Role of Social Media Influencers in Spreding awareness about COVID-19

While talking about social media influencers one should know what actually they are.A Social Media Influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. He/she has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.A social media influencer is the mainstream, influential person in social media networks, who promote products and services of a brand. You can also define social media influencer as a person who works in a certain industry and collaborate with followers in it. It is also an individual who is able to impact the individual’s purchases because of his authority or relationship with target customers. He can have his own blog with a reliable audience or a social media account, providing specific content interesting for his subscribers.

Coming to the COVID-19 thing :

A Dubai based social media influencer (1M Instagram followers) Zeyneb-El-Helw also known as Fashion Pirate said to her followers by posting a story on instagram:

“It’s time for us to utilize our platforms to voice concerns, spread awareness, share lighthearted humor, engage with our viewers and create content to lift people’s spirits.”

She was urging fellow influencers to use thier popularity among thier fans to spread positivity during these hard times of COVID-19.

 

I have collected some information about some Social media influencers who were trying to do thier best during the pandemic.

Jeffree Star : She is an American Youtuber having 18M subscribers.

She posted on her twitter :

Kylie Jenner : 

Jenner used her enormous Instagram following of 167 million to post Instagram stories after the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams reached out to Jenner to get the message across to her fans.

“I know I’ve already been doing my daily reminders about how important it is right now to practice social distancing and self-quarantine. I’m going on my ninth day. The coronavirus is a real thing. I listened to the Surgeon General this morning…he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys,” Jenner said. Sharing her message is important, as it can help her followers be more aware and understanding of the issue, plus, as an influencer, she already has people who trust her and what she has to say.

With a social following in the 100 millions, these are the influencers who can change the way people see COVID-19. It can make the biggest impact just from one tweet or one Instagram share.

 Finland Influencers

Finland recently enlisted influencers to inform people about the coronavirus pandemic, saying that they are just as useful as mainstream media. This helps spread the word to those who are not in front of traditional media.

Stephen Mewad

YouTuber Stephen Mewad, whose videos receive over 200k views daily , announced that he is donating his profits to COVID-19 victims. Through his website where he sells grooming products, 100% of the sales will go to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

How other INFLUENCERS can help?

If an influencer is looking to bring a change through his channel or page during the pandemic , here are some suggestions :

1: Send out supplies to followers who need it, or send a message asking others to share their items.
2 : Inspire followers with fun and fulfilling activities to do while they are stuck inside.
3 : Hold a community item drop-off, where people within your community can drop off food and supplies to those out of a job.
4 : Build a neighborhood group on Facebook to discuss COVID-19 topics, build awareness, and help keep your neighborhood safe during this crisis.

Influencers, big or small, can help out in so many ways. It doesn’t matter if you have 1,000 followers or 10 million followers, everyone’s message is important during these times. If you can help out just one person from social messaging, you have been successful in using your following to do good.

How Pakistan Government used social media influencers during these times:

PM Imran Khan summoned some of the social media influencers with good number of followers and asked them to spread awareness on the COVID-19.

This really was a good strategic move because there were some tiktokers , and at the time they had a great influence on the people.

Athough many people were against this step but as we have witnesses in many memes on social media " MODERN PROBLEMS REQUIRE MODERN SOLUTIONS."