Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation.
<h4>Aims</h4>A substantial challenge facing multicentre audit and research projects is timely recruitment of collaborators and their study centres. Cost-effective strategies are required and fee-free social media has previously been identified as a potential conduit. We investigated and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118899 |
| _version_ | 1819123061552578560 |
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| author | Chetan Khatri Stephen J Chapman James Glasbey Michael Kelly Dmitri Nepogodiev Aneel Bhangu J Edward Fitzgerald STARSurg Committee |
| author_facet | Chetan Khatri Stephen J Chapman James Glasbey Michael Kelly Dmitri Nepogodiev Aneel Bhangu J Edward Fitzgerald STARSurg Committee |
| author_sort | Chetan Khatri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Aims</h4>A substantial challenge facing multicentre audit and research projects is timely recruitment of collaborators and their study centres. Cost-effective strategies are required and fee-free social media has previously been identified as a potential conduit. We investigated and evaluated the effectiveness of a novel multi-format social media and Internet strategy for targeted recruitment to a national multicentre cohort study.<h4>Methods</h4>Interventions involved a new Twitter account, including weekly live question-and-answer sessions, a new Facebook group page, online YouTube presentations and an information page on a national association website. Link tracking analysis was undertaken using Google Analytics, which was then related to subsequent registration. Social influence was calculated using the proprietary Klout score.<h4>Results</h4>Internet traffic analysis identified a total of 1562 unique registration site views, of which 285 originated from social media (18.2%). Some 528 unique registrations were received, with 96 via social media platforms (18.2%). Traffic source analysis identified a separate national association webpage as resulting in the majority of registration page views (15.8%), followed by Facebook (11.9%), Twitter (4.8%) and YouTube (1.5%). A combination of publicity through Facebook, Twitter and the dedicated national association webpage contributed to the greatest rise in registration traffic and accounted for 312 (48%) of the total registrations within a 2-week period. A Twitter 'social influence' (Klout) score of 42/100 was obtained during this period.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Targeted social media substantially aided study dissemination and collaborator recruitment. It acted as an adjunct to traditional methods, accounting for 18.2% of collaborator registration in a short time period with no associated financial costs. We provide a practical model for designing future recruitment campaigns, and recommend Facebook, Twitter and targeted websites as the most effective adjuncts for maximising cost-effective study recruitment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:02:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad934d2696924143a64a05056db7f45e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:02:22Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad934d2696924143a64a05056db7f45e2022-12-21T18:34:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01103e011889910.1371/journal.pone.0118899Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation.Chetan KhatriStephen J ChapmanJames GlasbeyMichael KellyDmitri NepogodievAneel BhanguJ Edward FitzgeraldSTARSurg Committee<h4>Aims</h4>A substantial challenge facing multicentre audit and research projects is timely recruitment of collaborators and their study centres. Cost-effective strategies are required and fee-free social media has previously been identified as a potential conduit. We investigated and evaluated the effectiveness of a novel multi-format social media and Internet strategy for targeted recruitment to a national multicentre cohort study.<h4>Methods</h4>Interventions involved a new Twitter account, including weekly live question-and-answer sessions, a new Facebook group page, online YouTube presentations and an information page on a national association website. Link tracking analysis was undertaken using Google Analytics, which was then related to subsequent registration. Social influence was calculated using the proprietary Klout score.<h4>Results</h4>Internet traffic analysis identified a total of 1562 unique registration site views, of which 285 originated from social media (18.2%). Some 528 unique registrations were received, with 96 via social media platforms (18.2%). Traffic source analysis identified a separate national association webpage as resulting in the majority of registration page views (15.8%), followed by Facebook (11.9%), Twitter (4.8%) and YouTube (1.5%). A combination of publicity through Facebook, Twitter and the dedicated national association webpage contributed to the greatest rise in registration traffic and accounted for 312 (48%) of the total registrations within a 2-week period. A Twitter 'social influence' (Klout) score of 42/100 was obtained during this period.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Targeted social media substantially aided study dissemination and collaborator recruitment. It acted as an adjunct to traditional methods, accounting for 18.2% of collaborator registration in a short time period with no associated financial costs. We provide a practical model for designing future recruitment campaigns, and recommend Facebook, Twitter and targeted websites as the most effective adjuncts for maximising cost-effective study recruitment.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118899 |
| spellingShingle | Chetan Khatri Stephen J Chapman James Glasbey Michael Kelly Dmitri Nepogodiev Aneel Bhangu J Edward Fitzgerald STARSurg Committee Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. PLoS ONE |
| title | Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. |
| title_full | Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. |
| title_fullStr | Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. |
| title_short | Social media and internet driven study recruitment: evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation. |
| title_sort | social media and internet driven study recruitment evaluating a new model for promoting collaborator engagement and participation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118899 |
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