CASE STUDY
A social media methamphetamine awareness and education campaign produced for the Sacramento County Department of Health, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment division.
Campaign Dates: November 6-30, 2023
Our Role: Campaign strategy, content creation, end-to-end video services, social media strategy, management, and reporting.
Summary
NTI Upstream produced a methamphetamine awareness and education campaign for the Sacramento County Health Department, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment division, in recognition of National Methamphetamine Awareness Day on November 30th. The campaign utilized both organic and paid social content, spanning multiple social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, from November 6 to 30, 2023.
We created a mix of static and video content, totaling 63 posts, to engage audiences with both facts and storytelling. In addition to raising awareness about meth, our primary objective was to connect people with treatment options and direct viewers to the website. Our campaign increased unique website visitors by 207% and page views by 193%. Overall website visits increased by 237% and we had over 614K video views.
CHALLENGES
Running a methamphetamine education and awareness campaign for a large county health department presents several unique challenges. These span across strategic, operational, compliance, and communications domains, particularly when integrating social media as a core engagement channel. Formal messaging may fail to engage, while slang or memes risk trivializing the issue. Creatively, visuals or testimonies may unintentionally trigger trauma or relapse for people in recovery.
Methamphetamine use carries a strong stigma, which complicates outreach and messaging. Individuals struggling with meth use may avoid engagement due to shame or fear of being identified. Likewise, community members may object to the visibility of the campaign, fearing it portrays the community as having a drug problem or glamorizes the issue.
From a compliance perspective across social media channels, messaging about substance use must adhere to the evolving content policies of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, which may restrict graphic language, imagery, or discussions of drug use. Posts that involve drugs—even if educational—may be de-prioritized or flagged by social media algorithms. This can reduce reach, and ad disapproval can significantly undercut campaign goals. Organic reach limitations make paid promotion crucial, but even that can be restricted based on keyword filters.
Insights
Running a methamphetamine education and awareness campaign for a large county health department yields a wide range of valuable insights that extend far beyond traditional performance metrics. One of the most significant takeaways was the importance of audience segmentation and behavioral trends. By analyzing engagement data, we identified the demographic groups that were most responsive to specific messages.
In terms of message resonance, the campaign often reveals what tone, language, and content formats are most effective. Empathetic, recovery-focused storytelling outperforms punitive or fear-based messaging, suggesting that audiences respond more to messages of hope than shame. Short-form video content—particularly authentic testimonials—generated stronger engagement than static graphics, especially when distributed across mobile-first platforms.
From a media and platform strategy perspective, the campaign can illuminate how different social media channels perform with various audiences. Facebook may serve well for engaging parents and older adults, while TikTok or Instagram Stories might yield better traction with younger users. Importantly, these insights often underscore the necessity of consistent paid promotion, as organic reach for public health content can be limited by algorithmic constraints—especially when dealing with sensitive topics like drug use. Time-of-day and day-of-week patterns also emerge, informing optimal publishing windows for future messaging.
Finally, operational insights also surfaced, particularly around compliance and content moderation. Sensitive campaigns required trained rapid response workflows to monitor and manage interactions, especially when community members disclosed personal struggles or asked for help. The campaign also highlighted the nuances of platform compliance; many platforms applied strict filters to content containing drug-related language, even in educational contexts. Navigating these constraints required a thoughtful balance of transparency, accuracy, and platform-savvy messaging.
1.8K+ post link clicks
614K+ video views
6.7K+ engagements
5.4% engagement rate
(1%-3% is considered good)
125K+ impressions
237% mo/mo increase in website visits
Results
Our Meth Awareness campaign was a huge success. We achieved our established objectives, and in the process, increased our client’s social media presence and brand visibility.