Social Media Exposure and Job Outcomes

Last registered on May 21, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social Media Exposure and Job Outcomes
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010341
Initial registration date
November 02, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 04, 2022, 1:39 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
May 21, 2025, 5:16 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jingyi Qiu
Affiliation
University of Michigan
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yan Chen
PI Affiliation
University of Michigan
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PI Name
Alain Cohn
PI Affiliation
University of Michigan
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PI Name
Alvin Roth
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-11-02
End date
2023-09-01
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Other
Additional Keywords
labor market, social media
JEL code(s)
A11, J44
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conducted a field experiment to investigate the causal impact of social media promotion on job market outcomes for Economics job market candidates (JMCs), with a particular focus on under-represented groups such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community. We asked economist "influencers" with more than 4,500 followers on Twitter to quote-tweet a random subset of job market paper tweets on Econ Job Helper. We will subsequently measure the impact of this intervention on job market outcomes. Preliminary analysis reveals an increase in the visibility of job market papers for the treatment group, as their tweets receive higher numbers of likes, retweets, and URL clicks. Currently, job market outcomes are being collected to further analyze whether social media promotion can help JMCs receive more job interviews, fly-outs, and job offers. The results of this study will enhance our understanding of the efficacy of social media promotion in influencing job market outcomes for junior scholars, especially for those from under-represented groups in the academic job market.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Yan et al. 2025. "Social Media Exposure and Job Outcomes." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10341-1.3
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will randomize the extent of social media exposure.
Intervention (Hidden)
We will randomize a subset of job market papers to be quote tweeted by influencers on Twitter.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-15
Intervention End Date
2022-12-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Number of interviews / fly-outs / job offers received on different types of jobs
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We will collect data on job interviews, fly-outs and job offers via a post-market survey.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Satisfaction with job placement
Twitter influence index: impressions, retweets, URL clicks, detail expands, engagements, likes, replies etc.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We will collect satisfaction with job placement via our post-market survey.
We will collect Twitter influence index via Twitter Analytics.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Not available.
Experimental Design Details
We will conduct a field experiment where a subset of job market papers will be randomly assigned to be quote tweeted by economist influencers in their field.
Randomization Method
Please refer to our pre-analysis plan
Randomization Unit
individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
525
Sample size: planned number of observations
525
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment: n = 247 (URG: 150; non-URG: 97)
Control: n = 278 (URG: 81, non-URG: 197)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.25 (main effect) 0.34 (subgroup effect)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Digital Mentoring
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-03
IRB Approval Number
HUM00221663
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

pre-analysis plan_May 2023 v1.1.pdf

MD5: 88d6ff3836735c86f56accc505b6dd3c

SHA1: 84e04615957e045ab9c4d2cc94de3921611042e5

Uploaded At: May 11, 2023

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials