JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

This paper details the process of applying social media monitoring and social listening in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Togo for adaptive management of an adolescent family planning and reproductive health campaign. We document how these approaches were applied and how the lessons learned can be used to support future public health communication campaigns. The process involved six steps: 1) Ensure there is sufficient volume of topic-specific online conversation in the target countries 2) Develop measures to monitor the campaign’s social media strategy 3) Identify search terms to assess campaign and related conversations 4) Quantitatively assess campaign audience demographics, campaign reach, and engagement through social media monitoring 5) Qualitatively assess audience attitudes, opinions and behaviors and understand conversation context through social media listening and 6) Adapt campaign content and approach based on analysis of social media data. The activity resulted in shifts in the campaign’s content and approach, including shortening video length to increase likelihood that videos would be watched in their entirety, addressing calls to action and key messages to male audiences already following the campaign online and shifting marketing approaches to increase the proportion of female followers, and finally, adding messages from crucial gatekeepers to support intergenerational discussion about reproductive health. Prior to launching health campaigns, programs should test the most relevant social media platforms and their limitations; and systematically introduce designated hashtags to facilitate conversation monitoring and social listening. Social media monitoring and listening are effective tools to support adaptive management of health campaigns.