Social Media Metrics

About this deliverable

Version history

Consortium

1. Executive Summary

This report provides the metrics for engagement via the Knowledge Hub & Resource Centre of the Platform, as well as on project social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram and YouTube). All of these project channels were launched at the beginning of January 2023 alongside the launch of the Network Platform (as detailed in D2.1). This report covers metrics for the first five months of performance of social media channels, showing organic growth. The metrics to date have reached the performance goals indicated in the Grant Agreement. At the end of May 2023, an external communication agency with competences in the social media field was hired to further amplify project communications.

2. Introduction & Background

Social media channels serve three distinct purposes in the project: (1) to disseminate the content created and shared during the project; (2) to target young cancer survivors in Europe; (3) to build an online community of young cancer survivors, their caregivers and healthcare professionals interested in the topics covered by the project. As such, social media channels growth is organic, leveraging the extensive networks of project participants, and is dependent on other tasks of the project. The Management Team of the project ensures that the quality and tone of messages disseminated via social media platforms meet the expectations of the project and that young cancer survivors can identify themselves within the visual and textual tone of the posts.

3. Approach

3.1 WP2/6 collaboration

CCI Europe is responsible for internal and external overall project communication as leader of WP6 'Communication, dissemination & sustainability', while POLA leads WP2 'Network Platform'. CCI Europe and POLA coordinate activities related to the social media platforms on a daily basis and there is a weekly WP2/WP6 meeting to further facilitate coordination.

The Network Platform was developed from M1 - M4 (Sep – Dec 2022) and was launched on 28 Dec 2022.

In M2 (Oct 2022), CCI Europe selected an external service provider (Karma Agency, https://karma.agency/) to create a social media strategy for the Platform. The social media strategy has been revised several times and the latest version as of M9 (May 2023) is attached to this report. Content creation, scheduling and tone setting of the posts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube follow the social media strategy, while the strategy itself is updated regularly to reflect the learnings of the project.

From M5 - M9 (Jan – May 2023), POLA and CCI Europe have been coordinating activities related to the engagement via social media channels. A detailed distribution of tasks between POLA, CCI-Europe and external service providers has been developed (Figure 1). In addition, a social media posting calendar is used to plan the posts in the digital platforms, indicating the type of content, the platform, the visuals, the messages and hashtags for every day of every month of the project (Figure 2). The posting schedule is updated at the end of the month for the next month at the weekly WP2/6 meeting involving the POLA, CCI Europe and YCE teams. The posting calendar includes additional information about posts on the LinkedIn and Twitter that are optional, additional social media channels and are not referenced in the Grant Agreement.

Figure 1. Excerpt of task distribution, WP2/6

Figure 2. Excerpt of social media posting calendar

Calendar columns: Date, Campaign/date/newsletter/release, Type of content, Progress, Responsible, Media, Description of Media. Example rows from May 2023:

• Thursday, 4 May 2023 – Resources, Good to Know: That's PPE – Platform – Posted – Anika – Photo – "Good to Know: That's PPE".
• Monday, 8 May 2023 – World Ovarian Cancer Day – Public Health Day/Campaign.
• Wednesday, 10 May 2023 – Webinar 1. Promotion – Event – Posted – POLA – Photo – "Webinar – We proudly present: The European Network of Youth Cancer Survivors".

3.2 Content creation and targeting

Active use of social media channels and coordinated content creation are critical for the success of the overall project. As there is currently no catalogue of the over 500,000 young cancer survivors in the EU, active social media targeting, which will be used throughout the duration of the project, can empower the beneficiaries to reach the substantial target audience of the project. As such, different targeting techniques, different posts and tone for different audiences in different platforms are used.

As reported in D2.1, the Network Platform was launched on 28 Dec 2022 (M4). The Knowledge Hub & Resource Centre, Facebook page, Instagram account and YouTube account are all part of the Network Platform and different social media channels are also cross-referenced via the Platform at beatcancer.eu (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Links to social media channels on beatcancer.eu

• "Follow us on socials – Prepare to be impressed. Engage with us and share the work of young cancer survivors." Buttons: Facebook, Instagram; embedded Instagram and Facebook post previews.
• "Watch us on YouTube – Some ideas and emotions are best to be seen, not read – see us in action, feel our passion and support our cause." Button: YouTube.

