The Use of Facebook Advertising for Communicating Public Health Messages: A Campaign Against Drinking During Pregnancy in New Zealand.

The user engagement observed in this study was consistent with previous research. The numbers reported for views, likes, and shares may be seen as unique interactions over the fixed period of the campaign; however, survey research would be required to find out the true evaluative worth of these metadata. A close examination of the comments, employing text mining, revealed that the message was not accepted by a majority of the target segment. Self-identity and conformity theories may help to explain these observed reactions, albeit warrant further investigations. Although the comments were predominantly negative, they provide opportunities to engage back with the women. The one-way communication format followed in this campaign did not support any two-way engagement. Further investigation is warranted to establish whether using a two-way communication format would have improved the acceptability of such public health messages delivered via social media. The findings of this study caution using a one-way communication format to convey public health messages via Facebook's advertising channel.