The Emerging Role of Digital Opinion Leaders in the Migraine Social Media Landscape
Teshamae Monteith1, Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez2, Annika Ehrlich3, Heather Moran4, Nina Riggins5, Amaal Starling6, Meghan Fajardo7, Samantha Sweeney7
1University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA, 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA, 3UCSF Health, San Francisco, CA, USA, 4American Migraine Foundation, New York, NY, USA, 5Headache Center of Excellence, VA Palo Alto, CA, USA, 6Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA, 7Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA
Objective:
To identify and describe the engagement activity of digital opinion leaders (DOLs) in migraine through analysis of social media posts.
Background:
Despite the increasing impact of social media on communication of public health-related information, research on its influence, particularly in the context of migraine disease management, remains limited. This analysis characterizes the migraine social media landscape by examining migraine-related social posts of healthcare professionals (HCPs) with a large social media presence, referred to as DOLs.
Design/Methods:
The 30 most active and credible DOLs from July 2022 to June 2024 were identified based on ~636K migraine-related social media posts by HCPs out of ~23M total migraine-related posts in English across X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. These DOLs were identified using MDigitalLife, a validated database of HCP social profiles mapped to National Provider Identifier numbers, followed by calculation of reach, relevance, and resonance using weighted influence scores. Natural language processing and independent analyst validation were leveraged to analyze engagement activity.
Results:
DOLs were most engaged with educational content on X around conferences and advocacy events, along with topics related to the migraine treatment landscape, latest research, and advocacy/awareness efforts. Three general behavioral patterns emerged when analyzing DOL engagement activity (N=22,397 posts):
1. Clinical Champions (60%): DOLs who discussed clinical advancements, trial results, and recognized colleagues.
2. Advocacy Allies (23%): DOLs who served as advocates for patients by sharing educational and awareness efforts among peers and patient communities.
3. Community Captains (17%): DOLs who acted as a bridge between patient, advocacy, and HCP communities by facilitating conversations, hosting collaborative events, and providing thought leadership.
Conclusions:
For the first time, this analysis provides valuable insights on DOL engagement activity within the migraine social media landscape, underscoring the important role of DOLs in driving exchange of migraine research, awareness, education, and advocacy.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.