Creating a Social Media Campaign Targeting a Large, Ethnically Diverse Community

Health communication is the science of communicating health matters to the general population in a way that maximizes impact on behavior, policy, systems and environmental change. One recent evolution is social media. In DeKalb County, under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative, a large social media campaign was developed to address the disproportionate burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in a way that is sensitive to the cultural and ethnic divide.

DeKalb County is the most densely populated and ethnically diverse county in Georgia. In an effort to address these differences, the DeKalb County Board of Health aimed to create an impactful campaign to help guide decision–making regarding preventing tobacco usage and encouraging cessation, as well as mobilizing community efforts toward a comprehensive smoke-free policy.

The strategies used prior to implementation included formative review of existing data, conducting an environmental scan, consultations with media outlets to review best practices, and meeting with grassroots advocacy organizations to determine which vehicles and messages were most successful. Once these measures were taken, research results were applied toward campaign development. The vehicles used included an internet site, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, BlogSpot, texting, and mobile applications.

The implications for the social media campaign include impacting behavior change as it relates to increasing awareness of the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, rallying support toward the adoption of a comprehensive clean indoor air ordinance, increasing knowledge of cessation resources, and lastly, changing social norms associated with smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.