Résumé:
Throughout the current study, we have attempted at investigating the impact of social
marketing campaigns run by activists in the healthcare and environmental sectors via
Facebook on the behavior of Young Algerian Facebook users. Using the aforementioned
website, the activists make posts about public health and environment in order to spread
awareness among individuals about their need to change their negative behaviors against their
health and their environment, which can be detrimental. Such campaigns include public social
communication by virtue of being an effective way to provide public benefit.Accordingly, the
research problem revolves around the following question: what is the extent to which the
health and environment social marketing campaigns via Facebook affect the young users?
The present study is descriptive in nature as it adopts a sample-survey methodology.
The study was carried on a sample of youngsters from the state of Algiers. The sample
includes 300 individuals aged between 18 and 35 years. They were chosen using the
nonprobabilisic sampling technique (non-purposeful). The sample includes 152 females and
148 males who were given a questionnaire. We have examined and analyzed the content of
two pages on Facebook: the first in the health field and the second in the environmental field
in order to identify the main topics and the extent to which users interact with these topics.
This was achieved via joining these pages and observing. In essence, the study reached many
results. Here are some of the main results:
- 58% of the informants see that health awareness pages on Facebook has
slightly affected their behaviors, while 30.7% of them see that it has affected them
considerably. Interestingly, 10.7% of the informantssee that the pages has no effect
whatsoever..
- The health and environment Facebook pages attempt at changing the everyday
practices’ negative behaviors towards health and environment by persuading the followers
using facts, arguments, expressions and pictures which dictate that there must be a positive
behavior, which helps them in their lives and protect them from the harms that threatens
their health and environment.
- The health and environment Facebook pages capture considerable attention from
users. Therefore, users follow and comment on their posts and share them with
their friends to benefit more from it.
