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Assessing the Effectiveness of Online Facebook Campaigns Targeting Potential Irregular Migrants: A Pilot Study in Three West African Countries

Esther Haarman, Jasper Tjaden, Gustavo López

Geneva: International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2020), 41 pp.

"Studies have shown that many irregular migrants embark on journeys without accurate or complete information about migration. In response, IOM and other organizations run information campaigns intended to inform potential migrants of the dangers associated with irregular migration and to facilitate ... informed decisions. The use of online and social media platforms for these campaigns has become increasingly popular in recent years, due to their potential for quickly reaching millions of people at low cost. While the evidence base for offline information campaigns has been gradually improving, it remains unclear how online communication campaigns affect potential migrants, and methodologies to do this remain underdeveloped. This report therefore presents results from a pilot impact assessment of an online campaign based on Facebook posts in Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal during September 2019 and February 2020 [.] Conclusion: Facebook ad campaigns can reach many people quickly. However, large audience sizes and relatively cheap costs come with a trade-off. The impact of an information campaign on potential migrants’ perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and behaviour remains largely unknown because many Facebook users that engage with the campaign do not fit the intended target group. The advantage of offline over online campaigns is that implementers have more control and information about who attends activities or who is exposed to campaign content. The engagement of users with campaign posts varies largely by audience and post characteristics. Campaign and social media teams are well advised to conduct pilot tests before scaling up activities. Pilot tests can inform a customized approach for each online activity on Facebook, and thereby maximize impact. In addition to A/B tests, lift tests may offer a useful opportunity to test the impact of Facebook posts. Compared to impact assessments of offline information campaigns, measuring the impact of Facebook ads on potential migrants presents several unique challenges, including: Many potential migrants are not on Facebook or do not use ad content to seek information about migration. Internet connectivity is also limited in many West African countries. While Facebook allows users to narrow down target groups, it is not clear whether those Facebook users that are exposed to the content fit the profile of potential migrants. Whether the intended target group is reached can be affirmed only through surveys, which have a low response rate; It is not possible to interview the same Facebook users several times to track changes in their perceptions. Engagement metrics like post reactions, link clicks or video plays can be useful indicators. However, these low-engagement metrics do not offer clear evidence of the short- or long-term effects on Facebook users." (Executive summary) more

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Digital 2019: Essential Insights Into How People Around the World Use the Internet, Mobile Devices, Social Media, and E-Commerce

Simon Kemp

We Are Social;Hootsuite (2019), 221 slides

"The big story in this year’s data is the accelerating growth in internet users. More than 360 million people came online for the first time during 2018, at an average rate of more than 1 million new users each day. 57 percent of the world’s population is now connected to the internet, with tren ... more

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Digital in 2018: Essential Insights Into Internet, Social Media, Mobile, and E-Commerce Use Around the World

Simon Kemp

We Are Social;Hootsuite (2018), 153 slides

"Perhaps the most exciting headline in this year’s reports is that global internet users have now passed the 4 billion mark. Well over half of the world’s population now uses the internet, and a quarter of a billion new users came online for the first time during the past 12 months. People are s ... more

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Social Media in Afghanistan: Users and Engagement

Arcata, Calif.: Internews (2017), 74 pp.

"Access to and use of internet in Afghanistan has grown in the past decade to reach approximately 12% of the population. Social media penetration has followed the same course, challenging traditional media platforms and providing new platforms for public discourse. Social media carries the expectati ... more

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Digital, Social & Mobile in 2015: We Are Social's Compendium of Global Digital Statistics

Simon Kemp

Singapore: We Are Social (2015), 372 slides

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Digital, Social & Mobile in APAC in 2015: We Are Social and IAB Singapore's Compendium of Asia-Pacific Digital Statistics

Simon Kemp

Singapore: We Are Social;IAB Singapore (2015), 319 slides

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Global Digital Statistics 2014: We Are Social's Snapshot of Key Digital Indicators

Singapore: We Are Social (2014), 181 slides

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Digital in the Americas 2014

We Are Social (2014), 229 pp.

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2014 Asia Pacific Digital Overview

We Are Social (2014), 213 pp.

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Facebook Usage: Factors and Analysis

Fadi Salem, Racha Mourtada

Arab Social Media Report , volume 1, issue 1 (2011), 20 pp.

"The Arab Social Media Report (ASMR), produced by the Dubai School of Government’s Governance and Innovation Program, is the first in a quarterly series that will highlight and analyze usage trends of online social networking across the Arab region. In its inaugural edition, the report analyzes da ... more

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Civil Movements: The Impact of Facebook and Twitter

Fadi Salem, Racha Mourtada

Arab Social Media Report , volume 1, issue 2 (2011), 29 pp.

"The report analyzes data on Twitter and Facebook users in all 22 Arab countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey, highlighting the role they played in the civil movements that swept the region during that period. This is part of a larger research initiative focusing on social engagement thro ... more