Comparison of internet and mailing methods to recruit couples into research on unaided smoking cessation

In smoking cessation studies with restrictive criteria (e.g., single-smoker couples), thousands of potential participants might need to be screened to obtain a reasonable sample size. Consideration of recruitment methodology is critical because recruitment methods influence both the success and cost effectiveness of recruitment. Although traditional recruitment methods are often used to recruit participants into smoking cessation research, newer technologies, such as paid Facebook advertising, might offer more cost-effective alternatives for recruitment. The current analysis compares two versions of paid Facebook advertising and a specialized mass mailing method used to recruit single-smoker couples into an intensive three-week study of unaided smoking cessation. The three methods are compared in terms of demographic characteristics, eligibility, and cost-effectiveness. Although Facebook's "Promote Your Page" mechanism achieved the fastest recruitment rate (2.75 couples per month; 498 USD per couple), Facebook's "Send People to Your Website" mechanism was the least expensive and provided the most demographically diverse sample (1.64 couples per month; 181 USD per couple). The specialized mailing method was not productive or cost-effective (0.80 couples per month; 454 USD per couple). Paid Facebook advertising fared better as a recruitment method than a specialized mailing method often used in survey research. Studies that have less restrictive eligibility criteria, that draw from a larger local population, or that recruit for a less intense study might find paid Facebook advertising to be quite feasible.