Using Facebook’s Advertising Platform for Recruiting Online Survey Respondents

In this case study, we discuss two research projects that employed Facebook advertising tools as entry points for recruitment of online survey respondents and as sources of observational data on the interviewees’ interests and demographic profiles, which can be combined with self-reported information. Based on these two research projects, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of Facebook ad-based surveys. The case study describes the practicalities of the research design concerning the building of the online survey, planning the advertising campaign, and running/monitoring the campaign. Additionally, it provides evidence of the efficiency of a Facebook ad-based procedure for online recruiting in terms of costs and researchers’ direct control on survey performances. Lastly, it offers scholars a set of guidelines to implement comparable research designs necessary to understand the effects of the Facebook system of targeting on survey performances.