Abstract
BackgroundLittle empirical evidence exists on the effectiveness of using Twitter as a two-way communication tool for public health practice, such as Twitter chats.ObjectiveWe analyzed whether Twitter chats facilitate engagement in two-way communications between public health entities and their audience. We also describe how to measure two-way communications, incoming and outgoing mentions, between users in a protocol using free and publicly available tools (Symplur, OpenRefine, and Gephi).MethodsWe used a mixed-methods approach, social network analysis, and content analysis. The study population comprised individuals and organizations participating or who were mentioned in the first #LiveFitNOLA chat, during a 75-min period on March 5, 2015, from 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM Central Time. We assessed audience engagement in two-way communications with two metrics: engagement ratio and return on engagement (ROE).ResultsThe #LiveFitNOLA chat had 744 tweets and 66 participants with an average of 11 tweets per participant. The resulting network had 134 network members and 474 engagements. The engagement ratios and ROEs for the #LiveFitNOLA organizers were 1:1, 40% (13/32) (@TulanePRC) and 2:1, −40% (−25/63) (@FitNOLA). Content analysis showed information sharing (63.9%, 314/491) and health information (27.9%, 137/491) as the most salient theme and sub-theme, respectively.ConclusionsOur findings suggest Twitter chats facilitate audience engagement in two-way communications between public health entities and their audience. The #LiveFitNOLA organizers’ engagement ratios and ROEs indicated a moderate level of engagement with their audience. The practical significance of the engagement ratio and ROE depends on the audience, context, scope, scale, and goal of a Twitter chat or other organized hashtag-based communications on Twitter.
Highlights
A quarter (23%) of American adult Internet users and a fifth (19%) of the entire American adult population use Twitter [1]
A trending hashtag is a proxy measure of reach. For this particular chat, @TulanePRC and @FitNOLA reached members of the intended audience because #LiveFitNOLA was the sixth trending hashtag in New Orleans on March 5th, 2015 [45]. This was reflected in our findings, the majority of the #LiveFitNOLA chat participants were from New Orleans
Further studies are needed to establish quantifiable parameters on what is a low, medium, or high engagement ratio and return on engagement (ROE) such as through longitudinal analyses of a recurring Twitter chat. Such a study could provide more nuanced information about a public health entity’s Twitter audience for their hashtag-based communications such as their constituents’ health topic of interests or the type of guest host who will engage more with their audience
Summary
A quarter (23%) of American adult (age 18+) Internet users and a fifth (19%) of the entire American adult population use Twitter [1]. Evidence shows public health entities need to better harness Twitter’s potential as a two-way communication tool to establish relationships and increase audience engagement to improve the reach of their health promotion activities [22,23,24]. In response to this need, many public health practitioners lead or participate in Twitter chats as part of their efforts to engage audiences in two-way communications. Little empirical evidence exists on the effectiveness of using Twitter as a two-way communication tool for public health practice, such as Twitter chats
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