In response to the growing challenge of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) contracted Sydani to implement the Social Listening Project in Nigeria. Vaccine uptake was hindered by a lack of trust, misinformation, and complacency, exacerbating low confidence in vaccines across the country. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency’s (NPHCDA) COVID-19 Vaccine Crisis Communication Center (CRICC) required enhanced capacity to monitor public sentiment and address misinformation effectively.
Additionally, State Health Education Officers (SHEOs) across Nigeria needed the skills to gather, analyze, and respond to real-time public concerns about vaccines.
The project aimed to equip CRICC and SHEOs with tools and training to gather data on vaccine sentiment, interpret findings, and craft targeted strategies to improve public confidence in vaccines. This was done by integrating social listening techniques and leveraging digital tools like the YouScan software.
Action (Capacity Building):
To address this challenge, Sydani conducted extensive capacity-building sessions for the CRICC team and SHEOs from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). These sessions focused on social listening techniques, enabling participants to actively monitor public conversations on vaccines across traditional and social media platforms.
The training emphasized:
• Social Listening Concepts: Understanding how to gather and interpret public sentiment regarding vaccine confidence, convenience, and complacency.
• Use of Social Listening Tools: CRICC staff received hands-on training on the YouScan tool to monitor and analyze social media conversations, while SHEOs were equipped with skills for contextual risk communication and demand generation at the state level.
• Data-Driven Responses: Participants were trained to identify trends and actionable insights from the data, enabling them to create targeted communication strategies to address misinformation and boost vaccine demand.
The training sessions took place over the course of several months, with practical application exercises, toolkits, and ongoing support provided to ensure sustained impact.
Result:
The capacity-building efforts led to significant achievements throughout the project. 44 weekly social listening reports and 19 newsletters were developed and disseminated, containing critical insights and data-driven recommendations.
By the end of the project:
• Over 1.06 million vaccine-related comments were captured and analyzed through social media, providing a comprehensive overview of public sentiment across Nigeria.
• 411,956 comments (39%) were related to vaccine confidence, showing an upward trend in positive sentiment over the course of the project, reflecting a reduction in vaccine hesitancy.
• More than 600 visits to the social listening website were recorded, and 254 downloads of the weekly reports occurred, demonstrating strong engagement with the project’s outputs.
• In collaboration with the COVID-19 Vaccination Crisis Communication Centre (CRICC), over 25 targeted content pieces were created to address information gaps, helping to drive mass vaccination campaigns in tertiary institutions.
• A total of 1,758 individuals were vaccinated across two campuses in Kwara state as part of a rapid-response vaccination campaign initiated based on social listening insights.
The capacity-building efforts empowered SHEOs and CRICC staff to integrate social listening into their daily activities, resulting in more effective communication strategies, a clearer understanding of public concerns, and ultimately, an increase in vaccine confidence and uptake across Nigeria.
Action (Demand Generation):
Sydani deployed the YouScan tool, an advanced social listening software, to monitor and analyze conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine on social media platforms. The tool helped track public sentiment, uncover concerns, and identify misinformation surrounding the vaccine. Data collected via YouScan was analyzed to reveal insights related to:
• Vaccine Confidence: Positive and negative sentiments expressed by the public about the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Vaccine Convenience: Conversations about access, distribution, and ease of obtaining the vaccine.
• Vaccine Complacency: Insights on reasons for the perceived lack of urgency in getting vaccinated.
These insights guided the development of over 25 targeted content pieces in collaboration with the COVID-19 Vaccine Crisis Communication Centre (CRICC). The content directly addressed the public’s concerns and information gaps related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The demand generation materials were strategically disseminated through social media platforms, community outreach, and mass media, with a particular focus on key populations with high levels of hesitancy.
In addition, real-time data from YouScan highlighted specific opportunities for targeted interventions, such as the enthusiasm among students for on-campus vaccinations. As a result, Sydani and the CRICC team launched mass vaccination campaigns in two tertiary institutions in Kwara State, where 1,758 individuals were vaccinated within just five days.
Result:
The social listening-driven demand generation efforts had significant outcomes:
• 1.06 million vaccine-related conversations were analyzed, providing valuable insights into public sentiment around the COVID-19 vaccine.
• 411,956 comments (39%) focused on vaccine confidence, with an increasing number of positive sentiments over the project period, indicating a gradual reduction in hesitancy.
• Over 600 visits to the social listening website and 254 downloads of reports demonstrated strong interest and engagement with the findings.
• The mass vaccination campaign in Kwara State resulted in 1,758 vaccinations across two campuses in a matter of days, driven by data-informed interventions based on social listening insights.
Through the use of the YouScan tool and data-driven content creation, the project was able to effectively address public concerns and boost vaccine demand in key areas. This approach demonstrated the power of using real-time data to inform communication strategies, contributing to increased COVID-19 vaccine uptake across Nigeria.
