Influencer Marketing during the Pandemic, and in a Post-Pandemic World
One of the popular ways of how companies build long-term relationship with their customers is influencer marketing – a term everyone is familiar with now, which indicates its importance.
But what does it mean in a pandemic world and what will it mean in a post-pandemic world? What changes do we see in this type of marketing and does it pay off for brands to invest in influencer campaigns?
Influencer Marketing during the Pandemic, and in a Post-Pandemic World
The core of influencer marketing is to create trust and establish a relationship between an influencer and the audience. If a brand recognizes that its niche or target market has followers who are loyal to an influencer, then the brand collaborates with that particular influencer with the main purpose of gaining trust from the same audience, which will then increase the brand awareness and conversions among the target audience. When an influencer promotes a brand’s products or services, they are telling their audience that the product is approved and therefore passes the trust onto the brand.
For example, let’s have a look at the American president Joe Biden and the influencer marketing strategy to increase the vaccination rate in the U.S. If you thought influencers are only for fashion, travel, or beauty - well, think again. :)
Olivia Rodrigo, an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who is only 18 years old, is a big star in the U.S. and has more than 28 million followers across different channels all over the world. She recently visited the White House where she met with President Biden’s well-known COVID-19 medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and talked about the importance of vaccination. As a celebrity with a huge base of followers, the end goal was to encourage young people to get vaccinated.
The announcement of the visit was posted on Instagram, a social media platform mostly young people use. The President’s IG account posted a photo of his younger self with the caption: "I know this young person would've gotten vaccinated, but we've got to get other young people protected as well. Who's willing to help?"
Rodrigo commented, "I'm in! See you tomorrow at the white house!"
Let’s Look at Some Statistics
According to the Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2021, the market size of influencer marketing was $1.7 billion in 2016, estimated to have grown significantly to $9.7 billion in 2020. This growth is expected to increase to a market size of $13.8 billion in 2021.
The numbers are telling us that this type of marketing is getting more and more popular among companies who want to build a loyal and long-term relationship with their customers.
Moreover, there are 4.2 billion users of social media across the globe, representing YoY growth of more than 13 percent, which means 490 million new users. Needless to say, the number of social media users equals to around 53 percent of the world’s total population.
However, even with this increasing trend of influencer marketing, brands are still struggling to find the right influencers.
Finding the Right Influencers
First, you need content that makes the audience want you. If you want to know more about content strategy, read our previous blog here.
Influencers are people who know how to sell a story that fits the brand’s needs. But common mistakes that many brands make when choosing an influencer are the following:
Selecting influencers whose social media presence isn’t aligned with the brand’s mission and vision,
Selecting influencers whose audience wouldn’t normally use the brand’s products or services,
Not evaluating the influencer’s target audience and its engagement,
Pushing a rigid approach, rather than giving the influencer the freedom to use creative and proven ways they feel will resonate with their audience,
Not setting clear objectives and timelines for the collaboration,
Not building appropriate tracking and landing pages beforehand, and not using the right campaign management tools.
Finding an influencer is like finding a partner. There are criteria which have to be met to have a successful collaboration. Some of the first things to consider are your value proposition, your target audience, and who your target audience trusts.
Make sure not to make the mistakes mentioned above, and follow the trends in influencer marketing. For example, the cost for macro-influencers and celebrities has risen in recent years, but if you pay attention, there is a rising trend in micro- and nano-influencers who will work for a free product or nominal fee but who have higher engagement rates with their followers.
Instagram is the king of influencer marketing, and the best way to approach it is to test it by setting clear KPIs and a budget. Find influencers who align with your brand personality and who use a tone of voice you’d like to see for promoting your own product. Influencer Marketing is something you would probably want to check out and focus on, as it is not a short, one-time trend. We know it’ll be around for a while. ;)
