Will influencer marketing stay the same after Covid-19 ends? Probably not.
The last few months have brought about significant changes to the landscape of influencer marketing: People are not allowed to go out; travel influencers are losing their jobs; some brands are cutting their marketing budgets while others are finding new ways to reach out to customers. During this time of uncertainty, brands are finding TEMPORARY solutions to adapt to the situation, yet some of the temporary measurements are predicted to last very long after the pandemic ends. Let’s dive into it now, and here are our predictions of influencer marketing trends after Covid-19!
Before Covid-19, video content has been predicted to be the future of influencer marketing. This prediction was secured by the rise of TikTok, a popular video-centric platform that had up to 500 million monthly active users only 3 years after its launch.
Amid Covid-19, TikTok became one of the most downloaded social media apps in Q1 2020 as it reached up to 1 billion installs worldwide. Given the current situation that people are staying at home more than ever, TikTok is rising as a great source of entertainment that allows users to create exciting videos with a set of trendy music and creative video templates. Recently, brands have started using TikTok as a new way to engage with their audience.
Dettol India, a brand of cleaning supplies and disinfectant, has recently capture social media’s attention launching TikTok #HandWashChallenge, partnering with several Indian TikTok influencers with millions of followers to spread the word for the challenge. Their videos quickly became viral with more than 8 billion views in just 4 days, and up to now, it has surpassed more than 60 billion views one month after it started off. Although there is no report that Dettol’s sales increased after launching the challenge, the brand successfully captured social media’s attention and raised awareness about their products.
Together with TikTok, live content on IGTV, Facebook and Youtube are also expected to thrive in 2020.
Life under self-quarantine has definitely changed consumer’s shopping behavior. As people are spending more time on the internet, they’re also buying more things online.
In late February, RedMart, a Singapore's leading online supermarket site, saw a great increase in online grocery as people were rushing to stock up on essentials. Now the demand is off its peak, yet it is still higher than normal. In the U.S. market, Amazon hired 100,000 new employees in March 2020 to support their warehouses and delivery network in response to the surge in demand for online purchases amid Covid-19.
As the line between social media and E-commerce is more blurred than ever, brands are taking this opportunity to strengthen their social media presence through influencer marketing. A typical example of this collaboration is Tokopedia, one of the most popular Indonesian e-marketplace. Last month, this firm was the most active brand on social media in Indonesia by partnering with a number of influencers to spread the word for their products as well as the promotion of free postage to facilitate online shopping in the period of self-isolation.
Liketoknow.it is another e-commerce platform that is emerging amid Covid-19. This new platform allows influencers/bloggers to make a commission from sales of products they wear in their posts. Last month in Vietnam, the website has increasingly been mentioned by a lot of influencers who had their items featured on the website.
Before Covid-19, user-generated content has already been appreciated by brands as it promotes authenticity and personalization to influencer posts, thus attracting more engagement.
Amid Covid-19, as a result of social distancing, people are spending more time online than ever, looking for connections on a personal level with other people on social media. Understanding that need, many brands have adopted this strategy to better engage with their customers in times of crisis. As user-generated content is promoted more than ever, we believe that this transition in influencer marketing content is going to last very long after the pandemic.
Additionally, as influencers are increasingly sharing their real-life moments through user-generated content, followers are more likely to develop a sense of personal connection with them. In our previous blog, we already pointed out how Covid-19 actually helped narrow the big distance between fashion influencers and their followers, you can check it out here.
It goes without saying that the goal of influencer marketing can vary depending on the brand's strategy in different periods. However, with the recent outbreak of Covid-19, the uncertainty in business environments has urged marketers to look for ways to maximize the benefits of influencer campaigns. With that in mind, placing great emphasis on the conversion rate seems to be an ideal option.
Recently, Ai Home, the first Malaysian smart home and full-range lifestyle gadget retailer has partnered with many influencers to spread the word for their promotion using promo codes with influencers’ names such as “Joenne”, “Chailing”. This brand also captured social media’s attention by creating #AiStayHomeChallenge, in which influencers need to encourage their followers to upload their pictures and tag 3 friends to join the challenge with them. By integrating different types of influencer campaigns (affiliate marketing and creator contests), Ai Home successfully built up brand awareness and at the same time, increased its sales conversion.
This trend of influencer campaigns, together with brands keeping better track of conversion rate, is believed to become a popular strategy even after Covid-19 ends.
While there are lots of predictions about influencer marketing trends after the pandemic, one thing that is clear is that influencer marketing will continue thriving! With people increasingly using social media, brands that have not yet caught up on using influencer marketing now realized the importance of being able to connect and engage with their consumers. It’s hard to tell if your brands can find success in influencer marketing, but being flexible to adapt to new changes and making accurate predictions can give your brand big momentum in this industry.
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