Holding social influencers accountable: how can you trust what you read online?

We all look for health and wellness information online and influencers are at the forefront of delivering some of the most prominent lifestyle information.

Credible information has the power to influence the consumer’s decision-making process and drive positive uptake when it comes to choosing a wellness product or service to opt into.

The impact of misinformation can be unthinkable, none more so than that concerning our health and wellbeing.

The current lack of industry-specific legislation has meant that consumers and other stakeholders have been active players in holding wellness brands and ambassadors accountable.

Health bloggers and influencers are a key source of information for people seeking insights on how to live well – from recipes to meditation tips – bloggers have become the go-to.

Expressing opinions and personal stories about individual wellness journeys and experiences are perfectly valid, and bloggers writing this type of content have a legitimate right to share their stories and perspectives.

The challenge comes when personal opinion is presented as universal fact. This is often very unintentionally done – and the nuance of language plays a critical role in this distinction – as talked before here.

One way we can easily live out this principle is to ensure consumer content is backed up by credible sources and ensure that these sources are easily accessible for the public to verify for themselves. Including a reference link to studies or other trustworthy websites where people can read more information, are all ways that we can make sure our readers have the option to see the evidence behind your content.

That is where ROHWI comes into play.

The Register of Health & Wellness Influencers is the first and only independent register for the Health & Wellness Influencers worldwide, recognising the qualifications and expertise of influencers and bloggers within the wellness industry.

An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. These include, but are not limited to: social media influencers, health bloggers and health writers.

Our primary objective is to provide public protection by ensuring that health and wellness influencers, work to high standards of practice when producing consumer content.

While there is an infinite number of ways in which credible content can be curated, our training and framework to which everyone can adhere, ultimately raising existing industry standards and ensuring that the fundamental aim of all health and wellness information is achieved.

After working in healthcare regulation and communications for some years, Sarah broadened her horizons and started consulting for consumer health and wellness brands.
Coming from a regulated healthcare space where evidence-based information is king, Sarah was concerned about the quality of consumer content in wellness, and that brand partnerships were largely based on popularity and not necessarily expertise. It was here that the mission to tackle this was conceived and a year later The WellSpoken Mark was born.