During a public health crisis, officials need to communicate with the public quickly and accurately. Social networking sites (SNS) have been identified as an appropriate channel for this type of communication; however, few studies have examined what makes SNS messages effective. Further limiting research in this area is a lack of attention to theoretical constructs that may explain message effectiveness in SNS.
In this dissertation, I propose that diffusion of innovations (DOI) be used to understand SNS and message success on SNS. In doing so, I compare traditional message success (persuasion) to message success on SNS platforms (amplification) and provide a brief overview of relevant message design constructs. I then conduct a study to analyze Twitter messages from state and local health departments and federal government agencies charged with communicating to the public during a public health crisis to test these theoretical claims and identify message elements that increase SNS message amplification. The context of the study is the fall 2014 Ebola crisis in the United States. The messages are first classified using content analysis methods to identify message design elements related to content, structure, and style. The success of those elements, in terms of the influence they have on messages amplification, is then evaluated using negative binomial regression.
The results suggest that specific content (hazard information, response instruction, and official action), effective structure (word and image graphics), and key style choices (using figurative language, one hashtag or a keyword hashtag, and the first person) improve the amplification value of a message. Other choices, like mentioning another user, reduce the amplification value. These findings add to the evidence that suggests that DOI enhances scholars’ understanding of communication on SNS. In addition, the results demonstrate that messages can be conceptualized as innovations, and, as such, their characteristics influence the likelihood that they will be diffused through SNS platforms. The results suggest that those charged with communicating during a public health crisis use specific message strategies for SNS messages. These strategies include recommendations related to message content, message structure, and message style. Finally, the results suggest that scholars should continue research to understand the relationship between message design and message amplification in order to improve our knowledge of communication on SNS and help practitioners identify effective communication practices on this new and important channel. Research should also examine the relationship between persuasion and amplification in order to understand how amplification influences attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behavior in both those who amplify the message and in those who receive the message as a result of that amplification.
Bio
Sarah Vos (M.A., University of Kentucky) is a doctoral graduate in the College of Communication and Information. Her research lies at the intersection of health and mass communication. Her most recent work examines communication on social media during health crises. Her research has been published in Health Communication and will soon be published in the Journal of Health Communication. In addition, she has presented at national and international conferences. She is the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards recognizing her academic and research accomplishments. Before studying at the University of Kentucky, Sarah worked as a journalist and editor.
Primary Communication Interest(s):
Publications
Vos, S.C. & Buckner, M.M. (in press). Social media messages in an emerging health crisis: Tweeting bird flu. Journal of Health Communication. . doi: 10.1080/10810730.2015.1064495
Vos, S.C., Anthony, K., & O’Hair, H.D. (2014) Constructing the uncertainty of due dates. Health Communication, 29, 866-876. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2013.809501
Parish, A., Vos, S.C., & Cohen, E. (2014). Media effects. In N. Harrington (Ed.), Exploring health communication from multiple perspectives. Routledge.
Cross, A. & Vos, S. (2012). Reporting health: Rural newspaper coverage of health in Kentucky. Grassroots Editor: A Journal for News People, 53, 3-4, 28-32. Retrieved from: www.iswne.org
O’Hair, H.D., Vos, S.C., & Anthony, K. (2012, June). Getting to 40 weeks: A report to the Kentucky Chapter of the March of Dimes and the Kentucky Department of Health.
Presentations
Vos, S.C. (2015, November) Healthy Eating as Contested and Constrained Choice. Paper to be presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Las Vegas.
Vos, S.C. & Sutton, J. (2015, April). Messaging in a public health crisis: Using Twitter to identify effective message strategies. Paper presented at the DC Health Communication Conference, Washington, DC.
Cohen, E., Bachman, A., Bates, W., Crosby, R., Head, K., Helme, D., Jones, M.G., Parrish, P.J., Reno, J.E., Vos, S.C., & Wombacher, K. (2015, April). "Protect their Future": Identifying the Active Ingredients for How a Brief Video Intervention Can Improve Parental Intention to Immunize Adolescents. Paper presented at the DC Health Communication Conference, Washington, DC.
Vos, S.C. (2014, November). Measuring causal attributions of health disparities: A pilot study of a context free scale. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
Ivanov, B., Rains S., Geegan, S.A., Vos, S.C., Haarstad, N., & Parker, K.A. (2014, November). Beyond simple inoculation: Examining the persuasive value of inoculation for audiences with initially neutral or negative attitudes. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
Vos, S.C. & Buckner, M.M. (2014, May). Social media messages in an emerging health crisis: Tweeting bird flu. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association, Seattle, WA.