INTRODUCTION

In recent years, it is clear that social media has taken over today’s society. With almost
everything being online, social media has become almost essential for communication. Large
organizations especially take advantage of all that social media in order to communicate within
it. Relay for Life is a fundraiser started by the American Cancer Association. The Relay for Life
community is so large that their community expands across the country. So how does Relay for
Life utilize their social media in order to communicate and interact with their followers? My
research looks into how Relay for Life uses their Facebook page to engage with the audience and
spark conversation among them. Through the analysis of several secondary sources, I found a
large amount of information on how social media is used to portray health information. Since
social media is not necessarily face-to-face communication, there is a lot of room for
interpretation. Especially when the information is posted to a large audience, like Relay for
Life’s page, many can perceive the information in different ways, sparking conversation and
debate (Shi, Poorisat, & Salmon, 2016). There is also a source that shows that medical
information presented on social media is extremely helpful. Many do not go out of their way to
look for information on how to take care of their bodies, so promoting health facts and
recommendations on social media, like Relay for Life does, is beneficial for so many (Roberts,
Callahan, & O’Leary, 2017). Another secondary source also suggested that in today’s age, many
teens learn more through the use of the internet and social media. If health information is
portrayed through this platform, it is more likely that younger audiences will get more out of it
(Frimming, Polsgrove, & Bower 2011). A final primary source suggested that there multiple
different ways that people use social media for communication. Whether that be to share
personal stories, promote an idea or product, or even to communicate and meet others, everyone
in the audience communicates for different reasons. This suggests that social media posts should
appeal to all sorts of followers and posts should be broad (Abramson, Keefe, & Chou, 2015).
Through the findings of my secondary sources, it was clear that social media and health groups
are closely related. Relay for Life is a fundraiser for cancer patients and research. Through the
use of their social media, there is a variety of posts that they include in order to stay in touch
with the audience. These secondary sources helped confirm that communication online is
essential, especially for health groups like Relay for Life. To go deeper into my research I will be
looking into several different posts from the Relay for Life Facebook page in order to provide
deeper insight into the communication and writing that goes on in this community. Through the
analysis of multiple social media posts, it can be seen that Relay for Life’s Facebook page
actively interacts with the community by targeting a specific audience, evoking certain feelings
and emotions, and touching on a variety of topics in all of their social media posts.

METHODS
In order to specifically look into communication within the Relay for Life community, it
was necessary to look into many different primary sources in order to complete an analysis of
how communication is utilized within the community and to what extent. A rhetorical analysis
will be performed on several social media posts, along with their comments, in order to
determine how communication is utilized within the community. To complete this analysis I will
be looking for different patterns within the posts, the reactions of the audience, and also different
attitudes and moods that the post tries to evoke. I will look at certain words that are used, images
and graphics that are present, and also at how the audience interacted with the post through likes,
shares, and comments. I selected multiple posts that all approached the audience in different
ways. I chose a post that included both a caption and short video with a fact about cervical
cancer to display how Relay for Life presents important health information to their followers.
This source will be analyzed to see why and how this information is presented, along with what
kind of feelings the posts evokes. The comments under this post will also be analyzed. I will be
looking for different ways that this post sparks conversation in the comments and what kind of
comments are found in order to demonstrate the different relationships between followers of the
Relay for Life page. I will also be looking at a post that displays many photos of Relay for Life
events through the year, which will depict how the relay for Life page credits their participants
and promotes their photos. By posting pictures of participants from the events, they are
acknowledging all those who volunteer their time and money for a good cause. I will be
analyzing a post with a short caption, along with a video displaying the same information, that
promotes fundraising for cancer by describing multiple ways in which the money donated will be
used. This will illustrate how Relay for Life encourages its followers to donate and also how
information is presented on how the money that is donated will be used. One final post that will
be looked at is a post of a young girl and her mother. This post describes how the girl’s mother
survived cancer and how it has impacted her. This post, along with a picture, will tell the Relay
for Life page a personal story and will pull at the audience’s emotions. By analyzing these posts,
it will help understand how Relay for Life uses their page to interact with, communicate with,
and spark conversation among the many followers they have. Rhetorical situation will be helpful
in order to find common ground within all of the posts. Rhetorical situation looks at rhetor,
exigence, constraints, and audience. By looking at these factors, I will be able to find common
areas where conversation and communication are present. Since all of these participants are
united for a common purpose, to raise awareness and money for cancer, there has to be different
modes of communication. A rhetorical analysis will help break down each of the posts to find
how the posts have an impact on the people who view them. This analysis will also show in
greater depth how the Relay for Life page communicates among their followers and how they
use the posts to spark conversations among each others. By looking into these examples, it will
show how the Relay for Life Facebook page actively interacts with their followers and continues
to communicate with them in order to keep the community tight-knit.

