Using digital media to amplify campaign messages and share diverse stories

Background:

CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion launched the Hear Her™ campaign in August 2020, with the goal of raising awareness of the urgent maternal warning signs and improving communication between providers and their patients. Recognizing these urgent maternal warning signs and getting care immediately can help save lives. The campaign launched during a period of increased national interest and news coverage about pregnancy-related deaths, and public outrage surrounding racial and ethnic disparities. In this context, the campaign taps a universal desire to prevent mothers from dying during and after pregnancy.

Program background:

The campaign aims to reach communities with disproportionately high rates of pregnancy-related death. Formative work was done in focus groups segmented by priority audiences and included representation from disproportionately impacted communities. In addition, CDC engaged the expertise of maternal and child health partners, incorporating their feedback and perspectives during campaign development.

Given the disparities that Black women face, the campaign launched featuring the stories of five Black women who had experienced pregnancy-related complications. Campaign materials were built around their testimonial videos and the urgent maternal warning signs.

CDC has been able to share the stories of seventeen more women who experienced pregnancy-related complications through the Hear Her™ Facebook page. Sharing stories on the Hear Her™ Facebook page is an avenue for CDC to amplify the voices of people who have reached out to the Hear Her™ team, allowing for meaningful response and engagement with the community. In addition, sharing more diverse stories allows more mothers and families to see themselves in the Hear Her™ materials. CDC has also engaged social media influencers to share their experiences with maternal health and related Hear Her™ campaign resources with their followers. In addition, CDC utilizes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

We are continually monitoring and evaluating the Hear Her campaign’s reach and impact to ensure the campaign’s objectives are being met and to improve assets and delivery throughout the life of the campaign. Monitoring and process evaluation includes reviewing analytics across all channels where Hear Her messages and resources are disseminated, including social media, paid media, and the Hear Her website. From launch in August 2020 through March 2023, there have been over 1.5 million unique visitors to Hear Her webpages and 260 million impressions through digital and social media. This presentation will include more detail into how digital and social media strategies have helped reach priority audiences.

Conclusions:

Digital and social media are a key strategy for amplifying campaign messages and reaching priority audiences. As the campaign moves forward, we will continue to utilize digital and social media channels, events, and placements to share campaign messaging in new, engaging ways and to continue sharing diverse experiences and perspectives.

Implications for research and/or practice:

Digital and social media are a key strategy for amplifying campaign messages and reaching priority audiences, and can be a channel for increasing diversity and inclusion in health education campaigns.