CASE STUDY
A social media overdose awareness and education campaign produced for the Sacramento County Department of Health, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment division.
Campaign Dates: August 1-30, 2025
Our Role: Campaign strategy, content creation, end-to-end video services, social media strategy, management, and reporting.
Summary
NTI Upstream produced an overdose awareness and education campaign for the Sacramento County Health Department, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment division, in recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day. The campaign utilized both organic and paid social content, spanning multiple social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, from August 1 to 30, 2024. The budget for this campaign was limited, and resource allocation was tight. Campaign success was measured by post-link clicks to the Safer Sacramento County Services webpage.
We created a mix of static and video content, totaling 45 posts, to engage audiences with both facts and storytelling. Our main messaging objectives included reducing stigma around addiction and treatment services and raising awareness that help is readily available and recovery is possible. Not only did we achieve our goals, but also:
Increased unique website visitors by 60%
Increased page views by 68%
Grew client’s social media audience grew by 6.2%
Increased client’s message volume increased by over 200%
CHALLENGES
Running an overdose awareness and education campaign for a large county health department comes with unique challenges. These campaigns must navigate public perception, political sensitivities, complex stakeholder dynamics, and barriers to engagement, especially when addressing vulnerable and diverse populations.
Content moderation on social media platforms like Meta presents significant challenges for public health campaigns. While intended to prevent illicit drug promotion, automated filters often block legitimate educational and harm-reduction content. Key issues include:
Over-Filtering: Meta’s algorithms frequently flag or remove posts related to education, prevention, and harm reduction.
Reduced Reach: Both organic and paid content may be suppressed, delaying timelines and limiting campaign impact.
Inefficient Appeals: The appeals process is slow — often taking days or weeks — and lacks transparency, leaving campaigns stalled with little clarity or resolution.
Insights
Video storytelling was the most powerful and engaging aspect of the campaign. Personal testimonials about addiction, overdose, treatment, and recovery gave a human face to abstract statistics, helping audiences connect emotionally and respond more actively.
Sharing stories through video helps break down stigma. Viewers relate more deeply when they hear real people—parents, veterans, young adults—speak vulnerably about their experiences. These narratives challenge stereotypes and shift the perception of people who use drugs from “other” to “us.”
Video also offers authenticity and credibility. Unscripted or lightly guided formats feel more genuine than institutional messaging, making viewers more likely to trust and remember the message.
Ultimately, these stories offer social proof that change is indeed possible. Hearing someone share how they accessed treatment or used naloxone to save a life reduces fear and shame. It shows that recovery is possible and encourages others to seek help.
Results
Our Overdose Awareness campaign was a huge success. We exceeded our desired engagement and post link click rates while increasing overall website traffic and expanding our client’s social media presence.
1.8K+ post link clicks
150K+ video views
8.9K+ engagements
3.4% engagement rate
(1%-3% is considered good)
