Strategies of the Spanish Ministry of Health on Instagram: A Comparative Study Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Published: 23-01-2025
Accepted: 01-11-2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v23i1.2189
Keywords:
Health, Social media, Instagram, Ministry of Health, COVID-19, Pandemics, Data analysis
Supporting Agencies
Universidad Federal de Goiás, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
Dimensions

Main Article Content

Douglas Farias Cordeiro
(BR)
Federal University of Goiás image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5187-0036
Carlos Lopezosa
(ES)
University of Barcelona image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8619-2194
Mari Vállez
(ES)
University of Barcelona image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3284-2590
Javier Guallar
(ES)
University of Barcelona image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8601-3990

Abstract

This study analyses the use of Instagram by the Spanish Ministry of Health with the aim of understanding how this platform has been utilised to disseminate content and engage the public on health issues. The posts made between 2018 and 2023 are considered, segmented into three periods: before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic. A quantitative analysis of the data is conducted to understand the volume and type of posts, engagement metrics, and the use of hashtags and mentions. An artificial intelligence model is employed to identify names of people mentioned in the post texts. The results indicated that during the pandemic, the increase in posts and the use of videos boosted interaction, while mentions and names of individuals reduced engagement. Additionally, in all periods, shorter texts and the use of carousels and specific hashtags were associated with higher engagement, highlighting the importance of these tactics in institutional communication on social networks.

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Article Details

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2025): hallenges and Opportunities in Digital Communication: Reflections and Advances in 2025

Section

ST4. COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AND BIG DATA IN COMMUNICATION
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Douglas Farias Cordeiro, Federal University of Goiás

Postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media of the University of Barcelona. Postdoctorate in Journalism at Fernando Pessoa University, Portugal and doctorate in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is also a specialist in applied artificial intelligence from the Federal Institute of Goiás, Brazil, and holds a degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. He is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Information and Communication of the Federal University of Goiás, coordinator of the Research Group in Technologies and Computing Applied to Information and Communication (GTA/UFG), professor of the postgraduate program in Communication (PPGCOM/ UFG).

Carlos Lopezosa, University of Barcelona

PhD in Journalism from Pompeu Fabra University and visiting researcher at the University of Barcelona (Margarita Salas Postdoctoral Fellowship). His doctoral thesis focused on studying the ranking factors of content-intensive sites, particularly online media, and on evaluating SEO analysis tools. He is a specialist in search engine optimisation and monetisation systems based on quality content strategies. He has been an associate professor at Pompeu Fabra University, teaching in the Faculty of Communication for the Degrees in Journalism, Audiovisual Communication, and Advertising and Public Relations.

Mari Vállez, University of Barcelona

PhD in Social Communication from Pompeu Fabra University and member of the Centre for Information, Communication and Culture Research at the University of Barcelona. Professor in the Department of Library Science, Documentation and Audiovisual Communication at the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media of the University of Barcelona. She coordinates the double degree in Digital Information and Documentation Management + Audiovisual Communication.

Javier Guallar, University of Barcelona

PhD in Information and Documentation from the University of Barcelona and PhD in Communication from Pompeu Fabra University, he is a professor and academic secretary of the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media at the University of Barcelona, and director of the postgraduate programme in Social Media Content at this university. As a member of the Centre for Information, Communication and Culture Research (CRICC), he has participated in several funded projects. He is the deputy editor of the journal Profesional de la Información and the director of the book series Profesional de la Información and EPI Scholar at Editorial UOC. He has extensive professional experience as a press documentalist in the media. His main research areas are content curation, journalistic documentation, audiovisual documentation, social media, digital journalism, and scientific publishing.

How to Cite

Cordeiro, D. F., Lopezosa, C., Vállez, M., & Guallar, J. (2025). Strategies of the Spanish Ministry of Health on Instagram: A Comparative Study Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal ICONO 14, 23(1), e2189. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v23i1.2189

Funding data

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