Influence vs. credibility: What modern PR must protect, By Bodex Hungbo

Influence may make people notice you, but credibility is what makes them believe you. Influence may open the door, but credibility determines whether people will still welcome you when you return… So, by all means, influence. Trend. Create conversations. Build visibility. Reach millions if you can… But in the middle of all that noise, abeg, no go lose your credibility…. Because when the likes, impressions, trends and viral moments have disappeared, your name and reputation will still be standing there waiting for you.

Let me be the whistleblower for this preserved secret.

Are you a digital media practitioner who uses digital media to influence, market or manage reputations? Then this piece is for you. Let’s talk about the importance and reach of digital media, how best to use it as a PR practitioner and, most importantly, why credibility must never be sacrificed on the altar of influence.

The digital age has expanded the reach and influence available to public relations in ways that would have been difficult to imagine a few decades ago. So, if you are still finding it difficult to evolve and tag along, then you probably don’t understand how much generational trends have shifted.

One of the major breakthroughs is the ability of organisations to speak directly to their audiences, work with creators who command highly engaged communities and participate in conversations as they unfold.

Can you see how digital media has buttered our bread?

A carefully crafted post can reach millions without passing through a traditional media gatekeeper. Yet, this expanded capacity to influence has also changed the expectations placed on organisations. Audiences now have more sources to consult, more voices to compare and more opportunities to question whatever they are being told.

No more stories of “what I ordered versus what I got.” People can now check, compare and draw their own conclusions.

Now, let’s talk about modern PR and its challenges.

The challenge for modern PR is not simply how to influence an audience. It is whether that influence is supported by credibility, especially with the way some people practise PR majorly because of money, rather than truth. When money becomes more important than credibility, it becomes increasingly difficult for the public to differentiate between truth, lies and paid narratives.

Influence can secure attention. Credibility determines whether that attention becomes trust.

So, as a digital media PR practitioner, are you chasing influence alone, or are you building the credibility that makes that influence worth something?

This distinction is becoming increasingly important as communication becomes more crowded. An organisation can generate millions of impressions, attract significant engagement and dominate a conversation without necessarily earning the trust of the people it is trying to reach.

Visibility can be bought. Virality can be engineered. Trust is considerably harder to manufacture.

Trust is earned by matching words with actions, so what are you waiting for?

Choose wisely.

We all know that social media is at the heart of the world now, and the rise of social media influencers illustrates this clearly. Influencer communication has become an important part of contemporary public relations because organisations can reach audiences through people who have already established relationships with particular communities.

You can literally sit on a tree, make a video and have the world watching because of how fast content travels on social media.

Research examining social media influencers consistently identifies credibility, trustworthiness and perceived expertise as important factors in shaping audience attitudes and behaviour.

This means that the value of an influential voice is not determined solely by the size of its following. A million followers do not automatically translate into a million people who believe what is being said.

For PR practitioners, choosing a communicator should therefore involve more than examining reach and engagement figures. Is the person knowledgeable about the subject? Does the person have an authentic relationship with the audience? Does the person’s niche align with the potential client? And is the message consistent with what the audience already knows about the organisation?

Numbers are important, but please, make sure they are the right numbers for the job.

The same principle applies to organisations communicating through their own platforms. Digital media gives brands greater control over their messaging, but greater control over distribution does not necessarily mean greater control over perception.

Audiences can challenge corporate claims in real time, compare them with other sources and share experiences that contradict the official narrative.

This is where credibility becomes a strategic asset.

Don’t be scared. Just keep following my exposé.

Credibility is built over time through the accumulation of accurate information, consistent behaviour, transparency and accountability. It is also highly vulnerable to contradiction.

When an organisation repeatedly says one thing and does another, audiences eventually begin to discount its communication. A highly visible organisation may still command attention, but its ability to persuade weakens when its audience no longer believes its claims.

They don’t even want to hear from you again because you don’t keep to your word.

The stakes are particularly high because trust has become an important part of the relationship between brands and their publics.

