Antismoking campaign videos on YouTube and audience response: Application of social media assessment metrics

An increasing number of health organizations have used online social media as channels for health promotion. Ratings and comments posted on them can provide rich information about audience reaction to health campaigns. This study took the case of an antismoking campaign posted on YouTube by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and employed social media assessment metrics to examine audience comments to six campaign videos (N = 1186). Results showed that positive emotions were more prevalent than negative emotions in comments. About 10% were pro-smoking comments; yet the majority were antismoking, pro-campaign comments supporting the campaign cause. Findings are discussed for their implications for health campaigns.