Social Media for Research Study Recruitment

The CU Anschutz Clinical Research Recruitment Program team can help to coordinate custom paid social media advertising campaigns through the CU Anschutz Research Studies Facebook/Instagram account. If your team is interested in this option, you must first secure IRB approval to use social media as a recruitment method, as well as approval for all associated advertising components (imagery, language, slogans, etc.). 

Once you have IRB approval, you can submit a Social Media Request form. Requests are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, and some studies may not qualify for this option. 

Note: The cost of paid advertisements can vary widely depending on the goals, audience and length of the ad campaign, but most teams’ initial budget ranges from $300-$1,000. Investigators are responsible for all costs associated with campaigns in accordance with university purchasing protocols, and there are no guarantees that paid ads will result in enrolled subjects. 

Submit your Social Media Request

There are several agencies that specialize in marketing research studies through social media, such as Bump Digital Marketing . This is a good option for large-scale, multi-site or long-term studies with bigger advertising budgets.

If your team engages a third-party agency to manage your study’s social media ad campaign, you are responsible for ensuring that all recruitment activities are IRB approved and in compliance with the university’s social media guidelines and brand standards.

Researchers may seek approval to share IRB-approved study information through established CU Anschutz-affiliated social media accounts on behalf of their study team. The decision to post/share this content is at the discretion of the social media manager responsible for overseeing the campus-affiliated account(s). If approved, the social media manager will partner with the research team to post recruitment-related content and/or ads through the page.

The team must determine in advance how they will manage respond to any communications on the ad/post, including appropriate monitoring to ensure any inquiries or comments pertaining to study participation can be promptly addressed.

To learn more about the process for requesting an official CU Anschutz-affiliated social media account for your school, department or unit, view our guidelines online.

Researchers are also permitted to contact non CU-affiliated social media accounts, groups, pages and communities to request that they post study information on behalf of their research team. You can search on Facebook to find unique groups that might be interested in your specific study (for example, “Parents of Colorado Teens,” “Denver Metro Diabetes Support Group” etc.).

Please note that you may not post directly to a third-party’s social media page, rather research teams must send the study information to the moderator, owner or social media manager via email or direct message to request that they post the IRB-approved content without making modifications.

Research teams should provide the moderator with their contact information as well as template language to post in response to comments or questions. Research teams should also ensure that research recruitment is permitted by the account, group or community’s rules.