Upworthy's All 7 Billion series, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed to improve how online media is created and distributed to more effectively engage the public on critical issues of global health and poverty. Upworthy's data science team tested and optimized A7B's digital media content to maximize lifts in awareness, perceptions, and willingness to take action. The team's editorial, design, and messaging strategy learnings are outlined in this deck.

1. UPWORTHY + GATES FOUNDATION
MAY 2017

2. PURPOSE
To improve how online media is created and
distributed to more effectively inform and
engage the public on critical issues of global
health and poverty.
OBJECTIVE
Refine strategies for improving
awareness, perception, and willingness
to take action.

3. OVERVIEW

4. Significant lifts in:
• Awareness
• Knowledge
• Perceptions
• Empathy
• Intentions to
take action
• Actual likelihood of
taking action
Attention
time à
stronger lifts
in how
people:
• Think
• Feel
• Act
Impact persists
for weeks and
even months
Significant,
measurable impact
on-site and on
Facebook
IMPACT
Measuring actual lifts
in engagement with
calls-to-action
TIME
OVERVIEW:
MEASURING IMPACT

5. When it comes to
motivating action,
how people feel is
more important than
what they know.
Positive, empathy-
inducing stories make
people feel better about
themselves, enhance
understanding, and make
stories hopeful and
shareable.
Affirming the reader
actually amplifies the
effect of exposure to
content.
Whereas shaming and
embarrassing do not
appear to be an
effective strategy.
When users report feeling
positive, activated, and
empowered, they are
more likely to share
content on social media.
FEELING VS.
KNOWING
MESSAGE
FRAMING
AFFIRMATIVE
STORYTELLING
UNDERSTANDING
EMOTION
OVERVIEW:
WHAT WE’VE
LEARNED

6. MEASURING
IMPACT

7. MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
MOVING
HEARTS
& MINDS
30
40
50
60
70
KNOWLEDGE
Percent Correct
0
20
40
60
80
INTENTION TO
TAKE ACTION
Percentage of Users
3
3.5
4
4.5
PERCEPTIONS OF
IMPORTANCE
Importance [1-5]
WHAT WE LEARNED
Viewing Upworthy’s A7B
content leads to improved:
• Knowledge, awareness,
familiarity
• Perceptions of
importance, empathy
• Intentions to take action
Exposed group
Pre-exposure control group
Site-wide control group
ISSUES EXAMINED
• Child marriage
• Global hunger
• Sewage treatment
• FGM
• Ebola
• Infant mortality
• Child vaccinations
METHOD
50+ Upworthy surveys
90k participants
Assess how users:
• Think
• Feel
• Behave
EXAMPLE RESULTS: CHILD MARRIAGE CONTENT
• Hand washing
& public health
• Malaria
• Income
inequality
• Reproductive
health

8. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Talked to friends about
pill bottle donation
Shared story about pill
bottle donation
Contacted organizations,
shelters, health centers
about donation
Actually donated pill
bottles
Exposed group
METHOD
Surveyed users on actual actions
taken since viewing content.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Exposed users took significantly
more action than unexposed users.
Given 110,000 exposed users and
a +4.4% delta, we can estimate that
this story caused approximately
5,000 additional people to donate
pill bottles.
Unexposed group
ACTUAL ACTIONS TAKEN, LAST 30 DAYS
Percent Users
MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
TAKING
ACTION

9. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
METHOD
Analyzed correlations between
attention time and survey impact.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Users who spend more time
paying attention show even
stronger shifts in their survey
results.
The more attention time, the
more knowledge, awareness,
empathy, perceived importance,
and intentions to take action.
ATTENTION TIME à MORE KNOWLEDGE
(Wealth inequality issue)
Percent Correct
0-1.5
min
1.5-3
min
3-5
min
ATTENTION TIME à TAKING ACTION
(Raising awareness about FGM)
Likelihood [1-5]
0
sec
1-30
sec
31-60
sec
61-90
sec
91+
sec
MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
ATTENTION
TIME

