Ways Brands Can Leverage Influencer Marketing During Covid-19
3
min read

Ways Brands Can Leverage Influencer Marketing During Covid-19

Mike Otieno
Mike Otieno
May 19, 2020

Some Insights on How Influencer Marketing is Adjusting to Covid-19 Pandemic

As the world is still coming to terms with the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are trying to adapt to the “new normal.” They have to completely adjust their strategies to minimize the effect of the outbreak before their businesses spiral out of control.

Even though the future looks unpredictable, we can agree for sure that social media usage is significantly soaring up during this quarantine period. If you critically look at it, it represents a proper opportunity to help and hook up with consumers in a much more profound manner.

While Covid-19 continues to dictate social media, advertisers can leverage influencer marketing as their front-line defense against business plunge.

But before we look at what advertisers can do to adjust to the situation, it would be prudent to know what has changed.

As mentioned earlier, social media usage is on the rise; platforms like TikTok that were initially popular with the younger generation are lately becoming cross-generational. Again, influencers across all spectrums now fancy the moment of using it to share entertaining and engaging content.

Consequently, empirical studies from Berlin Cameron/Perksy suggest that a more considerable section of millennials believe that marketers hold an integral role in making a difference during the Covid-19 crisis.

In some sense, influencer marketing has to communicate and address the current situation in a matter that advertisers do not fall by the wayside and influencers left hanging.

The question now remains: how can advertisers approach influencer marketing in the forthcoming months and make the most of the current situation by adding value and building brand equity?

Here are some insights that advertisers can employ to interact with their customers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

1. Be Adaptable With the Current Situation

Despite this period of adversity, your consumers require not only content but content that focuses on the human component with the likelihood of enhancing effectiveness. This calls for agility and creativity for brands to increase their chances of surviving during this crisis.

In that vein, it means brands should reinvest their budgets into channels that have longer-payoffs, doing some social user research to understand their consumer needs, and implementing quick-action measures that keep them running.

2. Monitor on Social Media Channels and uphold Innovative Engagement

If you haven’t been proactive on social media, this is the time to begin monitoring your social media channels and embracing innovative engagement. Get to understand where your influencers spend most of their time, whether it’s Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok, and learn their behaviors. Make it a habit of employing data analytics to get the right feedback for decision-making purposes.

Advertisers hosting online workouts, filming cooking videos, and beauty brands connecting with their social media influencers for virtual consultations mark some of the new normal advertising.

3. Cultivate Relationships

Influencer marketers have no choice but to continue nurturing the relationship with their influencer community if only they want to promote their brand anyway. With several businesses closed, most advertisers have reduced their spending and focused on brands that are still operating.

It’s no doubt that after the crisis, influencers will only remember the brands that stuck by their side, and ultimately remain true to their loyalty.

4. Getting Inspiration from Other During this Period

Whatever you may be going through during this crisis may not be new to others. Different businesses are experiencing more or less the same issues, and it can be an excellent opportunity to take inspiration from them. The challenges may be turf at some point, but learning from others who may or may not be in the same niche is no harm.

Conclusion

Navigating through this Covid-19 environment requires accepting the “new normal.” Nobody can tell for sure how or when businesses will return to normal. Influencer marketers have this time to be creative, build relationships, and explore opportunities that differentiate their brand. While brands strive to achieve sales gains, they should continue to remain sensitive to the human side of things, and having an extra set of eyes on the kind of content they put out there.

But one thing for sure, challenging times like this can bring out the best in us.