Oh, let’s use the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, which found that 80 per cent of respondents globally trust the brands they use to do what is right. This was higher than the levels recorded for business at 65 per cent, NGOs at 60 per cent, media at 55 per cent, and government at 54 per cent.

For PR, this has an important implication: communication cannot compensate indefinitely for a credibility gap created by organisational behaviour.

A sophisticated campaign may attract attention to a company’s values, but if customers encounter practices that contradict those values, the communication can quickly become evidence against the organisation, rather than in its favour.

The pressure to generate attention can make this difficult. Digital platforms reward content that is immediate, emotional and shareable. Organisations are consequently encouraged to participate in trends, respond to controversies and produce content capable of travelling quickly.

These tools can be valuable, but the pursuit of engagement becomes problematic when communication objectives begin to override credibility.

You don’t want to take that route.

Not every conversation needs to be turned into a campaign. Not every trend requires a brand response. And not every opportunity for visibility is an opportunity for reputation-building.

Just know this and know peace.

Modern PR must therefore become more deliberate about the difference between being influential and being trusted.

Influence asks whether an organisation can shape attention or behaviour.

Credibility asks whether stakeholders regard its information and intentions as believable.

The two can reinforce each other, but they are not interchangeable.

This distinction is particularly important when organisations work with influencers and other third-party voices. The credibility of the communicator becomes part of the credibility of the message.

A creator whose audience perceives a partnership as purely transactional may generate exposure without generating trust. Conversely, where the partnership makes sense for the communicator and their audience, the endorsement can carry a level of credibility that conventional advertising may struggle to achieve.

The responsibility of PR professionals is therefore moving beyond message construction. It increasingly involves protecting the conditions under which communication remains believable.

That means ensuring that claims can be substantiated, partnerships are appropriate, organisational actions do not undermine public messaging and communication remains consistent across platforms.

What this tells us is that we must resist the temptation to treat every criticism as merely a communications problem.

Sometimes, the correct PR response is not a better statement but a better organisational decision.

If customers complain about a product, investigate the product. If employees raise legitimate concerns, listen. If stakeholders question a company’s conduct, communication should not become a substitute for addressing the underlying issue.

Sometimes, changing the approach and addressing the real problem will bring a more positive closure than all the beautifully written statements in the world.

This is where credibility separates itself from influence.

An influential organisation can persuade people to pay attention to a message.

A credible organisation gives them a reason to believe it.

Which do you think is better?

For modern PR, however, the objective should not be to choose between influence and credibility.

We need both.

Influence remains essential because organisations need the ability to reach and engage the publics that matter to them. But influence without credibility has diminishing value, and you don’t want to take that route.

Once audiences become sceptical of the source, even a highly visible message can struggle to achieve its intended effect. This is why we need to be careful about the things we dish out in the name of PR.

The strongest PR strategies recognise that reputation is not built by communication alone. It is built when communication, conduct and stakeholder experience tell the same story.

Adopting this strategy is a win for all of us.

In an environment where almost anyone can publish, influence and attract an audience, the competitive advantage is no longer simply having a louder voice.

It is having a voice that people have reason to believe.

Modern PR must therefore protect credibility, not as an alternative to influence, but as the foundation that gives influence lasting value.

And before I drop my pen, let me leave you with this.

Influence may make people notice you, but credibility is what makes them believe you. Influence may open the door, but credibility determines whether people will still welcome you when you return.

So, by all means, influence. Trend. Create conversations. Build visibility. Reach millions if you can.

But in the middle of all that noise, abeg, no go lose your credibility.

Because when the likes, impressions, trends and viral moments have disappeared, your name and reputation will still be standing there waiting for you.

And you know what they say about a good name? A good name is better than gold and silver.

As our Yoruba people would say, “Orúkọ rere sàn ju wúrà àti fàdákà lọ.”

So, protect yours. Protect your client’s. That is the real work.

Bodex Hungbo, the founder and CEO of Bodex Media, is a PR and digital media strategist, reputation and media crisis manager, and Convener of Bodex Social Media Hangout.