social media for study and research recruitment
Organic & paid advertising campaigns for study recruitment
Advertising campaigns for study recruitment are available through the UF Studies Facebook page. If you are interested in using social media for study recruitment or recruitment assistance beyond social media, please complete this form to schedule a consultation with Recruitment Center Manager, Dr. Elizabeth Flood-Grady.
Study Recruitment News & Case Studies
What is the CTSI Recruitment Center?
Thanks to the UF Institutional Review Board, Dr. Elizabeth Flood-Grady had an opportunity to present the CTSI Recruitment Center services and…
New institutional social media guidelines…
Updated social media guidelines have been posted online on the UF Office of Research website, as of Dec. 20, 2021. This document offers general…
Social media campaigns for study recruitment…
During the pandemic, paid social media campaigns managed through the Recruitment Center were put on pause. This fall, we resumed this service under…
Best Practices
Format images for social media dissemination
Visual Content
Use images that are diverse and reflect the target audience (i.e., who you want to participate).
If recruiting multiple cohorts (e.g., older and younger adults; African Americans and South Asians), be sure images are inclusive and reflect all prospective participants cohorts.
If embedding text on an image, use fonts that can easily be seen or read on a mobile device (i.e., avoid publishing study flyers as the image for the recruitment post because the text will be too small)
briefly describe your study for prospective participants
Text Content
In a few words, describe the target audience (e.g., Adults over the age of 50 who are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes; African American or Black women who are between 35-75 years of age and have breast cancer).
Briefly describe the study goal or purpose (e.g., Women can participate in a study about pain and exercise; Adults 40+ can participate in a clinical study about turmeric and heart health).
Include a call to action and study contact details (e.g., To participate click on the link and complete the screener; Contact Jessica at 352-555-5555 or email @email.com to participate).
Include other appeals, such as incentives and how participating could benefit the community.
Paid Social Media Campaigns
In paid advertising campaigns, prospective participants are identified and targeted for advertisements based on information they provide and share on the social media site. For Facebook and Instagram, two of the most popular social media sites, users are targeted for paid advertising by age, gender, location, and certain lifestyle information as indicated on their personal accounts.
Paid advertising campaigns for UF research studies are developed and disseminated by the Recruitment Center through the UF Studies Facebook page. Teams interested in this option for recruitment should schedule an initial, no-cost, recruitment consultation.