The Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida (BTFF) manages the Tobacco Free Florida (TFF) campaign for adult tobacco cessation, which includes paid ads and organic posts on the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms. The Tobacco Free Florida Facebook page is nationally recognized as a best practice online community for tobacco cessation resources. RTI International (RTI) conducted a qualitative analysis of social media comments in response to ads and posts in 2021 and 2022 as part of their independent evaluation of the TFF campaign. This analysis was used to identify recommendations for future campaigns and better understand audience interaction with the content.

Methods

RTI obtained raw comment output through Sprout Social. In total, RTI received 7,857 Facebook and Instagram comments for 2021 and 2022. The full datasets for each year were independently sampled to create a feasible sample size for qualitative coding (N=2,763). A codebook was developed using both inductive and deductive methods, informed by BTFF campaign goals and trends in the data. RTI then conducted thematic analyses of the coding results.

Results

Key themes emerged around sharing quit journeys, opposing campaign messaging, and debating vaping as a harm reduction tool.

Impact

Through this analysis, RTI provided insights and recommendations for future campaigns. Moreover, RTI was able to better understand how key audiences interact with tobacco cessation content on social media.