the heart truth®: using social media to reach and motivate women to address risk factors for heart...
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Objective: To educate women about heart disease and prompt action against key risk factors by empowering women to spread The Heart Truth® via social media tools. Background: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) launched a national social marketing campaign—The Heart Truth®—in 2002 to increase women’s awareness of their #1 killer and prompt them to take action to reduce their risk. In 2007, The Heart Truth® campaign began to utilize social media to disseminate messages, foster online community, and promote events and resources to reach and motivate women to lower their personal risk for heart disease. Each year, social media efforts have been expanded to include new channels and tactics in support of the NHLBI campaign and key events such as National Wear Red Day® and the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show.TRANSCRIPT
BackgroundThe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI) launched a national social marketing
campaign—The Heart Truth®—in 2002 to increase
women’s awareness of their #1 killer and prompt
them to take action to reduce their risk.
In 2007, The Heart Truth® campaign began to
utilize social media to disseminate messages, foster online community,
and promote events and resources to reach and motivate women to
lower their personal risk for heart disease. Each year, social media
efforts have been expanded to include new channels and tactics in
support of the NHLBI campaign and key events such as National Wear
Red Day® and the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show.
Presented by Ann Taubenheim, Ph.D1; Dana Allen-Greil; Megan Yarmuth; Jennifer Wayman, MHS2; Sarah Temple3
ObjectivesTo educate women about heart disease and prompt action against
key risk factors by empowering women to spread The Heart Truth®
via social media tools.
Audience Trends The primary audience for The Heart Truth® is women ages 40-60;
secondary audiences include women ages 25-39 and women over
age 60. Research on Internet use in America shows that:
• 86% of online women pursue health information on the Web4
• Looking for health information is the third most popular online
pursuit, following email and using a search engine5
• 69% of online women are users of social networking sites
(compared with 60% of online men)
• Women are more active in their use of social networking sites,
with almost half of female Internet users using social networking
sites on a typical day (compared with 38% of male users)6
• Social networking site use among users age 65 and older
grew 150% between 2009 and 2011 (from 13% in to 33%).
During this same time period, use by 50-64 year-old internet
users doubled (from 25% to 51%).7
In light of these trends, The Heart Truth® devised a social media
strategy to engage women online and provide the necessary
tools for spreading campaign messages.
MethodsSocial Media Strategic Framework
The Heart Truth® uses a three-pronged approach to social media:
influencer engagement; content and experience promotion; and
community activation.
1 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
2 Ogilvy Washington
3 PATH, formerly of Ogilvy Washington
4 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “Health Topics.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/HealthTopics/Part-2/Women.aspx
Using Social Media to Reach and Motivate Women to Address Risk Factors for Heart DiseaseThe Heart Truth®
® The Heart Truth, its logo and The Red Dress are registered trademarks of HHS. ® National Wear Red Day is a registered trademark of HHS and AHA.
5 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “Health Topics.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/HealthTopics/Part-2/Women.aspx
6 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “65% of online adults us social networking sites.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/Report/Part-2.aspx
7 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “65% of online adults us social networking sites.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/Report/Part-2.aspx
8 Mosca, L. et al. (2010). “Twelve-Year Follow-Up of American Women’s Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Barrier to Heart Health.” Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 3:120-127. http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/3/2/120.full
9 Mosca, L. et al. (2010). “Twelve-Year Follow-Up of American Women’s Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Barrier to Heart Health.” Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 3:120-127.
