Assessing message deployment during public health emergencies through social media: An empirical test of optimizing content for effective dissemination.

BACKGROUND: During an infodemic, the need for timely, reliable, and accessible information is crucial to combat the proliferation of health misinformation. Message testing can provide vital information to make data-informed decisions, but traditional methods tend to be time and resource intensive. Recognizing this need, we developed the Rapid Message Testing at Scale (RMTS) approach to allow communicators to repurpose existing social media advertising tools and understand the full spectrum of audience engagement. OBJECTIVE: We had two main objectives: a) to demonstrate the use of the RMTS approach for message testing, especially when resources are limited and there is a need to act in a timely manner, and (b) to propose and test the efficacy of an outcome variable that measures engagement along a continuum of viewing experience. METHODS: We developed 12 versions of a single video that was created for a vaccine confidence project in India. We manipulated video length, aspect ratio, and use of subtitles. The videos were tested across four demographic groups (women/men, younger/older). We assessed user engagement along a continuum of viewing experience: getting attention, sustaining attention, conveying the message, and inspiring action. These were measured by percentage of video watched and clicks on the call-to-action link. RESULTS: The video ads were placed on Facebook over four consecutive days at the cost of $450 (U.S.) and garnered a total of 3.34 million impressions. Overall, we found that the best performing video was the shorter version presented in portrait aspect ratio and without subtitles. There was a significant but small association between the length of the video and users' level of engagement at key points along the continuum of viewing experience (N=1,032,888; 〖χ^2〗_4=48,261.97; P<.001; V=.22). We found that for the longer video, those with subtitles held viewers longer after 25% video watch time than those without subtitles (n=15,597; 〖χ^2〗_1=7.33; P<.01; V=.02). While we found some significant associations between the aspect ratio, the use of subtitles, and the number of users watching the video and clicking on the call-to-action link, the effect size for those were extremely small. CONCLUSIONS: This test served as a proof of concept for the RMTS approach. We obtained rapid feedback on formal message attributes from a very large sample in a very short timeframe. The results of this test reinforce the need for platform-specific tailoring of communications. While our data showed a general preference for the short video in portrait orientation and without subtitles among our target audiences on Facebook, that may not necessarily be the case in other social media platforms such as YouTube or TikTok, where users go primarily to watch videos. RMTS testing highlights nuances that communication professionals can address instead of being limited to a 'one size fits all' approach.

Production of vaccination videos in India: learnings from a science-art partnership.

BACKGROUND: Cross-cultural communication, often conceptualized along culture and language dimensions, is an important issue for collaborative teams that include both scientists and artists. Such teams must balance the standardization needs of rigorous scientific methods, on the one hand, with openness for artistic creativity, on the other. The scientific literature does not provide clear guidance on how to structure such collaborations. DISCUSSION: We created eight videos manipulating the type of appeal, message tone, and gender of the vaccine promoter in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment. The four stages of the filmmaking process were 1) conceptualizing filmmaking and script writing through a scientific lens, 2) pilot testing and finalizing the script, 3) video production and editing, and 4) dissemination. We describe the process and learnings from a collaboration that included filmmakers, researchers, and vaccine experts from India and the United States in producing, disseminating, and evaluating videos that promoted vaccine uptake in Odisha, India. CONCLUSIONS: When projects require close collaborations between scientists and artists, committing to a unified vision is essential for facilitating open, bidirectional communication and building trust between the partners. Clearly denoting research boundaries ensures that the scientific needs of the project are met while simultaneously welcoming space for the filmmakers' creativity, fostering a sense of ownership, and enhancing the final product.

Social network analysis of COVID-19 vaccine YouTube videos in Odisha, India: mapping the channel network and analyzing comment sentiment.

India has reported more than 35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly half a million cumulative deaths. Although vaccination rates for the first vaccine dose are quite high, one-third of the population has not received a second shot. Due to its widespread use and popularity, social media can play a vital role in enhancing vaccine acceptance. This study in a real-world setting utilizes YouTube videos in Odisha, India where the platform has deep penetration among the 18-35 target population, and secondarily their family and peers. Two contrasting videos were launched on the YouTube platform to examine how those videos operate within the broader recommender and subscription systems that determine the audience reach. Video analytics, algorithms for recommended videos, visual representation of connections created, centrality between the networks, and comment analysis was conducted. The results indicate that the video with a non-humorous tone and collectivistic appeal delivered by a female protagonist performed best with regard to views and time spent watching the videos. The results are of significance to health communicators who seek to better understand the platform mechanisms that determine the spread of videos and measures of viewer reactions based on viewer sentiment.

Promoting Vaccination in India through Videos: The Role of Humor, Collectivistic Appeal and Gender.

Vaccination hesitancy is a barrier to India's efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Considerable resources have been spent to promote COVID-19 vaccination, but evaluations of such efforts are sparse. Our objective was to determine how vaccine videos that manipulate message appeal (collectivistic versus individualistic), tone (humorous versus serious), and source (male versus female protagonist) toward vaccines and vaccination. We developed eight videos that manipulated the type of appeal (collectivistic or individualistic), tone of the message (humor or serious), and gender of the vaccine promoter (male or female) in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment. Participants (N = 2349) were randomly assigned to watch one of eight videos in an online experiment. Beliefs about vaccines and those about vaccination were obtained before and after viewing the video. Manipulation checks demonstrated that each of the three independent variables was manipulated successfully. After exposure to the video, beliefs about vaccines became more negative, while beliefs about vaccination became more positive. Humor reduced negative beliefs about vaccines. Collectivism and protagonist gender did not affect beliefs about vaccines or vaccination. Those able to remember the protagonist's gender (a measure of attention) were likely to develop favorable beliefs if they had also seen the humorous videos. These findings suggest that people distinguish beliefs about vaccines, which deteriorated after exposure to the videos, from beliefs about vaccination, which improved. We recommend using humor when appropriate and focusing on the outcomes of vaccination, rather than on the vaccines themselves.

Creation, dissemination, and evaluation of videos to promote COVID-19 vaccination in India: A research protocol.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest challenges to the success of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination campaigns. Videos promoting vaccines have a narrow scope focusing solely on facts, and less on the emotional and narrative elements of communication that can be equally persuasive. The role of humor, for example, has remained largely unexplored.   Objective: This study investigates whether theory-based videos can change people's attitudes, beliefs, and intentions to receive the second COVID-19 vaccine. Our primary research question is: How do collectivistic and individualistic appeals, humor, and protagonist gender individually and jointly affect vaccination attitudes, beliefs, and intentions?   Methods: This project tapped into the underutilized Indian film industry-the world's largest film producer-to promote vaccination messaging through short videos. Feedback from a community advisory board was utilized to inform the video scripts that were then shot by a production team. Eight videos were filmed and shared by adopting a 2 (appeal: individualistic or collectivistic) x 2 (tone: humor or non-humor) x 2 (protagonist gender: male or female) between-subjects design approach. Our sample includes Odia-speaking participants aged between 18 - 35 years old randomly assigned to watch one of the eight study videos. An online survey questionnaire, social media network analysis, and small group qualitative interviews will be utilized to explore how the entertainment-education videos can be used to reduce vaccine hesitancy.  Discussion: Vaccine messages do not fall into a cultural or cognitive vacuum. People process and make sense of information based on their prior experience, properties of the message, and their social environment. Yet, these considerations have taken secondary importance in vaccine communications. This research shows that it is possible to deliver high-caliber videos created in accordance with the audience's cultural and cognitive background.   Conclusions: This study will inform future health promotion messaging through brief videos on the internet.