Keep on “Liking” us: The JAAD’s Facebook page turns 2 years old
Authors: Chante Karimkhani, Ryan Gamble, Robert P. Dellavalle
Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2014)

Facebook dominates online social networks with more than 1 billion users as of March 2013, a greater than 1000% increase from the site's 100 million users in 2008.12012 Statistic Brain Research Institute, publishing as Statistic Brain. Social networking statistics. Research date June 23, 2013. Available from: URL:http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/. Accessed August 14, 2013.Google Scholar Facebook has approximately 700 million daily active users making it the second most visited World Wide Web site after Google.2Digital Marketing Ramblings. By the numbers: 39 amazing Facebook stats (August 2013 update). Available from: URL:http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/. Accessed August 15, 2013.Google Scholar, 3Exploredia. 10 Most visited websites 2013. Available from: URL:http://exploredia.com/10-most-visited-websites-2013/3/. Accessed August 15, 2013.Google Scholar Nineteen percent of US adults saw news or news headlines on a social network "yesterday," a 211% increase from 2010. In the 18- to 24-year-old population, this percentage is even higher at 34%.4Sasseen J, Olmstead K, Mitchell A. Digital: by the numbers. In: The state of the news media 2013: an annual report on American journalism. Pew Research Center, 2013. Available from: http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/digital-as-mobile-grows-rapidly-the-pressures-on-news-intensify/. Accessed October 16, 2013.Google Scholar The increasing popularity of social media accompanies a rise of digital advertising and mobile use coincident with a decline in traditional newsroom reporting, newspapers, and local TV viewership.4Sasseen J, Olmstead K, Mitchell A. Digital: by the numbers. In: The state of the news media 2013: an annual report on American journalism. Pew Research Center, 2013. Available from: http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/digital-as-mobile-grows-rapidly-the-pressures-on-news-intensify/. Accessed October 16, 2013.Google Scholar A striking 59% of US adults have searched online for heath information in the past year and 1 in 3 US adults turned to the Internet to aid them in specific medical condition diagnosis, with 77% of these starting at a general search engine such as Google and a smaller number starting with specific health information World Wide Web sites (13%) or social media (1%).5Fox S, Duggan M. Health online 2013. Pew Research Center, 2013. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Health-online.aspx. Accessed October 16, 2013.Google Scholar Amidst this digital revolution, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) officially joined Facebook on May 31, 2011. On August 13, 2013, JAAD was the second most "Liked" dermatology journal on Facebook with 4905 "Likes."6Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Facebook page insights. Available from: URL:https://www.facebook.com/#!/aadjournal/page_insights. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar On August 13, 2013, JAAD analytical statistics were collected by a senior medical student (C. K.). Using Facebook's insight section, information on the demographics of users who "Liked" the JAAD's page was analyzed. These data were also used to determine the top-5 posts in each of 3 categories: reach, engaged users, and talked about. All post data were analyzed from December 22, 2012, to August 13, 2013.6Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Facebook page insights. Available from: URL:https://www.facebook.com/#!/aadjournal/page_insights. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar "Reach" refers to the number of people who have seen a particular post. The reported data are for the first 28 days after a post's publication and include both desktop and mobile Facebook use. "Engaged users" refers to the number of people who have clicked anywhere on a particular post. "Talked about" refers to the number of people who have created a story from a particular post. Stories include sharing, "Liking," or commenting on the post; answering a question; responding to an event; or claiming an offer.7Facebook. Page insights: page post metrics. Available from: URL:https://www.facebook.com/help/www/336143376466063/. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar The demographics of users who "Liked" the JAAD Facebook page demonstrate a surprisingly diverse population of users, with only 18% coming from the United States, 17% from Brazil, and 14% from Egypt. Accordingly, English was the most common spoken language of users with Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic following in decreasing frequency. In addition, roughly two thirds of JAAD users are women, a statistic that is almost identical to the 64% of women who use Facebook (Table I).8Keenan T. FB moms taking stock. Available from: URL:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/fb_moms_taking_stock_up_rOnYAv8i6Axhe5xgS78xZL. Accessed August 15, 2013.Google ScholarTable IDemographics of users who "Liked" JAAD's Facebook pageGender Male34% Female65%Age, y 13-170.4% 18-2412% 25-3451% 35-4422% 45-549% 55-643% ≥651.4%Top-5 countries of origin United States18% Brazil17% Egypt14% India4% Mexico3%Top-5 languages spoken English58% Portuguese16% Spanish7% Arabic6% French2% Open table in a new tab Valuable and fascinating discoveries were also made from analysis of post data. The top-5 posts with the largest reach all came from news stories: 2 regarding celebrities, 2 involving preventative measures for aging and melanoma, and 1 post presenting a paradoxical study regarding bra use (Table II). However, engaging users to click anywhere on a post requires a different post type. The top 4 of 5 posts with the most engaged users were photographs coming from sources including UpToDate, JAMA, and Dermatology News Daily. The fifth post again involved celebrity news (Table III). There has been much interest regarding the success of photo posts on Facebook. Photo posts receive more engagement than links, videos, and text-based updates; and comprise 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook.9Kissmetrics. Infographic: how to get more likes on Facebook. Available from: URL:https://blog.kissmetrics.com/more-likes-on-facebook/. Accessed August 15, 2013.Google Scholar This is supported by the presented analysis for the JAAD's Facebook page. Finally, the top-5 posts with the most users talking about them covered a wider variety of post types including an eye-catching photograph, melanoma prevention, cosmetics, and celebrity news (Table IV). A post that appeared in the top 5 of the reach, engaged users, and