RESULTS
 The first Relay for Life post that was use portrayed a fact about cervical cancer, with a
video that portrayed the same fact with a colorful ribbon. It reads, “Due in large part to increased
use of the Pap test, the cervical cancer death rate has declined by more than 50% over the last 40
years. Learn more about how you can prevent #cervicalcancer”. This post has 276 likes, 22
comments, and 303 shares.

Figure 1.
The second primary source looks at the comments that were included underneath the
previous post. Person 1 writes “I’m a nearly six years survivor of stage 3B cervical cancer. Hell
of a treatment but thank God and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, I am alive today! Please ladies, if
you feel something is wrong keep pushing for answers! Even paps will fool the best! Fight like a
girl 😬”. Person 2 writes, “my sister-in-law was just diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was a
complete shock. No symptoms until the one that caused her to see her doctor 2 weeks ago. She's
still undergoing tests, so many tests. She is hanging in there but scared. She starts radiation and
chemo Monday 😬. Reading the survivor posts above and being connected with the ACS is
already a comfort. Please keep her in your prayers, as with the so many people affected by
cancer. Thanks”. Person 3 replied to Person 2 with, “absolutely. If there is anything at all I can
help with please call me. 😬😬”.
 Figure 2.
The third primary source looked into was another social media post on the Relay for Life
Facebook page. This post displayed the winners of a Relay for Life photo contest. This video
was a series of multiple pictures taken from Relay for Life events. It also had the caption
“Congratulations to the winners of our recent photo contest! Thank you to these dedicated
Relayers for sharing their pics and showing their spirit and passion. We’re endlessly inspired by
your commitment to Relay For Life. Why do you relay?”. This post has 271 likes, 17 comments,
and 36 shares.

Figure 3.
 A fourth post that was analyzed included the caption “Want to help us fight cancer?
Spring into action during our two-week challenge from March 18-31. Share how cancer has
impacted your life to inspire your friends and family to donate. The money you raise will help us
fund more breakthrough research, more free rides to chemo, more free places to stay near
hospitals, and more access to our 24/7 cancer helpline.” Along with this caption, a video was
also included that displayed the same information with a colorful purple background and simple
cartoons. This post has 513 likes, 25 comments, and 758 shares.

Figure 4.

A final post that was analyzed was a story of Relay for life participants. The caption
stated, “‘Because of cancer, my mom found the best friends and support system imaginable. She
found purpose in leading fundraisers and walks to build awareness for what it’s like to have
come out on the other side of this disease. She’s inspired dozens of people with her story. Cancer
didn’t take any life from my mom, but instead it gave her a life filled with purpose to empower
every life she touches. No quote or poem, even after 18 years of searching, can ever capture that.
Love you mom, grateful every day that you’re here to share your story 😬’ -@shutthegutup.” This
post also contained a photo of her and her mother. This post has 1.3 thousand likes, 23
comments, and 197 shares.

Figure 5.

