Purpose: NoroCORE took a structured approach to social media to engage and educate the public about norovirus risks.
Methods: Since August 2014, NoroCORE has had more than sixteen unique educational campaigns utilizing one or more social media platforms. In each case, the authors first identified the major messages to be conveyed, then linked them to one or more target audiences (the general public or professional groups), letting the former attributes determine the most appropriate platform. Both unidirectional (didactic) and bidirectional (interactive) approaches to information sharing were used.
Results: Collectively, these campaigns amassed over 110,000 views and led to over 4000 engagements with the public. Most campaign messages related to the public health significance of norovirus as the most common cause of foodborne illness, or prevention and control measures. Posts had the widest reach and greatest audience participation when presented within days of the release of interesting or important research. For example, a video post on a vomiting research article amassed 38,514 views, and Facebook posts on a novel human norovirus cultivation method had 30,337 views and 1355 engagements.
Significance: Benefits of this approach to outreach included more timely engagement with stakeholders and wider audience reach. The majority of the educational materials for these campaigns were produced in-house and inexpensively, and could be recreated by other organizations. Metrics and lessons learned from each campaign are presented for the benefit of other food safety and scientific groups seeking to impact their target audiences via social media.