How to Use Influencer Partnerships to Promote Online Safety

Research shows teens gravitate toward YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, with 95% of teens (between the ages of 13 and 17) ranking YouTube as their favorite, according to Pew Research Center. With prevalent social media use, exposure to mentally harmful content is a genuine concern. In September, YouTube and TikTok introduced new safety measures and content restrictions to help prevent and mitigate some of the issues. Influencer partnerships to promote online safety initiatives can help educate teens and their parents about some of the most significant issues impacting teens’ mental health. From eating disorders and depression to cyberbullying and poor sleep quality, raising awareness and providing support through influencer campaigns can make a significant impact in addressing these issues, fostering conversations, and promoting healthier habits and mental well-being among social media users.

Understanding the new safety measures

The following safety measures have been added to YouTube and TikTok, the two platforms most widely used by teens.

YouTube’s changes

On Sept. 5, 2024, YouTube announced expanded initiatives to support teen well-being, including two significant safeguards:

Limiting recommendations of content for teens that compare physical features, idealizes certain body types, or displays social aggression, aiming to reduce the harmful effects of overexposure.
Parents can now monitor their teens’ activity, including uploads, subscriptions, and comments, and receive email notifications about important events like live streams.

TikTok’s changes

TikTok partnered with the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) to create a “Digital Safety Partnership” agreement, helping families set clear social media boundaries and foster conversations around online safety. The partnership’s goal is to encourage parents and teens to establish positive digital boundaries together.

On Sept. 27, TikTok updated its Guardian’s Guide, which includes several safeguards, including:

Family Pairing, which allows parents to link their TikTok account to their teens’ accounts to manage content, privacy, and well-being settings
Other safety features, such as keyword filtering, comment privacy settings, and default age-appropriate settings for teens under 16
An updated Teen Safety Center with advice and feedback from the platform’s global Youth Council

Choosing influencers to promote online safety

Picking the right content creators for an influencer marketing campaign is always important, but never more so than when it comes to promoting online safety. While brands always need to consider factors such as audience alignment, engagement, niche, and platform, it’s even more important to vet potential partners based on their content history, values, and public disputes or legal issues.

Whenever possible, choose influencers who are either experts in their field (professionally or through lived experience) or have a strong affinity for the causes.

Collaborating on content with influencers to promote online safety

We already know that influencers can significantly impact teens’ behaviors, perceptions, and beliefs. IZEA’s Trust in Influencer Marketing report found that 79% of social media users say they’ve purchased a product after seeing it used by an influencer. That extends to more than just products. Our Influencers and the 2024 Election also found that influencers sway political views.

The key to promoting online safety to this demographic is to wield that power in ways that are authentic, truthful, and helpful. This includes:

Offering factual and age-appropriate content that can support teens’ mental health.
Working with creators who represent diverse sizes, races, gender identities, sexual preferences, ethnicities, and abilities to help teens shift away from beauty ideals.
Sharing personal experiences that resonate with teens and help them feel less alone or encourage them to seek support.
Being authentic regarding an organization’s services or a product or service’s benefits without overselling its capabilities or promoting grandiose results.
Including relevant resources for support or additional information, such as a hotline to text for mental health support