ANALYSIS
Looking at the post relating to cervical cancer, presented in Figure 1, it can be seen that
the it is very appealing to the eye, as it includes color and a graphic. The rhetor of this post is the
Relay for Life Facebook page, the source where this statistic was found, and the individual who
uploaded this exact post. The exigence of this post is to present facts about cervical cancer and
inform the audience about the pap test. Although the post does not go into detail on this, it
specifically states that mortality rates have significantly decreased due to increased use of the
pap test. This post triggers a sense of hope and inspiration due to the fact that mortality rates
have already declined and can potentially decline even more. It also inspires women to get a pap
test and take charge of their health. It is focusing on how cervical cancer can be prevented and is
shared to help inform others on important health information. The audience for this post is all of
the Relay for Life followers, all of the people who see it because of the shares, and women
seeking information about their health. Although cervical cancer relates to women, this
information is presented to all, so that it can be shared and target even more people than
originally intended. Finally, the constraints to this post is that it is only online. This information
on preventing cervical cancer is extremely important to all, but not everyone has access to the
internet. Also, this is only posted on one page. Many will not come across this post because they
are not following the Relay for Life. This post has hundreds of likes which implies that many
people found the post beneficial or like the information that was presented. This post also has
hundreds of shares. Because of these shares, even more people are able to be aware of this
information and potentially act on it. These shares mean that the followers found the information
beneficial enough to be able to share it with many more. Through the information that was
presented in this post, this post is very general and short, yet very informational and gets the
attention of its followers. Rather than just promoting their fundraisers and organizations, this
information shows that Relay for Life cares about their members and encourages them to take
charge of their health.
Even though Figure 1 had over 20 comments underneath the initial post, two specific
comments, presented in Figure 2, depict a strong sense of communication within the community.
Figure 2 displays person one revealing personal information about a family member diagnosed
with cancer and person two replying to them with support. The rhetor in these comments would
be both person one and person two- those who wrote the comments. The exigence of comment
one is to share a personal story about her family member diagnosed with cancer. Person one asks
for prayers and support from others. This causes the audience to become both sympathetic and
empathetic as person one expressed a sense of fear and sadness. The exigence of comment two is
to provide support for person. Although it is unknown whether the two personally know each
other, it is clear they are kind and supportive to each other. The audience for person one is for
anyone who comes across it on the page. Person two’s audience is person one. They are
providing support and encouragement for them. The constraints to these comments is that the
interaction takes place online. The support is all through the internet, rather from face to face.
Also, the comments are very brief and do not go into a lot of detail. Overall, these comments
provide a very comforting and supportive tone. It is clear these comments are related to the post
above it about cervical cancer, which sparked this conversation.
 Figure 3 presents a photo contest that credits many different participants in Relay for Life
events. This post also includes a graphic, which catches the eye. The rhetor of this post is the
Relay for Life Facebook page, the individual who uploaded this exact post, and all of the people
who submitted pictures included in this video. The exigence of this post is to credit all
participants that submitted awesome images from their experiences in Relay for Life events. By
posting these pictures from events, it also encourages others to join Relay for Life events by
seeing how the people in the photos are enjoying themselves. It gives credit to all of those who
participated in events and shows that the Relay for Life Facebook page is interacting with some
of the participants from this event. The audience for this post is anyone on the Relay for Life
Facebook Page, the participants included in these photos, and even potential new members of
Relay for Life. The constraints of this post is that it is only located online. Again, a lot of people
may not have access to the internet to see these photos. Also it is only posted on the Relay for
Life page so many may not see this post unless they are also following the page. This post has
almost 300 likes, which means that many people enjoyed that Relay for Life shared these photos
from events throughout the year. It is very clear that this post was showing that the Relay for
Life Facebook actually acknowledges the work and effort put in by all of its participants.
Figure 4 depicts a caption with a short video which encourages others to donate and
promotes what the money donated will be used for. This post is very eye-catching, use a bright
purple and white images in the video. The rhetor for this post is Relay for Life Facebook page,
the individual who uploaded this post, and the person who put together this short video. The
exigence of this post is to encourage people to donate. It also informs the audience of exactly
what the money collected will be used for- like rides to chemo, research, and more. This inspires
the audience to donate because their money will be put to good use to help those who need it.
The audience for this post is for anyone who follows Relay for Life, anyone who comes across
the post, and anyone who wants to make a change and help others. The constraints to this post is,
again, that it is only online- especially since many people may not like the exchange of money
through the internet. This challenge is also only through a two week period, which means many
might not even see it by the time the “two week challenge” ends. This post has 513 likes, which
means that hundreds of people like what the post says and what the money donated will be used
for. There is also over 700 shares. This depicts that many people wanted to share this with others
to encourage others to donate who don’t even follow this page. Overall, Relay for Life not only
urges people to contribute, but also gives detail on what this money will be used for and how it
will help others.
Relay for Life shares posts of people’s stories all of the time. An example of this is with
Figure 5. This post is a young girl sharing some personal details about her mother who survived
cancer and how this impacted her. The rhetor of this post is the Relay for Life Facebook page
who posted this, the girl who discusses her mother’s story, and also her mother who is also
shown in the image presented. This image displays the young girl and her mother in Relay for
Life shirts at a Relay event. The exigence is to provide information on how the girl’s mother beat
cancer and how Relay for Life impacted her. It is stated that her mother benefitted from leading
fundraisers and raising awareness for cancer, which inspires others to do the same. This post also
triggers a sense of hope. Because cancer is usually always associated with negative factors, her
mother is an example of how cancer can be beat and change people’s lives for the better. The
audience for this post is everyone following the Relay for Life Facebook page, anyone who has a
family member battling cancer, and anyone who may be battling cancer themself. It is a very
positive and upbeat post that sparks hope. The constraints of this post is that is online. Also, this
is only one person’s story, when there are thousands of survival stories. This post got thousands
of likes, which means that many people love the fact that this young girl shared her mother’s
strength and story with many. This is a very inspiring post.
Through the analysis of these posts, it can be seen that many of these posts have several
things in common- like the audience and the purpose of the posts. Although some posts are to
raise money, many are to just raise awareness of cancer. Whether Relay for Life does this
through stories, facts, or even photos, all of the posts tug at the emotions of the audience and
followers. It is very clear that communication does not just take place between Relay for Life
and the followers, but also between the individual followers. Communication is crucial in
communities, and the Relay for Life Facebook page uses multiple different approaches in order
to stay in touch with the community and unite members who are located all over the country.

