The right way to influence: Are SG govt bodies effectively working with influencers?

With social media’s integration in our lives, the government bodies have no doubt been banking on the platform to reach out to netizens – no matter the gravity of the situation. Just recently, SCDF, deemed rather experimental in nature, was seen jumping on a TikTok trend to create a video to shed light on its servicemen working behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Singapore Police Force took to Facebook to spread awareness about popular Korean boy band BTS’ tour tickets scams circulating online by wittily sliding in titles of some of BTS’ hit songs into its Facebook post.Clearly, banking on the trend of social has helped break the barrier between government bodies and the everyday citizen. Nonetheless, given the colloquial nature of social media, finding the right tone and maintaining professionalism for government bodies communicating on the platform are paramount. Deemed too casual, the weight of the message sent across gets diluted, yet the use of technical jargon might result in alienation of audiences as well.As such, in October 2017, home affairs minister K. Shanmugam had publicly expressed the need for the involvement of social media influencers in the campaign against terrorism. A few months later, Singapore saw possibly the largest activation of influencers by the government when the Ministry of Finance partnered with more than 50 social media influencers and influencer marketing platform StarNgage to promote the upcoming Budget on Instagram.While the campaign was met with mixed response, it did open up the door to more government officials feeling comfortable in working with influencers.Are engaging with influencers worth the risk?Speaking to Marketing, managing director of Asia PR Werkz Cho Pei Lin said that today the use of influencers with appropriate content such as videos and infographics can be very useful when it comes to simplifying a new law or explaining a policy. Cho, who works with clients such as Central Narcotics Bureau, Ministry of Defence, and Republic of Singapore Air Force, added that government organisations and politicians are exposed to more risk than the man on the street.It is a lot harder when the spotlight is on organisations or politicians.“It is much easier to be seen as trivialising an issue. That is when we will caution the approach,” she explained, “Nonetheless, it is not impossible, as we have seen some great results when some social media influencers interact with formal organisations or politicians. But it is not always successful too.”Adding on to the matter, Tate Anzur director Yvonne Li said the move towards influencer-led campaigns by the government is a good effort in its part to be “where the people are” and engage with them effectively. While there may be some room for improvement at the start, she said that the outreach will get better in time if government organisations constantly learn from the feedback and other campaigns.The key to getting messages across effectively, according to her, lies in the audience and being authentic.Before embarking on influencers, Li advised government organisations to dive deep into the psychology of the audience they are looking to engage. This includes the way they are consuming their news, the type of content that appeals to them, and how they respond to the information presented to them. Additionally, government bodies should also stay true to their values. Li, who works with clients such as National Heritage Board added,Do not be someone you are not. Being authentic and genuine is key to building trust with our audience and without this, any communication effort, regardless of the budget, will fail.Selecting credible influencersWith that said, staying on-message and keeping the conversation on where it should be remain the main concern. To do so, Manulife’s VP and head of branding, communications and sponsorships Cheryl Lim said maintaining credibility should be the top priority – whether you are a public or private institution.In the case of deploying influencers, the choice of influencers needs to be complementary to and well-aligned with the government organisation’s image. She explained,It’s not enough to base your judgement simply on the number of fans, or whatever the ‘new-and-hot flavour-of-the-week’ type of influencers is.Therefore, Lim said a lot of research into the influencers’ online and offline personas, as well as engagement styles, has to be done. Commenting on the recent trend towards “micro” influencers, she said that despite having a smaller reach, they can be more credible.In February 2018, the Ministry for the Environment and Water Resources made use of micro-influencers to raise awareness on climate change and what people can do to help mitigate some of its effects. The #ClimateActionSG campaign on Instagram saw hundreds participating.“A macro influencer has the mass reach, but may not be as credible as their fans know they’re being paid. Micro influencers, on the other hand, are more targeted and seen as more authentic and real, as people are able to relate to them being ‘one of us’,” explained Lim. However, depending on the nature of the campaign and budget, a combination of macro and micro influencers can be used.On marketing investment, Lim advised budget and resource allocation to be made around the creation of strong content. While influencer spending can help to amplify the reach, it is futile if content creation and insights are weak. In March, Manulife ran a “Mrs Fortune Teller” social campaign that involved influencers Maxi Lim, Noah Yap and Chua Enlai.