Authenticity and credibility on social media: applying marketing concepts to health communication
By Eva Jenkins
Imagine this: You are a nutrition professional trying to grow a social media following. You are passionate about helping young adults. You log onto Instagram and see an influencer who is recommended on the explore page - she has just released an ebook about how to eat ‘clean’ and lose weight in only 28 days. This ebook promotes eliminating gluten, dairy, and refined sugar from the diet. You scroll through the comments and see hundreds of young women praising the influencer and purchasing the ebook, saying they can’t wait to lose weight by following her meal plan. Many comments say that she has inspired them to change their diet completely. You dig deeper and find that the influencer has no qualifications in health or nutrition, and the ebook is not endorsed by a health professional. You start to worry about her 100,000 followers and the influence she holds over young women. You look at your own Instagram page, and are reminded that you have substantially fewer followers… you think ‘why can’t I engage the same amount of people with my evidence-based advice?’Sadly, this situation happens all too often and health misinformation is promoted across multiple online platforms, impacting the mindset of many young adults. This inspired Honours research by Eva Jenkins into credibility and authenticity on social media, and whether it differs between qualified nutrition professionals and social media influencers. Authenticity (defined as ‘being true to oneself’) and source credibility (i.e. expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness) are important factors in creating a positive personal/brand image. In particular, marketing utilises credible celebrity endorsers to promote and sell products as consumers trust their opinions [1]. Similarly, popular social media influencers are known as ‘micro-celebrities’ and often have a highly engaged audience that is invested in their life. In contrast, many nutrition professionals and health organisations struggle to engage consumers in the same way [2]. Eva’s work, led by supervisors Dr Tracy McCaffrey and Associate Professor Jasmina Ilicic, aimed to identify the known factors affecting credibility and authenticity, and then investigate whether young adults’ perceptions of social media influencers differ compared to nutrition professionals.
Process
Firstly, the team did a scoping review that found 25 research studies that assessed the factors that impact credibility and authenticity on social media [3]. Experimental studies conducted on microblogs (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) that assessed credibility or authenticity in healthy populations over 18 years old were included.
Secondly, 149 young adults were recruited from an Australian University (median age: 20). They viewed two Instagram profiles; one social media influencer and one nutrition professional, with a corresponding post from each person. The young adults were asked questions relating to their perceived authenticity, trustworthiness, and the message appeal used in the posts [4].
Firstly, the team did a scoping review that found 25 research studies that assessed the factors that impact credibility and authenticity on social media [3]. Experimental studies conducted on microblogs (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) that assessed credibility or authenticity in healthy populations over 18 years old were included.
Secondly, 149 young adults were recruited from an Australian University (median age: 20). They viewed two Instagram profiles; one social media influencer and one nutrition professional, with a corresponding post from each person. The young adults were asked questions relating to their perceived authenticity, trustworthiness, and the message appeal used in the posts [4].
Key findings
The majority of papers were from communications and psychology. The scoping review highlighted the lack of research conducted on authenticity in this area, leading us to focus on authenticity for the experimental survey. The review also identified factors on social media which affected credibility:
1. Bandwagon heuristics (i.e. number of likes/followers) had different effects on credibility in different studies. Too few or too many followers were found to reduce credibility in some cases, but findings were not consistent.
2. Expertise heuristics (i.e. the source of the post being expert) increased credibility of the social media content.
3. The language used in posts was an important factor, with positive and conversational language increasing the credibility of the content.
Results from the experimental study found that the nutrition professional was actually perceived as more authentic and trustworthy than the social media influencer, but only when a perceived heroic message appeal (conveys tones of bravery, success, and nobility) was used in the caption of the post. This emphasised the importance of language, particularly message appeal and tone of voice when communicating on social media. This result was both surprising and promising for any nutrition professionals using social media.
The majority of papers were from communications and psychology. The scoping review highlighted the lack of research conducted on authenticity in this area, leading us to focus on authenticity for the experimental survey. The review also identified factors on social media which affected credibility:
1. Bandwagon heuristics (i.e. number of likes/followers) had different effects on credibility in different studies. Too few or too many followers were found to reduce credibility in some cases, but findings were not consistent.
2. Expertise heuristics (i.e. the source of the post being expert) increased credibility of the social media content.
3. The language used in posts was an important factor, with positive and conversational language increasing the credibility of the content.
Results from the experimental study found that the nutrition professional was actually perceived as more authentic and trustworthy than the social media influencer, but only when a perceived heroic message appeal (conveys tones of bravery, success, and nobility) was used in the caption of the post. This emphasised the importance of language, particularly message appeal and tone of voice when communicating on social media. This result was both surprising and promising for any nutrition professionals using social media.
Practical application
Too often, nutritional professionals (as trained scientists) focus on the data and statistics when communicating to large audiences such as those on social media. It is easy to forget that the audience wants to view relatable content that is simple to understand and advice that they can easily implement into their own lives.
From this research, we have developed some actionable recommendations for nutrition professionals using social media:
More information:
This research is part of the Communicating Health study - a multidisciplinary NHMRC funded project that aims to improve health communication with young adults. For more information: https://communicatinghealth.net.au/ or join us for our Lunchbox seminar on Monday 19th October 2020 at 12-12:45pm (AEDT). Register for free at: https://sites.google.com/monash.edu/phn-seminar-series/home/commhealth
Find us on Twitter
@Eva_Jenkins_
@DrTMcCaffrey
@AnnikaMolenaar
Publication Information:
References:
Image: Sourced from Unsplash. Available from: https://unsplash.com/photos/tLZhFRLj6nY
Too often, nutritional professionals (as trained scientists) focus on the data and statistics when communicating to large audiences such as those on social media. It is easy to forget that the audience wants to view relatable content that is simple to understand and advice that they can easily implement into their own lives.
From this research, we have developed some actionable recommendations for nutrition professionals using social media:
- Make your credentials clear on your profile so that people know you are an expert in your field.
- Understand why you want to use social media (not just because of FOMO), who your target audience are and ensure you have a presence where they prefer to view content e.g. young adults prefer Instagram and YouTube.
- Consider which message appeals work for your audience (e.g. a heroic message appeal increased the authenticity and trustworthiness of the nutrition professional in our research).
- Consider how to share your authentic self to connect with your audience to create relatable content.
More information:
This research is part of the Communicating Health study - a multidisciplinary NHMRC funded project that aims to improve health communication with young adults. For more information: https://communicatinghealth.net.au/ or join us for our Lunchbox seminar on Monday 19th October 2020 at 12-12:45pm (AEDT). Register for free at: https://sites.google.com/monash.edu/phn-seminar-series/home/commhealth
Find us on Twitter
@Eva_Jenkins_
@DrTMcCaffrey
@AnnikaMolenaar
Publication Information:
- Jenkins E, Ilicic J, Barklamb A, McCaffrey T. A. Assessing the Credibility and Authenticity of Social Media Content for Applications in Health Communication: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020;22(7):e17296. Access here: https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e17296/
- Jenkins E, Ilicic J, Molenaar A, Chin S, McCaffrey T. A. Strategies to Improve Health Communication: Can Health Professionals Be Heroes?. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1861. Access here: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1861
References:
- Ghani, S.A.U. Impact of Celebrity Credibility on Advertising Effectiveness. Pak. J. Commer. Soc. Sci. 2013, 7, 107–127.
- Klassen, K.M.; Borleis, E.S.; Brennan, L.; Reid, M.; McCaffrey, T.A.; Lim, M.S.C. What People “Like”: Analysis of Social Media Strategies Used by Food Industry Brands, Lifestyle Brands, and Health Promotion Organizations on Facebook and Instagram. J. Med. Internet Res. 2018, 20, e10227
- Jenkins E, Ilicic J, Barklamb A, McCaffrey T. A. Assessing the Credibility and Authenticity of Social Media Content for Applications in Health Communication: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020;22(7):e17296. Access here: https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e17296/
- Jenkins E, Ilicic J, Molenaar A, Chin S, McCaffrey T. A. Strategies to Improve Health Communication: Can Health Professionals Be Heroes?. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1861. Access here: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1861
Image: Sourced from Unsplash. Available from: https://unsplash.com/photos/tLZhFRLj6nY
