Using Social Media as a Tool for Public Health Promotion in Communities of Color during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Understanding metrics and processes. (Preprint)

Abstract

Individuals identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) lack access to culturally appropriate accurate information and are the target of disinformation campaigns, which create doubt in science/healthcare providers and might play a role in sustaining health disparities related to COVID-19.

To create and disseminate culturally- and medically-appropriate messages for Black, Latino, and Native American communities in WI and evaluate their reach to address the need for information responsive to BIPOC communities.

Our team identified relevant COVID-19 topics based on feedback from their respective community, developed lay format materials, and translated materials into culturally appropriate social media messages that community advocates delivered. Social media metrics (Reach, Engagement, Impressions) were collected using Sprout Social and Facebook Analytics. We hosted nine focus groups with community members to learn about their social media usage. These data were analyzed using an inductive approach, using NVivo to code content (Release 1.7).

Between August 2020 and January 2023, we created 980 unique social media posts that reached 88,790 individuals and gathered over 6,700 engagements. Average reach per post was similar across the three communities, despite differences in the number of posts and followers on each page: 119.46 (Latino), 111.74 (Black), and 113.11 (Oneida Nation). The type of posts that had higher engagement per reach rates (ERR) varied across communities and platforms, with Live videos being highest for Latino – Facebook (ERR: 9.40%), Videos for the Black Community on Facebook (ERR: 19.53%), and Text for the Oneida Nation page (ERR: 59.01%).

Our project presents a unique and effective model for health messages and highlights the need for tailoring messages and approaches for minoritized audiences (e.g., age, gender, race, ethnicity). Further research studies explore how specific types of information affect the dissemination of information and the implications for health communications.