10. 50%
70%
90%
1-3 4-6 13+7-9 10-12
50%
70%
90%
1-5 6-10 21+11-15 16-20
0%
50%
100%
1-5 6-10 16+11-15
0%
50%
100%
50%
70%
90%
50%
70%
90%
METHOD
Analyzed survey responses
long after initial exposure to
content.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Lifts in perceptions remain
relatively stable across time,
without an obvious pattern of
decline — enduring for up to
six weeks or longer.
AFRICAN
TECH INNOVATION
Optimism
CHILDHOOD
MARRIAGE
Importance
CHILDHOOD
VACCINATIONS
Policy View
GLOBAL
HUNGER
Empathy
GLOBAL
HUNGER
Importance
WOMEN’S
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Support
1-7 8-14 15+ 1-
7
8-
14
15-
21
22-
28
29-
35
36-
42
43-
49
50+
1-5 6-10 21+11-15 16-20
21+
Days
21+
Days
13+
Days
15+
Days
50+
Days
16+
Days
Exposed Group Perceptions
Control Group Perceptions
MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
LONG-
LASTING
IMPACT

11. 0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
METHOD
Surveyed users who viewed video content
on Facebook.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Participants became more knowledgeable
about the issue and showed minor lifts in
perceived importance and intentions to
sign a petition.
IMPACT OF FACBEOOK VIDEO EXPOSURE
Percent Users
Exposed (Viewers and Completers)
Unexposed (Lookalike Audiences)
Knowledge Personal
Importance
Petition
MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
MOVING
HEARTS &
MINDS ON
FACEBOOK

12. 0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
METHOD
Measured engagement with ad-based calls-to-
action on Facebook.
WHAT WE LEARNED
People who watched Upworthy videos on
Facebook were more likely to actually take
action when given the opportunity, compared
to those who didn’t see Upworthy videos.
Control-Viewer Lookalikes
Control-Completer Lookalikes
CALL-TO-ACTION
ENGAGEMENT RATE (CPM)
Viewers
Completers
Contacting Congress Petition Signing Donations
MEASURING IMPACT ON-SITE:
TAKING
ACTION ON
FACEBOOK

13. WHAT WE’VE
LEARNED

14. 0
20
40
60
80
0
20
40
60
80
METHOD
Analyze whether intentions to take action
correlate more strongly with knowledge or
perception shifts.
WHAT WE LEARNED
The knowledge level of users has minimal effect
on attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors.
But how people feel strongly predicts
willingness to take action. This is especially true
for the empathy and personal importance that
people feel about an issue.
PERSONAL IMPORTANCE OF
CHILDHOOD MARRIAGE ISSUE
[1-5]
WHAT PEOPLE KNOW
LIKELIHOOD OF SEEKING ADDITIONAL
INFO ON CHILDHOOD MARRIAGE
[1-5]
2
3
4
2
3
4
Low
Knowledge
High
Knowledge
Low
Knowledge
High
Knowledge
HOW PEOPLE FEEL
INTENTIONS TO TAKE ACTION
ON GLOBAL HUNGER
Level of Empathy, Percent Users
INTENTIONS TO TAKE ACTION
ON GLOBAL HUNGER
Issue Importance, Percent Users
LEARNINGS
KNOWLEDGE
ALONE DOES
NOT
MOTIVATE
ACTION

15. 50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
METHOD
Compared neutral version of story on child
vaccinations to a version emphasizing
embarrassment, shame, and guilt for non-
vaccinating parents.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Users who viewed the version that
embarrassed and shamed non-vaccinating
parents were not more likely to support
mandatory vaccinations.
USERS SUPPORTING MANDATORY
VACCINATIONS
Percent Users
Pre-exposure
control group
Site-wide
control group
Exposed:
Neutral
Exposed:
Shame
LEARNINGS
SHAME IS AN
INEFFECTIVE
PERSUASIVE
STRATEGY

16. 2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3
METHOD
Randomly assigned visitors to view a neutral or
self-affirming message prior to content exposure.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Users who received even short, subtle messages
affirming their values were more receptive to
messaging on tough issues. They reported
reduced concerns about vaccination risks and
increased support for mandatory vaccinations,
above and beyond the effects of exposure alone.
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
2.2
2.4
2.6
CONCERN ABOUT
VACCINATION RISKS
[1-5]
SUPPORT FOR MANDATORY
VACCINATIONS
[1-3]
NEUTRAL AFFIRMATIONLEARNINGS
AFFIRMATION
ENHANCES
OPENNESS TO
DIFFICULT
TOPICS

