Influencing Health: A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Online Influencers

The U.S., and countries around the globe, are facing an ever-evolving series of health issues, including obesity, food deserts, child hunger, poor maternal health outcomes, and the resurgence of communicable diseases. Traditionally, health communicators and marketers have talked about these issues in a vacuum, in which related information is only visible when people are specifically seeking it out.

If we are to give global health the attention it deserves, we need to weave it into our everyday conversations and experiences. Ultimately, we need to normalize the conversation around health.

The emergence of everyday online opinion leaders has created a whole new market for shifting consumer perceptions and behaviors. In fact, many of these everyday online opinion leaders, called influencers, have built such large-scale social media presences that they now have the voice, the platform, and the following to reach millions of people with personal points of view on any number of topics. There are great opportunities for engaging with online influencers to support health promotion programs.

However, navigating this online community is new to many people. Understanding how this online community works, the opportunities for paid and unpaid engagements, and the value that health programs specifically have with this community, is paramount to successfully working with influencers.

This book draws from research with over 400 online influencers, the latest industry data, and practical, real-world experiences working with influencers over the past ten years. An easy-to-read guidebook for marketers and health communicators alike, this book leverages storytelling as a means for sharing lessons-learned and providing readers with practical knowledge about the online marketing industry and influencer community, as they relate to health.

Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia is an award-winning digital health communicator and researcher with more than fifteen years of experience creating innovative and impactful digital interventions for public health initiatives. Currently, she runs the Digital Strategy and Outreach Program Area at NORC at the University of Chicago. She has led numerous influencer-focused efforts on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).