title: Using Social Media, Online Social Networks, and Internet Search as Platforms for Public Health Interventions: A Pilot Study.
abstract: To pilot public health interventions at women potentially interested in maternity care via campaigns on social media (Twitter), social networks (Facebook), and online search engines (Google Search).
  
  
  
  Primary data from Twitter, Facebook, and Google Search on users of these platforms in Los Angeles between March and July 2014.
  
  
  
  Observational study measuring the responses of targeted users of Twitter, Facebook, and Google Search exposed to our sponsored messages soliciting them to start an engagement process by clicking through to a study website containing information on maternity care quality information for the Los Angeles market.
  
  
  
  Campaigns reached a little more than 140,000 consumers each day across the three platforms, with a little more than 400 engagements each day. Facebook and Google search had broader reach, better engagement rates, and lower costs than Twitter. Costs to reach 1,000 targeted users were approximately in the same range as less well-targeted radio and TV advertisements, while initial engagements-a user clicking through an advertisement-cost less than $1 each.
  
  
  
  Our results suggest that commercially available online advertising platforms in wide use by other industries could play a role in targeted public health interventions.
authors.affiliation: USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Marco D
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3010-1243
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Huesch
authors.affiliation: Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA.|Department of Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA.
authors.forename: Aram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galstyan
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA.|Veterans Administration Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.affiliation: USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.|School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Jason N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Doctor
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D015141:Los Angeles; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D061108:Social Media; D060756:Social Networking
keywords: Social media; maternity care quality; social networks