Social Media for Research Study Recruitment

Research teams that want to run paid advertising campaigns through the campus Research Studies Facebook account must first secure IRB approval and then submit a Social Media Request form.

If the request is approved, the research recruitment support team will work with the investigator/staff to facilitate the purchasing and hosting of ads through this Facebook account.

The cost of paid advertisements can vary widely depending on the goals, reach and length of the ad campaign. 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.

The research recruitment support team will provide basic analytics on the campaign performance so the study team can make adjustments as needed to the budget, reach and timeframe.

Note: The research recruitment support team currently has limited capacity to manage these ad campaigns. Requests will be processed on a first come, first serve basis, and some studies may not qualify for this option.

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 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.

All ads should be run through the agency’s social media account(s), and the agency will be responsible for launching the campaign, managing/monitoring comments, responding to questions/messages, and tracking analytics, in partnership with the research team.

Researchers may seek approval to share IRB-approved study information to established CU Anschutz-affiliated social media accounts on behalf of their 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 engagement and respond to any communications on the ad/post, including appropriate monitoring to ensure any posts or comments involving protected health information or pertaining to study participation can be promptly addressed within one business day.

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.

Before proceeding with your campaign, please be sure to review the Guidelines for Using Social Media to Recruit Human Subjects to Research, as well as the Social Media Dos and Don’ts.