As a police sergeant in a rural town, Carlos Cornejo isn’t the prototypical social media influencer. But his Spanish-language Facebook page with 650,000 followers was exactly what Colorado leaders were looking for as they recruited residents to try to persuade the most vaccine-hesitant.
Cornejo, 32, is one of dozens of influencers, ranging from busy moms and fashion bloggers to African refugee advocates and religious leaders, getting paid by the state to post vaccine information in hopes of stunting a troubling summer surge of Covid-19.
Colorado’s #PowertheComeback campaign is especially tailored to Latino, Black, Native American, Asian and other communities of color that historically have been underserved when it comes to healthcare and are the focus of agencies across the country trying to raise vaccination rates.
The state pays citizen influencers up to $1,000 a month for their work on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and other platforms, posting about their own vaccine experiences, giving out information and dispelling myths.
The campaign is part of a growing state- and city-based effort to enlist local social media influencers to reach people in areas where vaccination rates are low despite the spread of the Delta variant.
Health authorities in Chicago, Oklahoma City, San Jose, California, New Jersey and elsewhere are running similar campaigns.
Cornejo’s Facebook page has become a widely trusted source of information about what the police do – and cannot do – for Latinos in the Colorado River Valley.
“It started last year when I saw misinformation that directly affected our department, rumors like police were arresting people without a mask,” said Cornejo, a 10-year veteran with the Rifle Police Department.
“Or that people get magnetized when they’re vaccinated. Sometimes people are just plain scared. I give them fact-based information, nothing political about it, so they can make an informed decision.”
The country last week reached a vaccination milestone: 70% of adults have received at least one dose.
Some public health experts doubt that these social media will be effective in persuading the remaining holdouts to get the vaccine. “I’m highly skeptical you can get enough appeal to the remaining 30% of adults who after all this time have not gotten the vaccine – it’s a lot to ask of an influencer,” said Jeff Niederdeppe, director of Cornell University’s Health Communication Research Initiative and co-director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity.
More likely to tip the scales is an increase in private companies and organizations requiring vaccinations of employees and patrons, he said.
Nevertheless, there’s some evidence that social media posts can make a difference.
Abena Antwiwaa, a 29-year-old fashion blogger in Aurora, wrote on Instagram about her nerve-wracking decision to get vaccinated . Born with sickle cell anemia, Antwiwaa needs monthly blood transfusions. She worried about her low immunity and potential side effects.
“I was so nervous about getting vaccinated, and I shared that experience,” said Antwiwaa, who suffered nothing more than a temporarily sore arm. “It resonated with a lot of people.”
A vaccine skeptic who exchanged messages with Antwiwaa about safety concerns was finally persuaded to get the shot.
This is what marketing firms like Denver-based Idea Marketing, California-based Xomad and Chicago-based Res Publica Group want to see. They have been hired by health agencies to identify local influencers and coordinate messaging.
Rob Perry, Xomad’s CEO and founder, said: “Even in Silicon Valley they needed help reaching the immigrant, Black, Latino and Vietnamese communities.”
“No one’s bashing anti-vaxxers over the head. The last thing these trusted messengers want to do is polarize their followers. It’s their followers’ choice.”
Health officials say that “nano” and “micro” influencers, people with fewer than 10,000 and 100,000 followers, respectively, are well positioned to reach Generation Z and Millennials, who get their news from social media.
The Oklahoma City county health department debuted the approach in late 2020.
One Oklahoma influencer is Pandora Marie, a 40-year-old street dancer and artist of Chicana, Chickasaw and Choctaw descent who has built a 30,000-strong Instagram following. She infuses her messaging with references to Native American culture and dance.
Officials can see residents’ interactions with posts, which helps them assess the effectiveness of their spending, something they can’t do when they buybillboard adverts on the highway.
In Chicago, Cook county health has worked with influencers such as McKinley Nelson, a young activist who uses basketball and entertainment to protect inner city youth from street violence.
Chicago’s #MyShot campaign encourages 18-to 34-year-olds in Black and Latinx communities to seek accurate vaccine information.
Soon to be called Life is Better Vaxxed, the campaign is just one element in the city’s public health strategy.
“I don’t want to say this alone will work,” spokesperson Caryn Stancik said. “But people are coming to hundreds of pop-up local clinics based on digital word of mouth, so the information is resonating.”
Back in Rifle, Sgt Cornejo built his Facebook following – many more than the town’s roughly 9,700 residents – with videos largely centering on police work, and occasionally strumming his guitar and singing.
“I got Covid last year and shared that experience,” Cornejo said. “Is the vaccine going to protect you 100% of the time? No. But I compare it to wearing a seat belt – it doesn’t ensure nothing bad will happen, but your chances of saving your life are a lot higher.”
