Now Trending: Activating Influencers for the Greater Good

It’s amazing how much power influencers have come to wield within society – especially on social media platforms where brands are constantly seeking new and more relevant ways to reach their audiences. What’s also fascinating is that anyone can be an influencer. You don’t have to be a celebrity, a sports icon or a rockstar, you just have to be relatable and amass a following of people who want to hear what you have to say. 

The commercialization of influencers often amounts to hawking material goods through highly targeted marketing campaigns, but I’m really excited about something else that’s trending: influencers using their power for good. In fact, leveraging the reach of influencers has turned out to be a vital strategy for raising public health awareness during the pandemic: encouraging people to wear masks, practice physical distancing and get vaccinated.

I’m notoriously oblivious to pop culture – I generally don’t follow celebrity platforms or the news feeds that cover them. In fact, if you ask me which influencers I follow I’d probably say Dr. Fauci, Sanjay Gupta and Linsey Marr.  But I do understand the power of celebrity and their ability to shape behavior, shift practices and drive consumption.

Influencers in the truest sense of the word come from all walks of life. Not all are fresh-faced Instagrammers or Tik Tokkers paid to endorse the latest athletic wear or beauty regimen. Influencers are also pastors in church, teachers in the classroom, and coaches on the field – anyone that others might look to for inspiration. 

What our leaders, role models and celebrities do and say matters tremendously because these are the people from whom we take our cues. That’s why the Biden administration has started to engage with faith leaders to increase equitable access to vaccines. Perhaps, if we had targeted these kinds of influencers from the start of the pandemic, we could have saved more lives, especially in marginalized communities where COVID-19 has taken a devastating toll.

The influencer-driven approach is rapidly gaining ground. At the end of last year, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) announced it was planning to use “known and loved” celebrities like Elton John to promote the mass vaccination program. 

Here in the US, beloved public figures have also been leveraging their popularity for the same cause. Dolly Parton – who contributed financially to the development of the Moderna vaccine – released a video that showed her receiving “a dose of her own medicine”, while an impressive roll call of former presidents and first ladies recently flexed their influence in the latest COVID-19 vaccination ad campaign.

Deploying authentic influencers as advocates for good should be top of mind when planning future responses to disasters and other public health crises. Targeting people of influence in all parts of our society and asking them to step up as role models offers a useful strategy for fortifying resilience and strengthening response.

Authenticity is key. When we were looking to engage influencers for IWBI’s WELL Health Safety Seal consumer awareness campaign, we were committed to onboard ambassadors who aligned with our mission and values: those who had long advocated for responsible practices related to the pandemic and those who already had credibility on topics related to health, well-being and equity.  Jennifer Lopez, for instance, is well known for her commitment to fitness, while Lady Gaga is an outspoken advocate for equity, particularly around LGBTQ rights. 

A critical component of accelerating market transformation is ramping up public awareness and stimulating consumer demand. Part of the challenge of promoting the values of health, well-being and sustainability is that we often find ourselves speaking inside an echo chamber. By raising the volume and amplifying our message, we can reach millions more. 

And it’s working. Businesses of every size have already found their way to us through this campaign. One owner and operator of a senior living facility contacted us as soon as he learned that Yankee Stadium had implemented the WELL Health-Safety Rating, saying: “If it’s good enough for the Yankees, it’s good enough for me!”. 

We work on the principle that a rising tide lifts all boats. Our consumer campaign was designed to elevate the public’s awareness of why our spaces matter and how they can be deployed as frontline caregivers in the battle against COVID-19, the seasonal flu and the common cold.

We need to capitalize on this moment when, more than any time in our living memories, we are collectively aware of the profound impact that the space around us can have on our health, well-being and safety. When we can so clearly see that the buildings we occupy can either protect us or leave us exposed. It’s an opportunity not to be squandered. 

Rachel Hodgdon is President and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a public benefit corporation and the world’s leading organization focused on deploying people first places to advance a global culture of health.