17. METHOD
Framed stories to emphasize either the
challenges or the progress being made in
global maternal health.
WHAT WE LEARNED
The positive framing made users feel more
happy, more hopeful, and less hopeless.
The positive version made people more
optimistic about the issue itself.
The positive framing was more likely to be
shared on social media.
40
50
60
70
80
INTENTIONS TO SHARE
STORY ON FACEBOOK
Percent Users
60
70
80
90
OPTIMISM TOWARD GLOBAL
MATERNAL HEALTH
Percent Users
Positive Framing Negative Framing
0
20
40
60
80
EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
Percent Users
Happy Sad Hopeful Hopeless
LEARNINGS
FRAME
STORIES
WITH
POSITIVITY

18. Informational
Framing
1
2
3
4
0
10
20
30
40
50
METHOD
Randomly assigned visitors to view
stories emphasizing information or
person-centered, empathic stories.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Information-focused narratives led to
reduced issue awareness and reduced
intentions to share content on Facebook,
relative to our original and empathic
narratives.
AWARENESS (OF CHILD
REFUGEE STATS)
[1-5]
Empathy
Framing
Original
Despite the factual content, the
informational framing left users
feeling less aware of child refugee
stats than the other conditions.
Users exposed to the
informational framing were least
likely to intend to take action.
INTENTIONS TO SHARE
CONTENT (ON FACEBOOK)
Percent Users Likely to Act
LEARNINGS
FRAME
STORIES
WITH
EMPATHY

19. 0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
METHOD
Asked visitors across A7B series to rate
content attributes and shareability.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Exciting, positive, and “Upworthy” stories
were rated as the most shareable, but all
of these attributes were associated with
higher share rates.
PREDICTING SHAREABILITY
Correlation Coefficient (r)
Surprising Feel
Something
Genuine Solutions-
Oriented
Exciting Positive “Upworthy”
LEARNINGS
PEOPLE
SHARE
CONTENT
FOR A
NUMBER OF
REASONS

20. FREE RESPONSE EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
EMOJI
EMOTION CATEGORIES EMOTION SLANG
EMOTIONS THAT LEAD TO SHARING
LEARNINGS
THE SCIENCE
OF EMOTION

21. WHAT KINDS OF EMOTIONAL REACTIONS PREDICT SHAREABILITY?
Shareability by Valence Shareability by Activation Shareability by Empowerment
r = + .27 r = + .29 r = + .35
WHAT WE LEARNED
People share content that makes
them feel positive, activated,
empowered, and in control of
their emotional experience.
We can better predict whether
visitors will share a story by asking
about their emotional responses
than by directly asking how
shareable it is.
METHOD
Past research has linked viral sharing of content to two core
dimensions of emotion: valence and activation.
But competing psychological theories have identified other core
dimensions of emotion.
One of the most commonly cited is dominance, or the extent to
which one feels in control of and empowered by their emotional
experience.
We asked participants to rate their reactions to A7B content along
these three dimensions and to report how shareable each story was.
LEARNINGS
POSITIVE,
ACTIVATING, &
EMPOWERING
EMOTIONS
ENCOURAGE
SHARING

22. LEARNINGS
PERCEPTIONS OF
THE AUTHOR
MATTER
The more familiar readers were with the author,
the stronger their perceptions tended to be,
but the less their perceptions tended to change.
Perception change was directly correlated with
author expertise and author favorability,
but not perceptions of the author’s celebrity status.
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Familiarity with
Author
Author Expertise Author Celebrity
Status
Author
Favorability
CORRELATION WITH PERCEPTION CHANGE
non-sig
METHOD
Analyzed whether visitors’ perceptions and self-
reported perception changes correlated with
their perceptions of the stories’ authors.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Author perceptions that appear to strengthen
perceptions are not the same as those that tend
to change people’s perceptions.
For example, author familiarity was related to
stronger perceptions but weaker perception
change.
It is important that we choose the outcomes we
use to define success very carefully.