talked about categories was Hollywood Life's report entitled, "Britney Spears reveals skin condition: She has psoriasis." By visiting the individual profiles of each of the 28 users who "Liked" this post, 54% (15 of 28) categorized their profession as medical doctor or listed a workplace associated with dermatology, skin care, or cosmetic companies.Table IITop-5 posts with the largest reachTitle of postType of postDate postedReachBritney Spears reveals skin condition: She has psoriasisHollywood Life news storyJuly 21, 20134592Yes! 9 celebs who look better without the tanDaily Makeover news storyMay 27, 20133058The women becoming immune to Botox: How overuse of the wrinkle-freezing drug is changingDaily Mail news storyJuly 18, 20132680An aspirin a day helps keep melanoma away? Whether it is worth the increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding may be a personal risk decisionCNN Health blog news storyMarch 11, 20132696Bras make breasts saggier: 15-year French studyCounsel and Heal news storyApril 12, 20132501"Reach" is number of people who have seen a particular post (figures are for the first 28 days after a post's publication). Open table in a new tab Table IIITop-5 posts with the most engaged usersTitle of postType of postDate postedEngaged usersHailey-Hailey diseaseUpToDate photographFebruary 18, 2013575Vulvar inflammatory bowel diseaseJAMA photographJune 29, 2013515What type of dermatitis…? (periorificial)UpToDate photographFebruary 6, 2013436Henna contact dermatitisDermatology News Daily photographMay 31, 2013406Britney Spears reveals skin condition: She has psoriasisHollywood Life news storyJuly 21, 2013389"Engaged users" refers to number of people who have clicked anywhere on post. Open table in a new tab Table IVTop-5 posts with most readers talking about themTitle of postType of postDate postedUsers talkingHenna contact dermatitisDermatology News Daily photographMay 31, 2013138An aspirin a day helps keep melanoma away? Whether it is worth the increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding may be a personal risk decisionCNN Health blog news storyMarch 11, 2013130Lots of bad in lipsticks!USA Today articleMay 2, 2013126Yes! 9 celebs who look better without the tanDaily Makeover articleMay 27, 201398Britney Spears reveals skin condition: She has psoriasisHollywood Life news storyJuly 21, 201393"Talking about" is number of people who have created a story from page post; stories include: (1) sharing, "Liking," or commenting on post; (2) answering a question; (3) responding to an event; and (4) claiming an offer. Open table in a new tab "Reach" is number of people who have seen a particular post (figures are for the first 28 days after a post's publication). "Engaged users" refers to number of people who have clicked anywhere on post. "Talking about" is number of people who have created a story from page post; stories include: (1) sharing, "Liking," or commenting on post; (2) answering a question; (3) responding to an event; and (4) claiming an offer. Over the span of 2 months (June 13 to August 13, 2013), the JAAD Facebook page acquired 522 new unique user "Likes" with an average of 10 new "Likes" per day. During its peak month, a post from the JAAD Facebook page was displayed in some format 265,355 times, including whether it was clicked on or not and multiple impressions of the same post.6Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Facebook page insights. Available from: URL:https://www.facebook.com/#!/aadjournal/page_insights. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar This is almost 200% greater than the JAAD's World Wide Web site (www.jaad.org), which reports 134,664 monthly page views.10NielsonSiteCensus. Elsevier media sales: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2012 rate card. Available from:URL:http://www.elsmediakits.com/index1.php?id=Journal%20of%20the%20American%20Academy%20of%20Dermatology. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar The impact of a social networking site such as Facebook on a journal's ability to reach populations across the globe is astounding. Even so, the number of users who "Like" the JAAD Facebook page make up only 0.00044% of all Facebook users.12012 Statistic Brain Research Institute, publishing as Statistic Brain. Social networking statistics. Research date June 23, 2013. Available from: URL:http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/. Accessed August 14, 2013.Google Scholar, 6Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Facebook page insights. Available from: URL:https://www.facebook.com/#!/aadjournal/page_insights. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar The JAAD in print is distributed to more than 16,000 dermatologists and is predominantly directed toward the medical community.10NielsonSiteCensus. Elsevier media sales: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2012 rate card. Available from:URL:http://www.elsmediakits.com/index1.php?id=Journal%20of%20the%20American%20Academy%20of%20Dermatology. Accessed August 13, 2013.Google Scholar Our data suggest that 54% of users who "Liked" a JAAD Facebook post that was in the top 5 in each category (reach, engaged users, and talked about) are medical doctors or are associated with skin care–related companies. Perhaps the other 46% of users represent a larger public outreach to those not necessarily within the medical community. The ability to reach a wider audience is a significant advantage of social media. However, a major limitation of our analysis is that Facebook privacy settings and individual preferences limit what the public can view on a person's Facebook profile. Many users choose not to make their education and work accessible to the public. Thus, we may have missed users in the 46% who are indeed dermatologists or associated with the skin care community. Some suggestions to further enhance the interactive educational opportunity afforded by the JAAD's Facebook page may include adding the following posts: (1) quizzes using photographs in the print version of the journal, (2) blogs that highlight practice gaps or other topics of concern, and (3) author podcasts discussing how authors became interested in their research and summarizing their JAAD article findings. The rapidly expanding reach of the JAAD's Facebook page continues to present a unique opportunity to connect with the global dermatologic community and public to improve public information on skin disease.11Hay A.A. Gamble R.G. Huff L.S. Dellavalle R.P. Internet social networking sites and the future of dermatology journals: promises and perils.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011; 65: e81-e83Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar Many thanks to those who keep "Liking" it on Facebook!