in distinct ways such as collecting feedback, educating, communicating and supporting patients and citizens. Social networks can act as remarkable channels for healthcare providers, governmental institutions, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and others to educate, communicate to, listen, connect to and engage existing and potential customers, patients, physicians and healthcare professionals. Despite the various benefits offered, health institutions, health professionals and stakeholders are reluctant to utilize social media due to several barriers and lack of expertise. This chapter aims to provide a better understanding on the ways healthcare companies can utilize social networks in detail to overcome use barriers and obtain related benefits.
Use of social media for health education and corporate communication of hospitals
El Profesional de la Información
is an associate professor of Corporate Communication in Audiovisual Communication (Universidade da Coruña) and holds her PhD in Communication from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC). Professor Costa-Sánchez was awarded an extraordinary doctorate by the Faculty of Communication Sciences of USC. Her main lines of research are Corporate communication, Health communication, and Mobile communication. She is co-editor of the books Comunicación corporativa. Claves y escenarios (Barcelona: UOC), and Comunicación corporativa audiovisual y online. Innovación y tendencias (Barcelona: UOC).
Terms of engagement: Analyzing public engagement with organizations through social media
Despite the growth of research on social media engagement over the last five years, studies have failed to define exactly what engagement is. While many studies equate engagement with the broad array of social media activities, this study argues that engagement is conceptually distinct, and involves cognitive and emotional immersion that may not characterize all social media usage. This study addresses the need to clarify the concept of social media engagement in both communication research by exploring drivers of this immersive state of social media engagement from the perspective of those who are among the most active in social media: Millennials. The study also explores Millennial consideration of engagement with organizations online. In-depth interviews and focus groups suggest that engagement is driven by information consumption, interest immersion, sense of presence, and social interaction. Furthermore, findings point toward the need to consider the spontaneous nature of online sociability, the relationship between online engagement and the organization–public relationship, and the concept of engagement itself.
Social media - a connecting thread of socio-economic and health promotion activities.
Social media helps people and enables them to stay in touch with their circle of people. It allows sharing what’s happening in the lives of people who matter to them. It permits them to freely express their views on what they aspire, what they dislike. The more and more people in the country find their jobs through social media networks. The people share and upload their activity in vacation on Flickr or social networks will become source to other person to explore new vacation. The corporate companies now recognize the relevance of social media and using social media to identify consumer preference. The social media companies Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ibibo,Bharathstudent.com Myspace,Fropper and Twitter, are looking professional who can able to do business online and offline The mobile gradually becoming the preferred medium for e-shopping and the online customer is constantly shifting preferences for which device he/she uses to access the Internet. Political parties bracing to use social media to woo the people and convey their message direct to the citizen. The political parties become tech savvy, recognize this media is the only way to reach out to the urban people. Healthcare communication group aims to create communities where information exchanges between like-minded people,.The breast cancer patients have biggest group online. The patients interact with like minded people, give lot of information and support online
Assessing user engagement in a health promotion website using social networking
Studies in health technology and informatics, 2014
Remote provision of supportive mechanisms for preventive health is a fast-growing area in eHealth. Web-based interventions have been suggested as an effective way to increase adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviours. This paper describes results obtained in the "Walk 2.0" trial to promote physical activity through a self-managed walking programme, using a social networking website that provided an online collaborative environment. Engagement of participants with the website was assessed by monitoring usage of the individual social networking functions (e.g. status post). The results demonstrate that users generally preferred contributing non-interactive public posts of information concerned with their individual physical activity levels, and more occasionally communicating privately to friends. Further analysis of topics within posts was done by classifying word usage frequencies. Results indicated that the dominant topics are well aligned with the social environment within which physical activity takes place. Topics centred around four main areas: description of the activity, timing of the activity, affective response to the activity, and context within which the activity occurs. These findings suggest that strong levels of user awareness and communication occur in the social networking setting, indicative of beneficial self-image and self-actualisation effects.