Impact of Partnering with Influencers and Future Public Health Messaging

Background: Health communicators are tasked with both distilling complex public health messages into clear and actionable plain language and using communication methods that reach the intended audience. However, some public health topics are particularly complex and public health social media handles are often followed by public health practitioners and other service providers, so reaching and relating to intended audiences can be difficult.

Program background: In 2018, CDC and AAP re-imagined how traditional public health messaging about adverse childhood experiences might be complemented by partnering with social media influencers who could act as trusted messengers to speak directly to parents within their communities.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Through both process evaluation and outcome evaluation, the team iterated on the campaign design during the years of the project and learned valuable lessons that can be applied to other social media campaigns. During this presentation, Ms. Hurley will share evidence of the effectiveness and impact of the social media influencer mini-activations and strategies to sustain this work after the end of the project.

Conclusions: Through the work, AAP and CDC discovered that with proper training and through rich personal storytelling, social influencers can engage their audiences in a more personal and relatable way, making complex public health messages more accessible, understandable, and actionable.

Implications for research and/or practice: The outcomes of this project increase knowledge about how social media influencers might serve as trusted messengers when disseminating complex public health messages. As a result of this work, there will be increased understanding of how public health practitioners and their strategic partners can build powerful communications to advance public health prevention through personal stories.