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Recently, one of the most influential people in the world, Kim Kardashian West, went on vacation with a large part of her family. In social media posts, she wrote that they had all undergone extensive corona tests and been quarantined before leaving, but that didn’t stop the internet from completely exploding with criticism of Kim Kardashian West and her family. Even in Sweden, the behavior of influencers during the pandemic has been the subject of debate.
At the same time, there are several people with large followers on social networks who have used their channels to report on the spread of the coronavirus. Among those who have been involved are Therese Lindgren, one of Sweden’s biggest YouTubers, who has returned to the pandemic several times and Angelica Blick, with more than a million followers on Instagram, has interviewed the Minister of Social Security Ardalan Shekarabi (S).
As the spread of the infection has increased and more and more people have been affected, more content on social media has once again begun to revolve around the pandemic. Host and influencer Hanna Persson since spring has regularly commented on the development on her social channels. On Friday he broadcast live on Instagram with doctor Fredrik Sund, manager of infectious disease operations at Uppsala University Hospital, who had to answer questions from his followers.
Photo: Hanna Persson / Instagram
– If you have the opportunity to influence, I think you should take that opportunity, says Hanna Persson and continues:
– I myself think a lot about covid, I have a mother who is in a risk group and this year it has worried me a lot. I feel like the information is sometimes missing, it exists, but it can be difficult to find it yourself. I, like many others, spend a lot of time on Instagram and there you can spread knowledge.
Hanna Persson says that she He received an incredible response from his followers who submitted between two and three thousand questions before the broadcast. Many of the topics touched on the same topics, such as mouth protection, antibodies, the safety of PCR testers, and the risk of reinfection.
– But there were also many questions like “can I …”, for example “can I go to the gym” or “can I have dinner?”, Says Hanna Persson.
During the pandemic, you have seen on social media how people have broken restrictions and apparently uncritically shared them when partying, for example.
– Regardless of whether you have a lot of followers or not, send signals. And then maybe even more important if you have a large following to set a good example, says Hanna Persson.
At the same time, she thinks so It is twofold, that many influencers are young girls who have very high demands to be role models in different situations.
– I am also bad at things, but I have annoyed them a lot with many followers who send signals that it is okay to break the recommendations.
Pia Olave, communications director at Uppsala University Hospital, says they reached out to Hanna Persson because she commented on the importance of following existing guidelines.
– She can be described a bit as a covidam ambassador. Its followers are young and it is a target group that can be more difficult to reach with traditional media channels and formats, says Pia Olave.
The academic hospital also works actively themselves to spread information on their own social media channels. On Instagram and Facebook, they have a total of almost 40,000 followers.
– We have been active on Instagram for many years, to generate interest in what it is like to work in health and in a university hospital. As a complementary image to what is often read in the media about hospitals and care, says Pia Olave.
How has your communication on social media changed during the pandemic?
– We have used social networks as part of crisis communication. We have also seen that when we publish, it gets widely spread, there is a need among staff and residents for us to provide them with messages that can be shared and that we as a hospital are behind this information.
Pia Olave especially lifts a post that gained incredible reach during the peak of the infection’s spread in the spring. In connection with the Walpurgis weekend, which is celebrated by many in the student town of Uppsala, they called for a “castle quarantine” instead.
– That post reached half a million, says Pia Olave and continues:
– During the pandemic, we have gained many more followers and people who are interested in a different way.
He believes that Instagram and other social networks are crucial to reaching more people in today’s differentiated media landscape.
– Newspapers and television are very important channels for us, but we also know that we have a large target group that collects most of the information through social networks. There are platforms and senders that do not operate under the same rules of press ethics, and there is a greater risk of misinformation being spread and shared. Therefore, we believe that we should also contribute to more fact-based information on those channels.
Pia Olave believes that it is too early to draw definitive conclusions about the effects of investments in social networks.
– But with the great response we have received, we are sure that many have received the messages from the hospital experts.
Also Jonas Colliander, Researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics say it is too early to see what role social media has played in spreading information about the pandemic. At the same time, research shows that many people use social media as their main source of information, which also makes it an important platform for social information.
– It is an effective channel, because people create a close relationship with many influencers. He is more inclined to absorb information from those with whom he has a close relationship, which gives him a potentially greater impact, says Jonas Colliander.
He also says That, as in all other communications, it’s about using the right channels for the target group you want to reach. So Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok are particularly suitable for reaching the younger audience.
– So it is difficult to say what effects it produces. Business marketing is much easier to measure, you can see how many people bought a product and so on.
With the pandemic, Jonas Colliander has also seen a change in the vision of influencers. From being a group that is not taken seriously, they are considered active in spreading knowledge about the pandemic.
– It’s an interesting extension of the problems influencers associate with, he says.
Hanna Persson shares in part that image, but at the same time he says that he often experiences criticism that influencers are just errant advertising pillars.
– What a man he is up to a point. I can understand that criticism, but I have also seen a change. Perhaps especially in those who hear from them, for example, that Akademiska now heard from them, he says.
At the same time, he believes that it is extremely important not to pretend to be an expert on a topic, but it is important to lean on who they really are. As in the live broadcast with Dr. Fredrik Sund, where it was he who answered the questions.
– It is important to have facts in these times of fake news and let the people with knowledge have their opinion, he says.
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