Research pick: Persuasive communication in a pandemic - "The impact of new media technologies on persuasive communication in the time of global crisis"

Effective communication played a pivotal role in guiding public behaviour and health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic and will do so again during any future global health crisis. A paper in the International Journal of Technology Management has explored the significance of strategies driven by technological understanding in persuading individuals to adopt new behaviour and adhere to health guidelines. The work could offer insights that might allow us to shape a more effective global response to a future pandemic.

The phrase “the new normal” became common parlance in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. New norms and practices were urgently required to help us reduce the risk of contracting the virus and passing it on to others. Different countries took different approaches, some with more success than others, the virus continued to spread and mutate into novel variants. How bad the health costs might have been if the new normal in different regions had been managed differently is open to debate. Indeed, the new normal seems a thing of the past despite the ongoing presence of the virus in society.

Talayeh Ghofrani of the Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta, Cyprus emphasizes the importance of persuasive messaging. She has focused on the intersection of technology and communication strategies in light of the rapid advancement and development of digital platforms and the increasing and more widespread social media use as the coronavirus spread across the globe.

The work identifies four important factors associated with successful and persuasive communication: the targeted audience, presentation model, message content and context, and the type of technologies employed. Ultimately, whether the message was received and understood by individuals at critical times depended on the complex relationship between these different factors. The subtleties perhaps explain why messages were often misinterpreted or even deliberately obfuscated when a political agenda stood in the way of healthcare in many places.

Ghofrani’s work suggests that digital platforms are a powerful tool for tailoring persuasive messages during times of crisis to allow us to mobilize the public response appropriately. An improved strategy given a sensible and non-corrupt government response would ultimately improve the ability of health organizations to engage more effectively with diverse populations and promote adherence to recommended health measures. It might even be able to defeat the misinformation, the spread of rumours, and so-called “fake news” all of which worsened the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and could do so again in a future crisis.

Ghofrani, T. (2024) ‘The impact of new media technologies on persuasive communication in the time of global crisis‘, Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 94, Nos. 3/4, pp.419-435.