As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage communities across the nation, a group of social media influencers has decided to take action.
Within The Plug, XOMAD’s innovation community of more than 24,000 trusted social media influencers, XOMAD has created the National Opioid Crisis Response Coalition, a first-of-its-kind online community of hundreds of influencers — many of whom have been impacted by the opioid misuse, with one objective: save the lives of people trapped in the opioid epidemic gripping the United States.
“After working with state and local governments during the pandemic to increase adoption of mask wearing and vaccinations, we now have case study after case study proving that nano- and micro-influencers, many of whom are local, trusted social messengers, can create behavior change and drive action at the community level,” said Rob Perry, the CEO and founder of XOMAD. “We now work with government agencies, non-profits and NGOs nationwide to fight the opioid epidemic, another national crisis that is stealing the lives of so many people. The National Opioid Crisis Response Coalition allows organizations to rapidly deploy trusted, authentic voices on social media to further fight this crisis.”
XOMAD will deploy members of the National Opioid Crisis Response Coalition to support initiatives taking place during National Substance Use Prevention Month in October. The creators will distribute messaging in coordination with Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA), which addresses prescription and illicit opioid-related use and overdoses through awareness communication programs that focus on prevention.
“We know that social media must be part of the solution to foster conversations about drug abuse,” said Mary Bono, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors of MAPDA and a former United States Congresswoman. “Leveraging the voices and platforms of social media influencers that can speak authentically about the dangers of opioids and fentanyl creates the kind of open, honest, and direct conversation that can lead to real behavior change.”
“Our nation sits at a moment of crisis in the fight against opioids and fentanyl,” said Jim Carroll, former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), currently a partner at Frost Brown Todd and Principal for CivicPoint, FBT’s public affairs subsidiary. “Combating the scourge of opioids and fentanyl flooding the streets will require innovative solutions, like deploying armies of trustworthy, local social media influencers. Not only can these influencers reach the Americans most vulnerable and at risk of opioid misuse and fentanyl abuse, but they can make their voices heard by the federal, state, local, and tribal agencies responsible for stopping the flow of these drugs, and make it clear that more work is needed.”
Opioid misuse, particularly among adolescents, continues to be a pressing public health threat in the United States, in particular due to the growing availability of lethal drugs, teen social norms shifting to be more favorable of recreational use, growing perceptions of the relative safety of some substances, and even seemingly ‘safe’ drugs being laced with lethal doses of fentanyl.
According to a study from the Journal of Medical Internet Research, social media networks are major drivers of public perceptions of substance use. The study found programs that train adolescent youth ambassadors to develop and disseminate prevention messages within their own social media networks are effective, persuasive, and scalable, and implored health officials to investigate and deploy similar programs.
Nearly all influencers in the National Opioid Crisis Response Coalition are nano-influencers (follower count between 1,000 and 10,000) and micro-influencers (follower count between 10,000 and 100,000), whose followers are typically highly localized to their geography or more focused on an area of interest. Research has found that most people find nano-influencers and micro-influencers authentic and trustworthy, and nano- and micro-influencers typically create deeper, longer-lasting and more engaging relationships with their followers. As a result, these influencers are uniquely positioned to provide insights, advice, and serve as community leaders in the fight against opioid misuse.
By forming this national community of trusted local voices, the influencers and XOMAD have given public health agencies, non-profit organizations, NGOs and brands the capability to address opioid addiction in their community, . Influencers provide unique perspectives, messaging recommendations and, ultimately, access to an audience that is highly targeted and deeply engaged on social media.
Specifically, the Coalition aims to consult with city, county and state governments, non-profit organizations, and NGOs on raising awareness for resources related to opioid misuse disorders and recovery, for those seeking to overcome addiction, and for friends and family of users who want to help. They can distribute timely PSAs to their local communities about new resources or heightened threats. Their content helps shift attitudes about recreational drug use, casting it as unattractive and unglamorous, similar to how robust content campaigns previously shifted attitudes about drunk driving.
Most influencers in the community are also advocates and allies in the fight to end opioid misuse. As is unfortunately expected, a number of influencers in the Coalition have been personally impacted by opioids.
Kasey Klein, a mental health counselor in western Michigan who creates content about trauma awareness and mental health (as @healingwithkasey on all platforms but Twitter, where they are @healwithkasey), is one of many creators whose lives have been deeply shaped by opioid addiction. Klein lost their aunt to opiate addiction when they were a child, and distanced themselves from opioids until meeting their future husband, who battled his own opioid addiction. Klein supported him through withdrawals, rehabilitation, recovery, and his 4 years free of opioids (and counting!).
Klein now creates content to reach and help those currently struggling with opioid addiction.
“As a counselor, I now know that roughly 80% of addicts have experienced childhood trauma and nearly 66% of addicts have been sexually assaulted,” said Klein. “Through my experiences, I have grown more compassionate towards those who struggle with addiction. I now ask myself what users are numbing from, and what happened to them that made them use for the first time. Healing can’t happen without compassion towards others and the self.”
During the pandemic, XOMAD worked with city, county and state government agencies such as the States of New Jersey, California, South Carolina, and Louisiana, the City of San Jose, and Guilford County, North Carolina, on pandemic safety programs that ranged from increasing mask-wearing, promoting downloads of contact tracing mobile apps, and driving increases in vaccinations within the hardest-to-reach populations.
Government agencies, non-profits, NGOs and brands who want to learn more about working with XOMAD and the National Opioid Crisis Response Influencer Coalition can contact XOMAD here. Influencers interested in joining the Coalition can sign up on The Plug and join the Coalition here.