CONCLUSION
It is evident that Relay for Life actively interacts with their followers by targeting a
specific audience, evoking emotions through their posts, and discussing a variety of topics.
Through the analysis of multiple social media posts and comments, it is obvious that Relay
sparks conversation in many different ways and encourages the audience to interact with each
other. Relay for Life’s posts have meaning which allow the followers to become emotionally
invested and interact with others who may feel the same way. Along with Relay for Life
addressing health information and interacting with their followers with photos, they also
encourage those to join their fundraiser and events. Because of the amount of likes, shares, and
comments on the posts, it is pretty clear that all of the information that Relay for Life provides is
seen by more than just their followers. Relay for Life is more than just fundraiser, but provides a
supportive and family-like atmosphere to help many who may struggle with cancer. Relay for
Life utilizes this page to bring the entire community, which includes people far and wide,
together for a common cause. Because of this, it can be seen that many of the followers have
much in common, which makes the community like a large support system. The general mood
across the Relay for Life page is very uplifting and provides a safe and comfortable place for
those to interact with each other. Because cancer can be a touchy subject, Relay for Life
effectively uses their page to bring hope, awareness, and information to many. The work that
Relay for Life has done and the impact that it has had has been phenomenal. In regards to further
research, I would like to look into how Relay for Life utilizes their twitter page. Because twitter
generally has a different atmosphere and layout than Facebook, I would like to see how the posts
target the audience and communicate with them. Going even further, I would like to look into
other medical outreach projects. Because Relay for Life does a great job of keeping the
community together, I would want to see if other organizations interact the same way or
similarly. Cancer is a very well known concept, and Relay for Life actively interacts with the
community to raise money and raise awareness for those who need it. On top of this, it can be
seen through all of their posts that Relay for Life really cares about all of their followers and
participants. Cancer may not be cured, but Relay for Life definitely inspires hope and strength
among millions.

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American Cancer Society Relay For Life. (2019, March 1) Because Of Cancer. [Facebook Post].
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American Cancer Society Relay For Life. (2019, January 16) Cervical Cancer. [Facebook Post].
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American Cancer Society Relay For Life. (2018, September 18) Photo Contest. [Facebook Post]
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