Social Media Usage: COVID-19

Andrea Skawinski
COM 352: Writing for Social Media
Bryant University
May 7, 2020
 Introduction
The following paper will review the social media use of the Center for Disease Control

(CDC), J Gray’s Family Tavern, and Angelo’s Palace Pizza. The CDC’s use of social media is

very different from that of J Gray’s and Angelo’s because they are a government health agency

and the latter two are small family owned restaurants. The use of social media during the

COVID-19 pandemic is crucial because of how much it influences public opinion. Social media

is a constant stream of information. It is important that each post is impactful and written in the

most effective away.

These companies were selected because they provide a unique insight into social media

usage during COVID-19. The CDC provides an understanding of how a government

organization is disseminating health-related information through social media. They have one of

the most important social media pages right now because the world is in a health crisis. J Gray’s

offers insight into how a small business who is not operating because of the pandemic is using its

social media. Angelo’s is similar to J Gray’s except that they are open, so by looking at its social

media we can understand how a small business who is still trying to profit while being safe is

using their social media to help them do so.

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 Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..2
Report of Findings………………………………………………………………………………4-9
Center for Disease Control……………………………………………………………...4-5
J Gray’s Family Tavern…………………………………………………………………6-7
Angelo’s Palace Pizza…………………………………………………………………..7-9
Rewritten Posts……………………………………………………………………………….10-12
Center for Disease Control……………………………………………………………….10
J Gray’s Family Tavern………………………………………………………………….11
Angelo’s Pizza Palace……………………………………………………………………12
Reflection………………………………………………………………………………………...13
References………………………………………………………………………………………..14
Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………..15-20

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 Report of Findings

In the following section, the Center for Disease Control, J Gray’s Family Tavern, and

Angelo’s Palace Pizza’s use of social media during the COVID-19 crisis will be reviewed. Their

social media pages will be analyzed using research from various publications.

Center for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is arguably one of the most important social

media sites to follow during COVID-19. Since they are a government agency and a health

organization, they have authority and credibility during a health crisis. Their mission is to

“protect Americans from health risks and to increase the health security of the nation,” according

to their website. The purpose of the CDC’s posts is to share accurate and reliable information

about COVID-19.

The CDC has been regularly updating their website and social media. Everyday there is

new information about the virus, so they disseminate this information to the public. It has been

said that social media is an effective way to disseminate health information because it is an

engaging platform (Testa et al., 2018). However, the CDC is not an engaging platform. They

post informational graphics and paragraphs about necessary information, but there are no

interactive posts or responses to people in the comments.

The CDC should consider creating interactive posts because they can help spread

information more effectively. They had an Instagram story the week of April fifth of the Surgeon

General showing how to make a homemade mask, but that was the most interactive post they

have had and has been the only one since.

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 Many of the CDC’s posts are long paragraphs containing COVID-19 information, with a

graphic that matches (Appendix A). The reason these posts are so long is probably because one

of the biggest challenges in posting health information is translating it in a way that everyone can

understand while still communicating the message (Testa et al., 2018). These posts could be

shorter because many of their graphics contain the same information that is in the caption. Also,

the CDC is good about linking their website on every social media post to the part of their

website that contains more in-depth information regarding that post. Social media should be brief

and concise. However, when communicating health information, it is important people are

getting all of the information they need so it is a fine line.

On April fifteenth, the CDC posted about a health issue other than COVID-19, in

addition to their usual COVID-19 posts. For the second half of March and the first half of April

they posted only about COVID-19. However, the week of April twelfth, the CDC posted about

salmonella in chicken eggs, the measles vaccine, and HIV (Appendix B). The week of April

twenty-sixth, they posted about Lyme disease. This shows that the CDC has turned their

attention away from COVID-19 slightly. The majority of their posts are still about the virus, but

they have posted about other health concerns which shows a major change in the way they are

using their social media right now. They are no longer just communicating information about

COVID-19.

The way that social media has been used by the CDC throughout the pandemic has

evolved. Initially they were posting only COVID-19 posts, but now they are posting about other

health issues as well. Their focus has been to inform the public. They have done this by writing

lengthy posts and using graphics. Even though their posts are not interactive, due to the CDC’s

credibility and authority they have had a high rate of engagement.