23. RESEARCH QUESTION
Should CTAs be placed at the end of articles or at
the beginning and end of articles?
WHAT WE LEARNED
Placing CTAs at both the beginning and end of
articles improves engagement rates
substantially relative to placing them only at the
end.
This more than doubles the rate at which
people click to take action, without affecting
conversion rates.
LEARNINGS
CALL-TO-
ACTION
PLACEMENT
MATTERS
0.00%
0.20%
0.40%
0.60%
0.80%
1.00%
1.20%
CTA at bottom of article CTA at bottom and top of article
CALL-TO-ACTION ENGAGEMENT RATE

24. 1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
No, and I wouldn't
have clicked it anyway
No, but I would have
clicked it
Yes, but I did not click
it
Yes, and I clicked it
Self-Efficacy[1-5]
Did you see the Take Action button, and/or click it?
INTERACTIONS WITH CTAs AND
SELF-EFFICACY
Noticing a CTA, clicking a CTA, and even wanting to click a CTA
were all associated with higher self-efficacy.
Visitors with low self-efficacy were unlikely to have seen the CTA and
unlikely to even want to engage with it.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Do CTAs increase the sense of self-efficacy?
Do users need to see the CTA or actually take
action to get a sense of self-efficacy?
WHAT WE LEARNED
Among those who did not see the CTA (first two
bars), there was a split between users who felt high
and low self-efficacy.
But among those who did see a CTA, almost all
users reported high self-efficacy, regardless of
whether they actually clicked the CTA.
In other words, simply noticing the presence of the
CTA enhanced self-efficacy.
LEARNINGS
CTAs
PROMOTE
SELF-EFFICACY

25. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Seek additional
information
Share
information
online
Sign a petition Volunteer Donate Money
LikelihoodofTakingAction
INTERACTIONS WITH CTAs
AND LIKELIHOOD OF TAKING SPECIFIC ACTIONS
No, and I wouldn't have clicked it anyway No, but I would have clicked it
Yes, but I did not click it Yes, and I clicked it
RESEARCH QUESTION
To what extent are intentions to take specific actions related to
engagement with CTAs?
WHAT WE LEARNED
Even among people who saw CTAs but chose not to click them, we
observed elevated likelihoods of taking action in the future.
Among those who did not see CTAs at all, there was a large group
of visitors that had low intentions to take action — but there was no
such group among those who saw CTAs.
In other words, simply noticing the CTA enhanced visitors’
likelihoods of taking action, even if they didn’t engage with it.
LEARNINGS
CTAs PROMOTE
INTENTIONS TO
TAKE ACTION
LATER
Generally, seeing the CTA and clicking the CTA (or wanting to click)
were related to higher likelihoods of taking specific actions.

26. -0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Empathy Self-Efficacy
(feeling capable of helping)
Helplessness
StrengthofCorrelation(r)
EMPATHY, SELF-EFFICACY, AND HELPLESSNESS:
CORRELATIONS WITH PERCEPTION CHANGE
Visitors who felt the most empathy reported the
largest perception changes.
Perception shifts were also common among those
who felt high self-efficacy.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Are self-reported perception changes
predicted by empathy and/or self-efficacy?
WHAT WE LEARNED
Self-reported perception change was related
to significantly higher levels of both
empathy and self-efficacy (i.e., feeling
capable of helping).
It is not clear if either empathy or self-efficacy
is stronger. The results tend to vary from study
to study.
LEARNINGS
EMPATHY
AND SELF-
EFFICACY
BOTH SHIFT
PERCEPTIONS

27. -0.10
-0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
Positive Negative Joy Sadness Anger Fear Surprise Disgust
StrengthofCorrelation
(rcorrelationcoefficient)
Visitors’ emotional reactions are consistently correlated with the
emotional content of articles’ text and their own Facebook
comments.
In other words, the emotional language used in Story of Food
articles directly influences how visitors feel and communicate.
LEARNINGS
EMOTIONAL
CONTENT IS
CONTAGIOUS
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ARTICLE TEXT
SENTIMENT AND VISITOR RESPONSES
RESEARCH QUESTION
Do the emotions expressed in articles
influence reader behavior and engagement?
WHAT WE LEARNED
The emotional content of articles (measured
by sentiment analysis) consistently predicted
visitors’ self-reported emotional responses.
Visitors’ emotional responses detected in
Facebook comment text were validated by
their self-reports.
There is evidence of “emotional contagion.”
That is, the emotional language we use in our
articles not only influences how people feel
immediately afterward, but also how they
communicate on Facebook.

28. THANK
YOU
S E A N W OJ C I K
Sr. Data Scientist
sean@upworthy.com
M O N I C A C I R L I N
Director of Account Strategy
monica@upworthy.com
R I T H E S H M E N O N
Director of NFP/Foundation Partnerships
rithesh@upworthy.com