4. Results

4.1 Knowledge Hub & Resource Centre

The Knowledge Hub & Resource Centre on the Platform, at the time of writing this report, contains:

1. 124 resources tailored to the target audience of the project (/resources/), i.e. young cancer survivors aged 18-39 in the EU, as well as their caregivers and interested healthcare professionals). Resources are created/collected by the beneficiaries of the project on a quarterly basis, reviewed and filtered by POLA and then translated into the 8 languages of the Platform (with google translations to the remaining EU official languages).
2. 16 events related to the project (/events/). Listed events are related to various tasks of the project, and include both internal meetings and external events that are related to the topics of various tasks of the project.
3. Discord server (/community/). Discord is used for community building and daily interactions among network participants. The growth of the online Discord community is rapid and at the time of reporting proves to be the most efficient way for young cancer survivors to connect with their peers and contribute to the project activities.

For the Knowledge Hub & Resource Centre, the Grant Agreement includes the following performance indicators, which have been met (and exceeded) (Table 1):

1. Reach 2,500 unique visitors per month by August 2023, M12. This target was already met (and exceeded) in April and May of 2023 (M8, M9).
2. Reach 5,000 unique visitors per month by August 2024, M24. The metrics are on track to reach the target already by the end of June 2024 (M10) and to exceed the expectations by M24.
3. Have 12 unique countries visiting per month by February 2023, M6. This target was already met (and exceeded) from January – May 2023 (M5 – M9).
4. Have 27 unique countries visiting by August 2024, M24. This target was already met (and exceeded) from January – May 2023 (M5 – M9).

Table 1. Summary of Platform metrics from January – May 2023 (M5 – M9)

4.2 Facebook, Instagram

At the time of reporting, the EU-CAYAS-NET Facebook page (@youthcancersurvivors, https://www.facebook.com/youthcancersurvivors) has 163 followers, the majority of whom are aged 18-39 (thus effectively reaching the target audience of the project) (Figure 4). 4 out of 5 followers are women and this proportion is same for the age group 18-39.

Figure 4 Metrics for Facebook followers

• Facebook Page followers: 163
• Age & gender: largest groups are 25–34 and 35–44; Women 79.3%, Men 20.7%

In May 2023 (M9), record growth has been recorded in terms of Facebook post reach and post engagement (Table 2, Figure 5). The positive growth trajectory is expected to last until the end of the project due to a gradual increase of project deliverables ranging from the results of Peer Visits, to recommendations, to community building events and generation of targeted content. Organic growth will also be further supplemented by the promotion of social media posts via paid advertising (included in the YCE budget). At the time of reporting, only two posts have been promoted by paid ads (for the article in beatcancer.eu and the first webinar (30 May 2023)), which have resulted in the paid reach of 431,239 people (Figure 6). This metric is separate from the 258,789 Facebook Page reach, which reflects organic growth.

Table 2. Facebook likes, followers, page reach and post engagements (Jan – May 2023)

Figure 5. Facebook metrics, May 2023 (M9)

Page overview, last 28 days:

Figure 6. Facebook account reach and paid reach

The total post reach on Facebook page is 9,000 users since the creation of the Facebook page (Figure 7). The album posts are most frequently viewed (medium of 589 users per album post), as well as have the most reactions, comments and shares (median of 33 user engagement per album post).

Figure 7. Facebook post reach and engagement

• Post reach, last 90 days: 5K (up 26.4% vs 90 days prior). Median post reach per content format: Album posts 589; Other posts 110; Live posts, Reels, 360° video posts, 360° image posts 0.
• Post reactions, comments and shares, last 90 days: 780 (up 105.3% vs 90 days prior). Median per content format: Album posts 33; Other posts 16; Live posts, Reels, 360° video posts, 360° image posts 0.

The results of the Facebook page are shown below:

The EU-CAYAS-NET Instagram page (@youthcancersurvivors, https://www.instagram.com/youthcancersurvivors/) has 336 followers, the majority of whom are also aged 18-39 (Figure 8). Instagram has slightly more users under the age of 35 compared to Facebook page followers. Similarly to the Facebook followers base, 4 out of 5 Instagram followers are female.