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 J Gray’s Family Tavern
J Gray’s Family Tavern is a restaurant in Cumberland, Rhode Island that is currently shut

down due to COVID-19. It is a family owned business with a very loyal customer base. J Gray’s

describes their atmosphere as being one where people can “relax and socialize.” The restaurant

made the decision to shut down completely during the pandemic.

Even though they are shut down, they remain active on social media. J Gray’s has been

posting several times a week throughout March and April, but the posts come in spurts. One

week there will be several posts, then there will be a week without a post.

A digital marketing trend right now is interactive content (Kapoor, 2020), which J Gray’s

has been doing on their Facebook page. Each week they post at least one interactive post where

they ask customers to share their favorite J Gray’s drink, a picture of themselves at the restaurant

or wearing J Gray’s apparel, or write and post a favorite memory at J Gray’s. There has been a

high rate of engagement on each interactive post, with one of their interactive posts getting 26

responses (Appendix C). Social media is a way for people to not be socially isolated in this time

of physical isolation (de la Garza, 2020), and J Gray’s social media shows that they have

recognized this.

Brands are supposed to be using their brand power to bring people together during

COVID-19 (Edelman, 2020) and J Gray’s has created a community page and space where

customers can interact with one another as if they were at the restaurant. The engagement from

followers on their posts has been consistent throughout the pandemic, showing that the restaurant

has loyal customers.

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 The mission and purpose of their current social media is to remain engaged with their

customers. Because J Gray’s cannot see customers in person, they engage through social media,

taking advantage of two-way interaction. Their goal is not to sell anything to people, but to

connect with customers and remind them of the good times and good food and drinks served at J

Gray’s.

About half of the restaurant’s posts have pictures, the other half do not. Visuals are the

most effective way to get people’s attention on their busy timelines. J Gray’s should include a

picture every time they post. Pictures will help to remind customers what J Gray’s has to offer.

Some of the posts are wordy and not visually appealing (Appendix D). By simply rewording

some of their posts and spacing them out more effectively, the posts would be engaged with at a

higher rate.

Overall, J Gray’s has focused their social media use on two-way interaction with

customers. Posts could be formatted to be more appealing, however, they have had a consistently

high rate of engagement. J Gray’s has used their brand to bring customers together during a time

when community spaces are needed.

Angelo’s Palace Pizza

Angelo’s Palace Pizza is a restaurant in Cumberland, Rhode Island that is open for

takeout and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Angelo’s is an establishment that does a

great deal of takeout and delivery as it is because a lot of their sales is pizza, which is a popular

to-go food. According to their website, at Angelo’s people can enjoy a “fantastic family dining

experience.” Of course, with this pandemic, there is no dine in service, so they have gotten

creative to still bring a family experience to their customers.

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 Angelo’s has been posting a few times a week about their food specials,

giveaways/promotions, and the logistics of their pickup and delivery. Their posts are visually

appealing because they always use visuals and they space long posts to avoid looking wordy or

overwhelming.

Twitter put out tips that businesses can use to communicate with customers during

COVID-19 and some of them are to entertain and connect. Angelo’s is entertaining and

connecting with their customers by selling home pizza kits where they package all the

ingredients for pizza so people can do it on their own (Appendix F). They have made this

promotion an interactive one because people are sharing pictures of their kids using the kits and

Angelo’s is reposting them. People take cues from other people, especially during a crisis such as

this one, so people will copy others and purchase the kits because they are seeing other people

use them (de la Garza, 2020). This is an effective way to increase sales using social media.

In addition to the pizza kits, Angelo’s has done a $25 gift card give away on Facebook

and Instagram (Appendix E). To win, people are asked to post a photograph in the comments

section. That picture could be either of them eating Angelo’s take out or in the dining room from

when they were open. Interactive content such as this makes people feel that they are part of a

community which is one of the most important aspects of social media during a crisis

(Alexander, 2014).

Angelo’s has posted several times about how pick up works. This is good use of social

media because it is important for brands to focus on solutions and not on sales (Edelman, 2020).

By talking about the logistics of interactions to get food they are focusing on the solution to the

problem the pandemic has brought forward rather than just post their menu.

