Academic and clinical research institutions recruit very specific populations to participate in their studies. Typically they rely on traditional advertising methods such as mailing lists and event booths to recruit participants. This presentation outlines how Targeted Facebook marketing could be a beneficial tool in research participant recruitment.

1. Targeted Facebook Advertising as a
Tool to Recruit Participants for
Clinical Research Studies
ANDREA WEIDEMAN, M.B.A.
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2. Social Media
Can be a
Powerful Tool
if You Know
How to Use it...
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3. U.S. ADULTS
74%
AGES 30-49
84%
AGES 50-64
70%
AGES 65+
62%
FACEBOOK- THE GREAT EQUALIZER
DEMOGRAPHICS
USED ACROSS ETHNIC AND
SOCIAL GROUPS
SUITABILITY
IDEAL TOOL FOR RECRUITMENT OF
PARENTS AND SIBLINGS OF
INDIVIDUALS WITH DOWN
SYNDROM
USER BASE
MOST POPULAR PLATFORM IN
AMERICA
DAILY USE
PEW RESEARCH
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4. LATINOS
FACEBOOK & DIVERSITY
Facebook is unique among
social media sites in that
(in the US) it is used at
approximately equal rates
across ethnic groups.
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AFRICAN AMERICANS
ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDERS
CAUCASIANS

5. TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE
YOU CHOOSE
The budget
Audience Location(s)
Audience Age Range
Audience Interest(s)
Other Targeted Data
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Facebook is an
enormous
repository
of user
demographic
data

6. TOTAL
Set the total budget for the
campaign
LENGTH
Total length of time the ad
will run
DATES
Set the start and end dates
for the campaign
SET THE BUDGET
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7. CHOOSE
SPECIFIC
AUDIENCE
INTERESTS
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8. SET
PHYSICAL
AUDIENCE
LOCATION(S)
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9. A UNIQUE RECRUITMENT
OPPORTUNITY
QUARANTINE
Creates a more captive
audience
50%
Increase in use over
the past month
CURRENT USERS
Increased daily active
users
NEW USERS
Increase in new user
acquisition
COST SAVING
With overall business
slowing down ad costs
have also lowered
FREQUENCY
Users are spending more
time on Facebook than
before
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10. FACEBOOK ANALYTICS
Tracking Effectiveness of Ads
AD IMPRESSIONS
The number of times
your ad was viewed
AD CLICKS
The number of users
who clicked the ad
CLICK THROUGH RATE
The number of users who
clicked the ad as a percentage
of viewers
Facebook Analytics is a built-in feature of Facebook ads that
allows to you automatically track certain metrics
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11. FACEBOOK CAN
ALSO TRACK
MORE
COMPLICATED
METRICS THAN
PREVIOUSLY
MENTIONED
You can track as much or as
little as you want
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12. From our end, we should ask each
potential participant how they find out
about our study when they call in to
screen.
Keeping a log of this will help us more
accurately measure the overall
effectiveness of our recruitment methods
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MEASURING
THE
EFFICACY
OF
TRACKING

13. SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY
SUMMARY
Targeted Facebook Advertising
Presents a Unique Opportunity to:
• Reach people who are specifically interested in Down
syndrome (and are thus very likely to have personal ties to
people with Down syndrome)
• Reach very specific locations inside and outside of OC
• Increase diversity by prioritizing the most diverse local
neighborhoods
• Reach potential participants in counties surrounding OC
• Track the effectiveness of the ads
• Stay within a small, pre-specified budget
• Reach specific age ranges (study dependent but targets will
most likely be siblings and caregivers of individuals with
Down syndrome)
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14. 4. CUSTOMIZE
Decide which local areas
to prioritize and set other
parameters
6. TRACK
Follow up with
participants and use
Facebook analytics to
optimize future
campaigns
5. EXECUTE
Run the IRB-approved
Facebook advertisements
1. CREATE
Create targeted Facebook
advertisements for our
active studies (Andrea has
the software to do this)
3. BUDGET
Determine a budget (can
be as little as $5-$10 per
day)
2. SUBMIT
Submit Emods with the
Facebook recruitment
material to the IRB
NEXT STEPS
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15. Thanks for your
Attention
follow@UCIDownSyndromeResearch
ANDREA WEIDEMAN, M.B.A.
aweidema@hs.uci.edu
949.337.8105
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