The document discusses the role of social media in public health, highlighting its potential for disseminating health information, improving audience engagement, and personalizing messages for diverse groups. It outlines common strategies for using social media effectively while addressing challenges such as misinformation, privacy issues, and institutional hesitancy. The study emphasizes the necessity for public health agencies to adapt to social media's evolving landscape to meet community expectations and enhance health outcomes.

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NIH Library | http://nihlibrary.nih.gov
Doug Joubert – MLIS, MS
Alicia Livinski – MPH, MA
Using Social Technologies for Public
Health
JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health
June 2014
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this
presentation are those of the speakers
and do not reflect the official policy or
position of the National Institutes of
Health or the Department of Health and
Human Services.

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Our roadmap
The state of social media
Case study
Social media and public health
Examples from the field
http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/60-seconds/
The state of social media

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What is social media?
Kaplan Andreas M., Haenlein Michael, (2010).
A shift from one-way conversations to multi-way conversations in which users
participate as both creators and consumers of web content.
Interactive User-generated Multi-directional
Turnbull A et al., (2009)
Activity % of internet users who
participate
Tool appeals primarily
to
Use any social networking
site
67% Adults 18-29, women
Use Facebook 67% Adults ages 18-29, women
Use Twitter 16% Adults, 19-29, African-
Americans, urban residents
Use Pinterest 15% Adults under 50, women
Whites, those with some
college education
Use Instagram 13% Adults ages 19-29, African-
Americans, Latinos,
women, urban residents
Use Tumblr 06% Adults ages 18-29
Social media usage in U.S.
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2012

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South
America
Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East
& Africa
North
America
Facebook 67% 60% 47% 45% 36%
Twitter 28% 33% 45% 32% 24%
Linked-in 2% 1% 2% 11% 5%
Google + 2% 2% 4% 2% 3%
Pinterest 1% - - 4% 3%
Mixi - 4% - - -
VKontakte - - 2% - -
Other - - - 6% 3%
World-wide social network shares
Source: emarketer.com (Gigya), 2013
Broadcasting platform for traditional media sources
Social media and public health
Schein, Rebecca et al. (2011)
Collaborating & co-creating to reach target audiences
Building relationships
Improving trust
Heightened authenticity

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• Disseminate health and
safety information.
• Increase the potential
effect of health
messages.
• Leverage your network
of users to share your
content.
• Engage with your
audience.
Public health: general uses
CDC, (2012)
• Create different
messages to reach
diverse audiences.
• Personalize health
messages and target
them to a particular
audience.
• Empower people to
make safer and
healthier decisions.
Public health: specific uses
CDC, (2012)

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Social media planning
Social media planning
Adapted from Samplin-Salgado, M., and A Moore. , 2011

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Common social media strategies
Social media engagement

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Facebook Insights
• Organic: The number of
unique people, who saw
this post in their News
Feed, Ticker, or on your
Page.
• Viral: The number of unique
people who saw this post
from a story published by a
friend.

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Fee-based engagement
Facebook content calendar

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Google: social flow report
http://www.socialmediashop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sm-monitoring.png
Twitter: Social Bro app

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Some interesting stats….
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2012/02/t
witter-2012-statistics.jpg
Important considerations
for crafting messages and
campaigns using Twitter?
Examples from the field

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Facebook
Photo-sharing
Adapted from Ross Simmons “Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing, 2014

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Photo-sharing
Adapted from Ross Simmons “Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing, 2014
Photo-sharing
Adapted from Ross Simmons “Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing, 2014

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Twitter
Texting and mobile

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Challenges…
• Potential for
misinformation or bias
• Privacy
• Security
• A lot of noise
• Blocked by many
agencies and
hospitals
• Paucity of peer-reviewed
testing for
communication
interventions
• Lag between
research cycle and
changes in social
media
…overall
Eysenback G.. (2010).
Schein, Rebecca et al. (2011)

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• Getting the attention of your
target group amongst all the
online “chatter.”
• Understanding what drives
user traffic.
• Limited online access and
poor literacy skills.
• Optimizing the SEO so that
your message appears
where you want it, when you
want it.
…with messages
Users tend to focus on the first 10 hits from Google, Bing, and
Yahoo.
Schein, Rebecca et al. (2011)
• Government agencies are risk-averse and slow to adapt
to change.
• By the time the campaign is approved, users have
moved on to the next platform.
• Convoluted communication channels and who can say
what, and when.
• Consumers now expect answers in hours or days, not
weeks or months.
…for government agencies
Schein, Rebecca et al. (2011)