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 All in all, Angelo’s has effectively connected and entertained customers. During this

crisis, focusing on solving the issue of isolation and boredom is more important for a business

than making money. The restaurant has kept their posts concise and informative which is

advantageous in a time where social media is overwhelmed with information.

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 Rewritten Posts
In this section, social media posts from the organizations reviewed will be rewritten.

They will be rewritten to be more concise while still containing the original message. The posts

will also be rewritten to enhance punctuation and sentence structure to be more professional.

Center for Disease Control

Alternate Twitter caption:
Handwashing is a family activity!
Teach your kids proper technique.
For tips visit: bit.ly/2aAvw0m
#COVID19

This caption is more concise than the first

caption and gets straight to the point.

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J Gray’s Family Tavern
Alternate Facebook caption:
Hungry?
We look forward to feeding you soon!

This caption is similar to the original, but

utilizes better punctuation, sentence
structure, and spacing. It is also more
professional than the first.

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Angelo’s Palace Pizza
Alternate Instagram caption:
Curbside pickup, window pickup and
delivery are all available!
Call 401-728-3340 to place your
order.

This caption is more concise than the

first. There is excess information in
this post, and it is not formatted well.
I decided to be brief and get straight
to the point of the post which is to
inform customers of delivery and
take out methods.

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 Reflection
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important social media is to society. It plays a

major role in connecting and informing people. Social media has been a tool for many to help get

them through this crisis. Other than traditional media such as television, social media has been

one of the biggest educators about COVID-19. Information spreads quickly on social media so

people are able to learn almost instantaneously. The danger is that misinformation is quickly

spread as well, and people do not always know the difference.

One thing to take away from social media during the pandemic is how it constantly

changes. These changes can be advantageous. The way that social media has altered to be more

interactive than before and the way it has become a greater source for entertainment, shows how

quickly social media adapts to people’s needs. It is solving the problem of physical isolation by

bringing people together socially using technology.

Looking at the way that different groups, organizations, and businesses have utilized

social media to communicate during COVID-19 is fascinating. Some have taken full advantage

of the benefits that social media offers, while others have gone silent. Research shows that social

media presence has had an impact on sales, so companies who are not properly using social

media are not going to perform as well as others. People’s actions and words during the

pandemic are going to stick with people for years to come.

An important take away from this course and social media during this period is to be

concise when writing for social media. People’s timelines are full of long posts and information.

To stand out, posts have to be short and informative. There is so much information to absorb

right now, so anything too long will be passed over. Social media can valuable when it is used

effectively, and it can be harmful when it is not.

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 References
Alexander, D. E. (2014). Social Media in Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis
Management. Science and Engineering Ethics, 20(3), 717–733. doi: 10.1007/s11948-
013-9502-z
Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report: Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic. (2020,
March 26). Retrieved from https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2020-
03/2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Brands and the Coronavirus.pdf
Garza, A. de la. (2020, March 16). How Social Media Is Shaping Our Fears of the Coronavirus.
Retrieved from https://time.com/5802802/social-media-coronavirus/
Hutchinson, A. (2020, April 2). Twitter Provides Tips on How Brands Can Connect with Their
Audiences Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. Retrieved from
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-provides-tips-on-how-brands-can-
connect-with-their-audiences-amid-t/575337/
Kapoor, N. (2020, April 14). 5 Digital Marketing Trends to Focus On During the COVID-19
Pandemic [Infographic]. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/5-
digital-marketing-trends-to-focus-on-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-infogr/575770/
Testa, M. A., Savoia, E., Su, M., & Biddinger, P. D. (2018). Social Media Learning
Collaborative for Public Health Preparedness. American Journal of Public
Health, 108(S5). doi: 10.2105/ajph.2018.304610

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 Appendix
Appendix A
CDC Facebook post from March 25

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Appendix B
CDC Instagram post from April 16

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Appendix C
J Gray’s Facebook post from April 20

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Appendix D
J Gray’s Facebook post from March 17

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Appendix E
Angelo’s Instagram post from April 25 on left, Facebook post from April 24 on right

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Appendix F
Angelo’s Facebook post from March 27

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