Figure 8. Metrics for Instagram followers

• Instagram followers: 336
• Age & gender: largest group is 25–34, then 35–44; Women 81.1%, Men 18.9%

At the time of reporting, the Instagram account has a three-fold larger follower base compared to the Facebook page (Figure 9). While the Instagram account has a lower total reach (9,000 reach on Facebook vs 2,600 reach on Instagram), the median reach per post on Instagram is twice as large as the median reach on Facebook (589 on Facebook vs 1,100 on Instagram). In addition, the median engagement on Instagram is three times larger compared with the median engagement on Facebook (33 on Facebook vs 90 on Instagram). Based on these results (better engagement and reach ratios in the Instagram), Instagram will be the prioritised channel for paid ads in the upcoming months, while POLA and YCE will continue to monitor the performance of the paid ads on a monthly basis.

Figure 9. Instagram reach and engagement

• Post reach, last 90 days: 2.1K (up 275% vs 90 days prior). Median post reach per media type: Videos 831; Images 169; Audio, Text, Links 0. Median post reach per content format: Live posts 1.1K; Reels 529; Other posts 170; Carousel posts 169.
• Post likes, comments and shares, last 90 days: 1.1K (up 138.3% vs 90 days prior). Median per media type: Videos 81; Images 31; Audio, Text, Links 0. Median per content format: Live posts 90; Reels 62; Carousel posts 51; Other posts 27.

The biggest spike of activity on Facebook was at the end of January 2023, beginning of March 2023 and then throughout May 2023 (Figure 10). This correlates with POLA and CCI Europe efforts to proactively promote the project during internal (e.g. Peer Visit and Ambassador training events in Feb 2023) and external events (e.g. first project webinar on 30 May 2023). The spike of activity on Instagram in the beginning of February 2023 corresponds to the Peer Visit and Ambassador training events in Brussels (08 – 09 February 2023).

Figure 10. Facebook and Instagram activity from Jan – May 2023 (M5 – M9)

4.3 YouTube

The EU-CAYAS-NET YouTube channel (@youthcancersurvivors, https://www.youtube.com/@youthcancersurvivors) currently has just 7 subscribers and one video uploaded in mid-May 2023, which has 118 views (Figure 11). YouTube channel does not have many views as content for it has not been generated until M9 in line with the project plan, and furthermore there is no budget allocated to the promotion of YouTube channel. Nevertheless from M10 YouTube channel will have additional videos with footage from peer-to-peer visits, webinars and additional videos that will be created in line with the project plan.

Figure 11. Metrics for YouTube

• Channel: European Network of Youth Cancer Survivors, @youthcancersurvivors, 7 subscribers, 1 video. "This is the network of survivors for survivors!"
• Video: "The European Network of Youth Cancer Survivors – this is us!" – 118 views, 2 months ago. Carina Schneider, CCI Europe Managing Director, talks about the European Network of Youth Cancer Survivors and the EU-CAYAS-NET project. Join us by visiting www.beatcancer.eu.

5. Impact & Conclusion

Social media channels have proven to be an effective tool to raise awareness about the project activities. However, the main goal of social media activities is to increase the traffic to the Platform (beatcancer.eu) and then subsequently to the Discord server to build the online community of young cancer survivors, caregivers and other healthcare professionals interested in the themes of the project. The growth of followers is accelerating and should further scale as the monthly social media posting calendar will be further utilised to schedule paid ads that will target different age groups in different EU countries and will result not only in millions of reached visitors per month but will also facilitate organic growth of followers on the social media platforms.

The YouTube channel will be used as a repository for the video content, generated in the project (e.g. recordings from Peer Visits, recorded webinars, animated videos) that will be linked to on the Platform and also shared on the Facebook page and Instagram account on a regular basis.

Only one performance indicator was due by the delivery date of this report, and it has been achieved and exceeded: the Platform had visitors from 47 different countries in the first month post-launch (January 2023, M5) versus a target of 12 different countries by February 2023 (M6). The following months have retained stable numbers of countries and have consistently outperformed the target by 3-4 times. Based on this performance, the target indicator to have visitors from 27 different countries by August 2024 (M24) will be easily achievable.

The Platform is also well on track for future targets of 2,500 unique visitors per month by August 2023 (M12) and 5,000 unique visitors per month by August 2024 (M24). By April 2023 (M8), the Platform already had 2,696 unique visitors and a further 4,100 unique visitors in May 2023 (M9).

In the future, the project team aspires to significantly exceed the performance indicators referenced in the Grant Agreement and will also expand social media activities to include regular posts on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Funding and disclaimer

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.