10 The Heart Truth partner-funded survey, March/April 2010.
11 The Heart Truth partner-funded survey, March/April 2010.
American Heart Month Activities (February 2011)
Content and Experience Promotion
• Facebook page for campaign fans to talk openly about heart
disease and gain knowledge
• Twitter platform to give consumers actionable support to be
heart healthy
• Content for consumer use and amplification, including photos on
Flickr and videos on YouTube
• Web-based PSA banners that link to the campaign Web site
• Shareable widgets and badges to support taking action on
personal heart health
Community Activation
• Facebook group for Champions (women trained to incorporate
The Heart Truth® messages and materials into their existing
community health outreach activities), where they can share
best practices in local social marketing
• Announcements of community success stories on campaign
online platforms
• Cross-promotion with corporate and community partners to
extend campaign messaging into their online communities
• Distribution of campaign-developed, science-based materials
through social media platforms to equip individuals to hold their
own heart truth events locally
Influencer Engagement
• Outreach to leading women’s health, lifestyle and fashion/
entertainment-focused bloggers
• Celebrity and designer engagement through their personal
blogs, Twitter, and Facebook accounts
• Relationship maintenance online and offline with influencers
involved with the campaign, such as Founding Ambassador
First Lady Laura Bush
Results Outreach efforts and word-of-mouth during through March 2011
resulted in:
• more than 14,000 social media mentions
• an estimated 54 million unique monthly visitors to blog posts
generated through blogger outreach
• 75% increase in Facebook fans and more than 800 interactions
• 42% increase in Twitter fans
• 8% increase in Web site traffic (hearttruth.gov)
With an impact of many millions of additional audience impressions
through social media, the campaign team concluded that these
channels provide an effective means of further extending the reach
of The Heart Truth®.
The Conclusions NHLBI continues to lead the nation in a landmark heart health
awareness movement that is being embraced by millions, and its
Red Dress symbol has become a widely recognized health symbol
across the country. The social media strategy deployed in support of
The Heart Truth® campaign represents one component of a national,
multi-faceted communications initiative.
• more than 5 billion media impressions;
• more than 500 community-based programs such as galas,
screenings, and seminars;
• The Heart Truth® and Red Dress on more than 9.5 billion
product packages, including Diet Coke and Cheerios; and
• 29 heart health programming grants to communities awarded
by The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).
Research studies have found that:
• 54% of women identified heart disease as their leading cause
of death in 2010, up from 30% in 1997.8
• Those who know that heart disease is the leading cause of death
in women were 35% more likely to be physically active and 47%
were more likely to report weight loss compared to those who
were less aware.9
• 58% of U.S. adult women recognized the Red Dress as the
national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2010.10
• Women who reported recently seeing or hearing about the Red
Dress or The Heart Truth® campaign were substantially more likely
than other women to take at least one risk-reduction as a result.11
Effective application of social media supports and extends each
component of the overall campaign, helping to increase awareness
about heart disease, engaging women with information about risk
factors, and promoting actions that women can take to reduce their risk.
Lessons Learned: Social Media for Social Marketing
Over the course of several years, the campaign has gleaned key
insights into the effective use of social media for raising awareness
and prompting action:
• Align social media programs with your initiative’s broader
strategy to ensure that they have a meaningful impact on the
fundamental attitude and/or behavior you wish to influence.
• Don’t talk to your audiences online. Talk with them. Optimize
content by listening.
• Develop a constant stream of compelling digital content, making
sure your messages are shareable.
• Make sure content is simple, compelling, transparent, and
authentic. Be mindful of the pace at which users are consuming
content on the Web.
Content and Experience PromotionEngaging the right influencers to reach our target audience and motivate them to act
Community ActivationDriving communities to join The Heart Truth® movement and enlist others to do the same.
Influencer EngagementCreating content that motivates women to take action to protect their heart health.
2007
• Generate online
buzz through
blogger outreach
• Advertise with
online banners
2008
• Promote National Wear
Red Day® with widgets
• Share photos with
Flickr account
• Launch Facebook page
2009
• Create Community
Action Web Page with
embeddable badges
2010
• Launch Twitter
account and hold
first Twitter Party
• Stream Fashion
Show live
• Share video
on YouTube
2011
• Develop custom “Get
Involved” Facebook tab
• Engage strategic
partners (corporate,
celebrity) to spread
the word through their
social networks
2012
• Launch Pinterest
channel with photos of
heart-healthy recipes
• Co-lead Twitter chat
with influential partners
Social Media Evolution