Influencer Survey 2022: 1 Out of 5 Users Trusts Influencers More Than Their Health Specialists

Google is still #1

People claim that Google and specialists are the easiest sources to find information about their health.

36.4% of people prefer to use Google, while 32.4% prefer specialists.

But social media is the main source for almost half (47.6%)

In contrast, the main source of health information in practice remains social media (47.6%), followed by specialists and online media (magazines, forums, etc.).

Inspiration and information are users’ main interests

In health, the type of content users follow influencers for is a combination of inspiration and ideas (27.12%) and information (25.47%).

What makes people trust an influencer?

Across markets, credibility reins as the single most decisive factor when choosing influencers in health.

In this industry, the number of followers is more important than content.

Half of users research influencers’ backgrounds

Exactly 50% of people following health influencers say they research the background information of influencers, as well as the information they provide.

71% have bought products from influencers

Almost 4 out of 5 people following health influencers said they have bought a product promoted by them.

Almost half of people report a positive experience from health influencers

The majority of people report a positive result (42%) from following health influencers, whether by fully adopting a lifestyle or buying promoted products.

Reasons to stop following a health influencer

There are several reasons why someone decides to stop following an influencer that he or she once looked up to. But according to our research, these are three main reasons, prevalent across the countries we surveyed.

Honesty, still the best policy

Trustworthiness, personalized service, and transparency in health are the three main factors that stop users from choosing an influencer over a specialist.

Half of users would not trust health influencers for health symptoms

Issues related to information about health conditions or symptoms (47.68%) and which products to use (31.89%) are examples of things that people wouldn’t trust a health influencer with, despite saying earlier that the main reason they followed these influencers was for inspiration and information.

Most users find health specialists expensive and hard to reach

Cost (51.8%) and ease of access, or the difficulty to get an appointment (25.75%), stand as the two main blockers that users face when deciding to contact their health specialist.

People trust specialists more

When asked who they would trust more, the majority of users threw influencers under the bus: only 1 out of 5 people would trust them before specialists.