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Why Adopt Social Media?
“We need to take public health interventions to
where the people are, or establish a presence in
new media before people get there.”
~Erik Auguston, NCI (2010)~
Social life of information
• Two forces are driving online health
conversations:
• the availability of social media
tools and
• the increased desire and activity,
especially among people living
with chronic conditions, to
connect with each other (Fox).
Fox, S. (2011). The Social Life of Health Information, 2011

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• The effective use of communication tools to “inform and
influence health behaviors” is a cross-cutting ASPH
competency.
Engagement and communication
Parvanta et al. (2011)
Health Informatics
Health
Marketing
Health
Communication
• Traditional marketers are using social media, so we
need to play in this space.
• It is more important than ever to engage customers
wherever they are.
• Encourages public engagement and builds relationships
between agencies and the public.
• Expectations in terms of openness, transparency, and
responsiveness.
Adoption
Schein, Rebecca et al. (2011)

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Case Study
NIH Library | http://nihlibrary.nih.gov
Doug Joubert
douglas.joubert@nih.gov
Alicia Livinski
alicia.livinski@nih.gov

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• Calhoun, J. G., Ramiah, K., Weist, E. M., & Shortell, S.
M. (2008). Development of a core competency model for
the master of public health degree. American Journal of
Public Health, 98(9), 1598-1607.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012).
CDC’s Guide to writing for social media: CDC Electronic
Media Branch.
• Duggan, M., & Brenner, J. (2013). The demographics of
social media users - 2012: Pew Internet & American Life
Project.
References and resources
• Eysenbach, G. (2011). Can tweets predict citations?
Metrics of social impact based on Twitter and correlation
with traditional metrics of scientific impact. J Med
Internet Res, 13(4).
• Eysenbach, G., & Group, C.-E. (2011). CONSORT-EHEALTH:
improving and standardizing evaluation
reports of Web-based and mobile health interventions. J
Med Internet Res, 13(4).
• Facebook. (2013). Best practices guide: Marketing on
Facebook.
References and resources

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• Fordis, M., Street, R. L., Volk, R. J., & Smith, Q. (2011).
The prospects for web 2.0 technologies for engagement,
communication, and dissemination in the era of patient-centered
outcomes research. Eisenberg Conference
Series 2010 Meeting. Journal of Health Communication,
16(SUPPL. 1), 3-9.
• Fox, S. (2012). The social life of health information. Pew
Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.
Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-
Life-of-Health-Information.aspx
References and resources
• Gibbons, M. C., Fleisher, L., Slamon, R. E., Bass, S.,
Kandadai, V., & Beck, J. R. (2011). Exploring the
Potential of Web 2.0 to Address Health Disparities.
Journal of Health Communication, 16(sup1), 77-89.
• Google. (2013). Social media measurement with google
analytics. 2012, Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/analytics/features/social.html
• Hesse, B. W., O'Connell, M., Augustson, E. M., Chou,
W.-Y. S., Shaikh, A. R., & Finney Rutten, L. J. (2011).
Realizing the promise of Web 2.0: engaging community
intelligence. Journal of Health Communication, 16(sup1),
10-31.
References and resources

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• Kanter, B. (2012a). How to create a terrific Facebook
cover image if you don’t have resources to hire a
designer. Retrieved from http://www.bethkanter.org/fb-cover-
images/
• Kanter, B. (2012b). Integrated content strategy. Paper
presented at the New Media for the Networked NGO.
• Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world,
unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media.
Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
References and resources
• Parvanta, C. F. (2011). Essentials of public health
communication. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
• Samplin-Salgado, M., & Moore, A. (2011). Doing more
with less: Efficiently and effectively using new media.
HHS New Media. AIDS.gov.
• Schein, R., Wilson, K., & Keelan, J. (2010). Literature
review on effectiveness of the use of social media: Peel
Public Health.
References and resources

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• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011).
The health communicator’s social media toolkit.
• Turnbull, A. P., Summers, J. A., Gotto, G., Stowe, M.,
Beauchamp, D., Klein, S., . . . Zuna, N. (2009). Fostering
wisdom-based action through Web 2.0 communities of
practice: An example of the early childhood family
support community of practice. Infants and young
children, 22(1), 54-62.
References and resources