COVID-19: influencers influencing the influencers

Opinion.

When the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer: Canada first launched, top key takeaways were quickly drawn. The firm’s 20th annual trust and credibility survey sampled more than 34,000 respondents across 28 markets, all meeting the following criteria: aged 25–64, college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week. Here’s what the takeaways outlined:

1. In Canada, trust inequality remains high, with a gap in trust between the informed public and the mass population. In other words, our trust in and understanding of the systems around us is heavily influenced by the level and quality of our education.
2. Trust in news and information sources has declined across all four sources: traditional media (65%), search engines (53%), owned media (37%) and, social media (26%). In this case, my “social media: are “real life” people who state that they share news of their surroundings. These are not online accounts belonging to news outlets. They are growing in their credibility and, for many, have become the primary source in the last 5+ years.
3. 80% of Canadians surveyed believe CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for government to impose it. Today, stakeholders are becoming more influential on the decision process of companies, rather than over shareholders. Therfore, it is now the public’s time to put pressure on their everyday providers of goods and services, in order to do good.

Overall, trust across the system (media, government, business and NGO) declined to 53% (from 56% in 2019). A daunting insight, but one that encourages further fact-checking of the information we all put out and re-share with one-another. Disinformation is becoming an overworked topic but, important nevertheless.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, I now took a second look at the three ultimates found in my key takeaways.

Influencer number 1: education

Our level of education influences who we trust as it plays an important role in self-confidence and comfort with the institutions around us; usually leading to people following those whom they understand. This means that those who share messages with the public must communicate clearly and in an accessible manner. For example, trust in politicians across Canada has gone down as communities have found themselves trying to understand how the system works alone, rather than relying on their elected leaders to explain it to them. This has led to suspicions of constantly feeling cheated.

Currently, the people of Canada seem to be more comfortable listening to people like Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, rather than Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Is it because the Premier is more approachable? He’s seen as part of the crowd, speaks in easy words and simple sentences. His answers to journalists aren’t as polished and he’s not afraid to say “that’s just how the system works”, instead of prancing around the main key message, while making writers want to pull their hair out.

In a time of crisis, we are very aware that it is only if the Premier and the Prime Minister cooperate, will any actionable next steps lead to success. My take-away: Technical messages need to be broken down and explained to us by the “more-like-me” figures. In time, it is the education system that will need to be revamped and become an absolute obligation, rather than a right (forget the idea of it being a privilege).

Influencer number 2: social media

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the conversation of an infodemic happening alongside since the beginning. From simplicities like tutorial videos about one being able to create their own N95 mask out of a bra, to more serious strategies like censoring information about the virus by the Chinese government in the initial stages of the virus spread, or even blunt manufacturing of disinformation by the Russian propaganda machine.

In a world of influencers and online experts, it is becoming more difficult to take politicians and those who use big terms seriously (tying in the influence of one’s education level and the ability to critically think through the information received). Of course, one would rather listen to someone who is easy to comprehend, rather than someone who is making you feel stupid. It’s much easier to accept information that takes blame away from our own communities than information that continues to somehow appear on our timelines and is repeated by the social gurus accrediting “multiple sources”.

The cycle of media influencing people, people influencing government and corporations, government and corporations influencing media and so on is a well-oiled machine. It is now more important than ever for traditional media to investigate, correct and demystify false claims found online, while replacing them with facts from credible sources. The war against disinformation must continue, but it is up to traditional media and their PR counterparts to ensure the correct information overpowers the false and continues to keep citizens safe.

Influencer number 3: big corp

5–10 years from now the question won’t be if your company was once again top-performing amongst its competitors. It’ll be — what did your company do to help save lives, educate people about the virus, support struggling communities and how did those actions actually help us all.

With companies jumping at the opportunities to become the heroes of the moment during the first few weeks, it was painful to watch so many get wrapped up in the wrong mindset. Unfortunately, for some, this global pandemic was quickly becoming an opportunity to capitalize.

As days went on, we all saw a rapid shift to manufacturers producing PPE and other necessary items. We also saw new initiatives emerge as community leaders came together to find ways to help. At the present time, others are finding creative ways to communicate the information provided by credible sources like Health Canada, etc. instead of pushing their own “keep safe” methods. Those are the names, brands and businesses that, in the coming months, will be the most trusted to lead any sort of innovation and changes.

According to the newest Trust Barometer special report: Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic “Sixty-two percent of respondents said that their country will not make it through this crisis without brands playing a critical role in addressing the challenges… At the same time, 71 per cent agree that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand forever.”

To wrap it up…

In a world where trust in brands is higher than trust in governments, it is up to those brands to utilize social channels to inform, educate and guide audiences to credible sources, while adjusting to their consumer’s education level and level of comprehension to ensure the messaging does get across and sticks.

With all that said, I’m expecting to see the public’s trust in government (specifically Canada) begin to rise, as long as the Federal and Provincial teams continue to cooperate in the same spirit as they have been. Sure, maybe the polished look of our PM is getting a little tired while Ontario’s leader is suddenly not all that annoying, but in the end — I am proud of how our elected leaders have responded to the crisis engulfing us today.