Faculty Publications

Promoting Mental Health On Social Media: A Content Analysis Of Organizational Tweets

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Health Communication

Abstract

This study analyzed tweets posted over 1 year from three mental-health organizations in the United States, along with audience engagement data of comments, retweets, and likes. The results revealed that tweets focused on mental illnesses or mental health received more engagement than those that emphasized event promotion or relationship building. In addition, there were more gain-framed than loss-framed messages, although the latter triggered more public engagement. Thematic framing was used more frequently than episodic framing and related to higher levels of engagement. Call-to-action (CTA), other audience engaging methods and multimedia strategies were used in various frequencies in these tweets; and the use of CTA, other engaging methods, photos/pictures, and external links, but not videos, were positively related to public engagement. Theoretical contributions and practical implications regarding using social media for mental health promotion were offered.

Department

Department of Psychology

Original Publication Date

1-1-2021

DOI of published version

10.1080/10410236.2021.2018834

Link to Full Text

Comments?

Share

COinS