WEBOMETRICS DATA

In the first stage of the web content analysis, every Facebook message posted by the three charities during the period 1 March 2014 – 31 May 2014 was recorded in a table (copied and pasted from the original post) and

analysed using the categories listed in Appendix 1 and described in detail in Chapter 4 of this thesis. The aim at this stage of the analysis was to

determine the communicative functions of the posts, using Lovejoy and Saxton’s (2012) classification model of information – community – action. At this stage, all fundraising posts were highlighted for further analysis. The shareability metric (number of shares /number of likes x 100) was also calculated for each post and this figure acted as a visible marker of relative success. A total of 370 posts were analysed and Table 6.7 below shows how the first few posts by CRUK were coded.

DATE, COPY & METRICS A B C D E F G H I

1 March

“What makes my job so special? The patients. It’s such a privilege to work with them on clinical trials. They are so generous and leave an amazing legacy of better treatment and care for people affected by cancer in the future.” We’d like you to meet Ruth Boyd, one of our incredible Senior Research Nurses based in Northern Ireland. “It can be very sad when you can’t help someone but there is no part of the job that’s bad or really frustrating. Sometimes it can feel like things aren’t moving fast enough in the world of cancer, but if I reflect back over the past 20 years I’ve been a research nurse, it’s clear that major progress has been made. So I know that my work with patients on clinical trials will help to beat cancer sooner.” One day, we will beat cancer but we need your help to make it sooner. Visit http://bit.ly/NBLcp3 to #ActNowForResearch. Likes: 2,702 Shares: 116 Comments: 95 S/L: 4% 7 1, 7, 14 2 March

Howard (on the right) and his friend Kelly have a good reason for taking on running challenges dressed up as gorillas in gold hot pants. In Howard’s case, he runs in honour of his mum who has beaten breast cancer and in

7 2, 3, 4, 10 2 1 3 4, 5, 8, 10 2 3 n/a

memory of his father, aunt and mother-in-law. In June, the pair are running for us in the first ever Run Hackney Half Marathon in London - the sixth out of 12 challenges they’re taking on in 2014 to help us beat cancer sooner. Thousands of people like Howard take on running challenges for us every year – and we’d love for you to join our team! To take part in Run Hackney, or one of our many other running challenges, please visit: http://bit.ly/1ffWABz

Likes: 1,994 Shares: 81 Comments: 26 S/L: 4% 3 March

Prunes. Marshmallows. Peaches. No, it’s not a weekly shopping list but just some of the words people are using to describe their bodies. Why? Because getting to know your body means you’ll be more likely to spot any unusual changes that could be signs of cancer. So whatever you think about your body, whether you’re regular as clockwork or think you’re heading south – it’s time to get talking! Watch our video then let us know the words you use to describe your body in the comments below – and don’t be shy, anything goes. Likes: 701 Shares: 62 Comments: 14 S/L: 9% 4 1, 5 4 March

“I work with patients with lung cancer so I know that there is much more to be done to help people survive this

devastating disease. It’s a challenge and, at times, very saddening. But this keeps me constantly motivated to find more effective treatments.” Meet Geoff, one of our clinicians in Oxford. “My biggest breakthrough so far has been getting a clinical trial set up for lung cancer and enrolling the first patients. The trial looks at treating lung cancer by combining traditional radiotherapy with a biological agent which blocks the signals that cancer cells can use to survive radiotherapy and continue to divide and grow. I hope to be involved in developing treatments that increase the number of patients that are cured by radiotherapy, while minimising the side effects associated with it.” One day we will beat cancer. Help us make it sooner. #ActNowForResearch like Geoff’s by visiting http://bit.ly/1kfrcXB Likes: 2,756 Shares: 214 Comments: 112 S/L: 8% 7 1, 7, 14

Table 6.7: Example of web content analysis of CRUK posts.

In the second stage of the web content analysis, all fundraising posts (categories ‘donate’ and ‘fundraise’) were copied onto a different table and ranked according to shareability (from highest to lowest). The analysis then focussed on determining common features among the most successful posts (those with the highest share/like ratios). Table 6.8 below is an example of the analysis of fundraising posts in stage 2 of the web content analysis, where the letters A – I on the right correspond to the content analysis categories

DATE, COPY & METRICS A B C D E F G H I 1. CRUK

19 March

Thousands of you are posting #cancerawareness #nomakeupselfie pictures and many have asked if the campaign is ours. It’s not but we love that people want to get involved! If you’d like to help beat cancer sooner, please

visit our website at http://bit.ly/1hAa1uD or text to donate

using the code in the picture.

You'll be charged £3 plus one message at your standard network rate. We'll receive at least £2.95 depending on your operator. Full T&Cs can be found here: www.cruk.org/text

Likes: 22,664 Shares: 76,986 Comments: 3,174 S/L: 340% 7 1, 3, 14, 9 2 1 1 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 15 2 ✪ 1, 3 1 2. MACMILLAN 7 March

Some people raise money for Macmillan by running marathons or climbing mountains... But we'll let you in on a little secret - you can also fundraise by staying at home with some booze, yummy food, and your best friends!

So what are you waiting for?! Sign up for a Night In here: http://nightin.macmillan.org.uk/ Likes: 274 Shares: 671 Comments: 32 S/L: 245% 3 10 1 1 3 9, 10 2 3 n/a 3. MARIE CURIE 21 March

A few people have been asking about the Great Daffodil Appeal text to donate number recently, so we thought it might be useful to share the details here:

Text DAFF to 70007 to give £3 (Terms: bit.ly/MCtxt)

Thank you for all your support

Likes: 1,152 Shares: 849 Comments: 50 S/L: 74 6 3, 9 1 3 1 2, 4 5 3 1 4. CRUK 21 March

You’re all incredible! You’ve now raised over £2 million with your #nomakeupselfie pics – and we’re still counting! Hundreds of thousands of you have been texting BEAT to 70099 which will help beat cancer sooner. Thank you! All your amazing support means we can now fund research that will help save lives. If you want to get involved with our work, visit: http://bit.ly/1h0FIvC

You'll be charged £3 plus one message at your standard network rate. We'll receive at least £2.95 depending on your operator. Full T&Cs can be found here:www.cruk.org/text

Likes: 132,758 Shares: 87,819 Comments: 3,048 S/L: 66% 7 1, 3, 9 2 1 1 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 15 2 ✪ 1, 3 1

✪ Selfies or home videos

Examples of how different Facebook posts were coded are provided in Chapters 4 and 7 of this thesis, while further message examples of the web content analysis are provided in Appendix 8.