BACKGROUND: Existing research indicates that in China, World No Tobacco Day represents the peak period of attention and dissemination on tobacco control topics. During this time, tobacco control organizations launch a series of thematic communication campaigns. However, the effectiveness of these campaigns and the factors influencing their success have not been thoroughly and objectively evaluated.
METHODS: This study examines the thematic communication campaigns surrounding "World No Tobacco Day" on Weibo from 2021 to 2023, analyzing a dataset of 40,704 related posts through content analysis and big data text mining. Drawing on the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) of dual-process theory, the study hypothesizes that influencing factors include systematic processing factors (e.g., textual features and content characteristics) and heuristic processing factors (e.g., authority, timeliness, proximity, and emotional experience). A multiple regression analysis of 12 variables was conducted using SPSS.
RESULTS: The findings reveal that factors such as text length, thematic consistency, thematic salience, verified accounts, spokesperson involvement, timeliness, clear advocacy targets, and emotional experience are significantly correlated with communication effectiveness, supporting the hypotheses. In contrast, factors such as content modality, hashtag usage, appeal type, and follower count were not significantly related to effectiveness, disproving certain assumptions. Using the HSM model as a theoretical framework, the study demonstrates that a dual influence of systematic factors (e.g., text and content features) and heuristic factors (e.g., authority, timeliness, proximity, and audience emotional engagement) can enhance the effectiveness of tobacco control communication on new media platforms.
CONCLUSIONS: Future tobacco control campaigns on social media should emphasize content consistency and thematic salience, leverage opinion leaders and anti-tobacco spokespersons, target specific advocacy groups, and evoke stronger emotional experiences to achieve better communication outcomes.