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. 2024 Aug 14;13(16):2535.
doi: 10.3390/foods13162535.

Assessing the Reach and Engagement Effectiveness of Disseminating Food and Nutrition Information on Social Media Channels

Daniela C Avelino  1 , Carolyn A Lin  2 , Molly E Waring  1 , Anna J Barbosa  1 , Valerie B Duffy  1
Affiliations

Assessing the Reach and Engagement Effectiveness of Disseminating Food and Nutrition Information on Social Media Channels

Daniela C Avelino et al. Foods. .

Abstract

This study utilized Facebook and Instagram as communication channels for disseminating evidence-based food and nutrition information to low-income adults. From February 2021 to October 2022, 442 identical posts were shared across both platforms for audience reach and engagement. Posts were categorized in two ways: hedonic and three levels of utilitarian (informative, convenience, utility), based on widely applied social media uses and effects theory (Uses and Gratifications Perspective); and food/nutrition topics (dietary guidance, mealtime behaviors, recipes, food resource management, health behaviors, and community building). From predominantly image-based posts (82.6%), reach and engagement for Instagram (136,621 versus 6096, respectively) outperformed Facebook (83,275 versus 1276, respectively). Analysis of covariance of rank-order reach and engagement metrics (likes, replies, shares) showed Facebook engagement was consistent across hedonic and utilitarian categories while Instagram showed highest reach and engagement for utilitarian posts, especially those emphasizing food affordability. Facebook and Instagram differed in which food/nutrition topics achieved maximal reach and engagement. Fifteen posts were randomly selected for qualitative analysis to identify features reflecting engagement levels. Low-engagement posts featured low-color-contrast or less-appealing images, especially on Instagram. This study offers insights for practitioners and researchers aiming to use social media to promote healthy food and nutrition.

Keywords: Facebook; Instagram; food and nutrition information dissemination; hedonic vs. utilitarian value; reach and engagement effectiveness; social media channels; social media uses and gratifications.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Two types of user gratifications as a framework for categorizing Healthy Family CT (HFCT) social media posts, according to hedonic values and utilitarian values.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A framework for nutrition education dissemination that illustrates the user gratification (dark green) and nutrition education (yellow) categories, via a logic model framework with short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Additive organic reach (non-paid) of the Healthy Family CT (HFCT) by monthly interval on Facebook and Instagram between February 2021 and October 2022.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Monthly reach of the Healthy Family CT (HFCT) page Facebook and Instagram content from February 2021 to October 2022.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Additive organic, total engagement (sum of likes, users’ comments, and shares) of the Healthy Family CT (HFCT) page Facebook and Instagram content from February 2021 to October 2022.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Reach in relation to communication approach and nutrition education categories: hedonic and utilitarian value posts on Facebook (top left) and Instagram (top right) and nutrition education posts on Facebook (bottom left) and Instagram (bottom right). Superscripts of the same letter represent statistically significantly differences in pairwise comparison with p-values for each pairwise comparison as shown.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Total engagement in relation to communication approach and nutrition education categories: hedonic and utilitarian value posts on Facebook (top left) and Instagram (top right) and nutrition education posts on Facebook (bottom left) and Instagram (bottom right). Superscripts of the same letter represent statistically significantly differences in pairwise comparison with p-values for each pairwise comparison as shown.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Sample posts with highest engagement on Facebook and Instagram.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Sample social media posts with lowest engagement on Facebook and Instagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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