BackgroundThe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

(NHLBI) launched a national social marketing

campaign—The Heart Truth®—in 2002 to increase

women’s awareness of their #1 killer and prompt

them to take action to reduce their risk.

In 2007, The Heart Truth® campaign began to

utilize social media to disseminate messages, foster online community,

and promote events and resources to reach and motivate women to

lower their personal risk for heart disease. Each year, social media

efforts have been expanded to include new channels and tactics in

support of the NHLBI campaign and key events such as National Wear

Red Day® and the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show.

Presented by Ann Taubenheim, Ph.D1; Dana Allen-Greil; Megan Yarmuth; Jennifer Wayman, MHS2; Sarah Temple3

ObjectivesTo educate women about heart disease and prompt action against

key risk factors by empowering women to spread The Heart Truth®

via social media tools.

Audience Trends The primary audience for The Heart Truth® is women ages 40-60;

secondary audiences include women ages 25-39 and women over

age 60. Research on Internet use in America shows that:

• 86% of online women pursue health information on the Web4

• Looking for health information is the third most popular online

pursuit, following email and using a search engine5

• 69% of online women are users of social networking sites

(compared with 60% of online men)

• Women are more active in their use of social networking sites,

with almost half of female Internet users using social networking

sites on a typical day (compared with 38% of male users)6

• Social networking site use among users age 65 and older

grew 150% between 2009 and 2011 (from 13% in to 33%).

During this same time period, use by 50-64 year-old internet

users doubled (from 25% to 51%).7

In light of these trends, The Heart Truth® devised a social media

strategy to engage women online and provide the necessary

tools for spreading campaign messages.

MethodsSocial Media Strategic Framework

The Heart Truth® uses a three-pronged approach to social media:

influencer engagement; content and experience promotion; and

community activation.

1 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

2 Ogilvy Washington

3 PATH, formerly of Ogilvy Washington

4 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “Health Topics.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/HealthTopics/Part-2/Women.aspx

Using Social Media to Reach and Motivate Women to Address Risk Factors for Heart DiseaseThe Heart Truth®

® The Heart Truth, its logo and The Red Dress are registered trademarks of HHS. ® National Wear Red Day is a registered trademark of HHS and AHA.

5 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “Health Topics.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/HealthTopics/Part-2/Women.aspx

6 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “65% of online adults us social networking sites.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/Report/Part-2.aspx

7 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2011). “65% of online adults us social networking sites.” http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/Report/Part-2.aspx

8 Mosca, L. et al. (2010). “Twelve-Year Follow-Up of American Women’s Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Barrier to Heart Health.” Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 3:120-127. http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/3/2/120.full

9 Mosca, L. et al. (2010). “Twelve-Year Follow-Up of American Women’s Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Barrier to Heart Health.” Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 3:120-127.

10 The Heart Truth partner-funded survey, March/April 2010.

11 The Heart Truth partner-funded survey, March/April 2010.

American Heart Month Activities (February 2011)

Content and Experience Promotion

• Facebook page for campaign fans to talk openly about heart

disease and gain knowledge

• Twitter platform to give consumers actionable support to be

heart healthy

• Content for consumer use and amplification, including photos on

Flickr and videos on YouTube

• Web-based PSA banners that link to the campaign Web site

• Shareable widgets and badges to support taking action on

personal heart health

Community Activation

• Facebook group for Champions (women trained to incorporate

The Heart Truth® messages and materials into their existing

community health outreach activities), where they can share

best practices in local social marketing

• Announcements of community success stories on campaign

online platforms

• Cross-promotion with corporate and community partners to

extend campaign messaging into their online communities

• Distribution of campaign-developed, science-based materials

through social media platforms to equip individuals to hold their

own heart truth events locally

Influencer Engagement

• Outreach to leading women’s health, lifestyle and fashion/

entertainment-focused bloggers

• Celebrity and designer engagement through their personal

blogs, Twitter, and Facebook accounts

• Relationship maintenance online and offline with influencers

involved with the campaign, such as Founding Ambassador

First Lady Laura Bush

Results Outreach efforts and word-of-mouth during through March 2011

resulted in:

• more than 14,000 social media mentions

• an estimated 54 million unique monthly visitors to blog posts

generated through blogger outreach

• 75% increase in Facebook fans and more than 800 interactions

• 42% increase in Twitter fans

• 8% increase in Web site traffic (hearttruth.gov)

With an impact of many millions of additional audience impressions

through social media, the campaign team concluded that these

channels provide an effective means of further extending the reach

of The Heart Truth®.

The Conclusions NHLBI continues to lead the nation in a landmark heart health

awareness movement that is being embraced by millions, and its

Red Dress symbol has become a widely recognized health symbol

across the country. The social media strategy deployed in support of

The Heart Truth® campaign represents one component of a national,

multi-faceted communications initiative.

• more than 5 billion media impressions;

• more than 500 community-based programs such as galas,

screenings, and seminars;

• The Heart Truth® and Red Dress on more than 9.5 billion

product packages, including Diet Coke and Cheerios; and

• 29 heart health programming grants to communities awarded

by The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).

Research studies have found that:

• 54% of women identified heart disease as their leading cause

of death in 2010, up from 30% in 1997.8

• Those who know that heart disease is the leading cause of death

in women were 35% more likely to be physically active and 47%

were more likely to report weight loss compared to those who

were less aware.9

• 58% of U.S. adult women recognized the Red Dress as the

national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2010.10

• Women who reported recently seeing or hearing about the Red

Dress or The Heart Truth® campaign were substantially more likely

than other women to take at least one risk-reduction as a result.11

Effective application of social media supports and extends each

component of the overall campaign, helping to increase awareness

about heart disease, engaging women with information about risk

factors, and promoting actions that women can take to reduce their risk.

Lessons Learned: Social Media for Social Marketing

Over the course of several years, the campaign has gleaned key

insights into the effective use of social media for raising awareness

and prompting action:

• Align social media programs with your initiative’s broader

strategy to ensure that they have a meaningful impact on the

fundamental attitude and/or behavior you wish to influence.

• Don’t talk to your audiences online. Talk with them. Optimize

content by listening.

• Develop a constant stream of compelling digital content, making

sure your messages are shareable.

• Make sure content is simple, compelling, transparent, and

authentic. Be mindful of the pace at which users are consuming

content on the Web.

Content and Experience PromotionEngaging the right influencers to reach our target audience and motivate them to act

Community ActivationDriving communities to join The Heart Truth® movement and enlist others to do the same.

Influencer EngagementCreating content that motivates women to take action to protect their heart health.

2007

• Generate online

buzz through

blogger outreach

• Advertise with

online banners

2008

• Promote National Wear

Red Day® with widgets

• Share photos with

Flickr account

• Launch Facebook page

2009

• Create Community

Action Web Page with

embeddable badges

2010

• Launch Twitter

account and hold

first Twitter Party

• Stream Fashion

Show live

• Share video

on YouTube

2011

• Develop custom “Get

Involved” Facebook tab

• Engage strategic

partners (corporate,

celebrity) to spread

the word through their

social networks

2012

• Launch Pinterest

channel with photos of

heart-healthy recipes

• Co-lead Twitter chat

with influential partners

Social Media Evolution