Recrutamento de fumantes via Facebook Advertising: diferenças entre anúncios com informações positivas e negativas para o engajamento em uma intervenção online para cessação do tabagismo

Abstract

Introduction: Gain and loss-framed messages about smoking have been used to promote cessation. However, there are still no clear conclusions about what kind of message is more effective to motivate smokers to quit. This study compared the effectiveness of loss and gainframed messages on smokers’ online recruitment through Facebook Advertising. Methods: Loss and gain-framed messages about smoking were created and released by Facebook Ads. The users who clicked on the ads were automatically redirected to the "Live Without Tobacco" intervention (www.vivasemtabaco.com.br). The amount spent on disclosure was 647.64 Brazilian reals. Data were collected from Facebook Ads platform and from a relational database. Analyses were performed on the 6.350 users who clicked on one of the ads and on 1.731 that were redirected to the intervention. Results: Gain-framed ads reached 174,029 people and loss-framed ads reached 180,527, which were converted into 2.688 and 3,662 clicks, respectively. The cost of the click was R$0.12 for gain-famed ads and R$0.09 for the loss-framed. Conclusion: Loss-framed ads reached more users, got more clicks on the website, and had a greater conversion to the number of accounts and quit plans created. Loss-framed messages about smoking appear to be more cost effective for both recruitment and engagement of smokers to the intervention. Facebook has proven to be a good outreach and recruitment tool and can be a solution to the difficulty of reaching smokers for cessation interventions.