INFLUENCER MARKETING DURING COVID

Say you require a certain product and your favorite influencer is promoting branding in the niche of that product, would you not consider buying that brand? Chances are high that you will at least check the product and read all the specifications about it. This is the power of Influencer Marketing. 

Well even when we are in the turmoil of the pandemic, we do not stop consuming products and services, we may have lessened them but it has certainly not stopped. And when the demand for the products and services has not stopped, the competition goes on too. And how do brands beat their competition? By strong marketing strategies. And whom do they do this through in these times? Influencers.  

So, today we are going to look at how Influencer Marketing has changed and what are the pros and cons of Influencer Marketing During COVID. 

FRINGE BENEFITS OF COVID ON INFLUENCERS

Consistent Consumers:

You might have noticed how your screen time on your phone has increased since the lockdown. We do not have anywhere to go and hence the only way to connect to an outer world is the internet. This connected many new users to influencers on the platforms and hence the number of followers increased with the number of consumers increasing. 

Internet is the One-Stop Destination:

You know how film shootings shut down and all the people were packed in their homes. And hence the only people who could work were influencers who have their set up in their homes. Internet was the only source of advertising in the times of COVID. This increased the probability of brands approaching influencers to get better exposure for their products or services. 

Influencers Built Direct Contact with the Audience:

As everything in the time of lockdown was shut, no events were happening and to keep the flow going influencers started directly connecting with their audience and getting to know what they like and dislike. This helped them understand what are the expectations of their audience and also build a strong connection. Some influencers even started taking online masterclasses, courses, etc. to teach their skills to truly interested people. 

Increased Collaborating Chances:

Surely the marketing interests of brands have increased but they also come with limitations of their own. As campaigns and events are postponing, the only way to keep creating the content as a community and helping each other out is collaborating and hence during the times of COVID, influencers have collaborated a lot and gained traffic from each other’s page, benefitting both the sides. 

A Better Time to Market for Brands:

In the times of COVID, almost everyone around the globe was vulnerable. In such times, if brands show sympathy and understand how vulnerable their customers are, people gain interest in them. People give them attention because they are relatable and hence more and more people become aware of the brand and have a chance of becoming their customers. 

HAZARDS ON INFLUENCER MARKETING DURING COVID

Affected Businesses:

We can’t deny the fact that businesses have been tremendously affected because of no sales during the lockdown. Businesses concentrated on essential commodities during this time and marketing their services or products was not on their to-do list. This somewhere affected influencers who had limited brands to choose from and hence low budget and lockdown due to COVID influencer marketing too. 

Postponed Campaigns:

As mentioned in the above point, brands had limited funds and they used those funds for the survival of brands and themselves which led to postponing ad campaigns and marketing plans they had pre-COVID-19. Due to this, influencers lost the way they were getting work and revenue from. This impacted them on a certain scale and pushed influencer marketing back a little bit during COVID-19. 

No Travel Scope:

You might know how the internet is a global community and how so many events and campaigns are based in different cities. During COVID, traveling and gathering together were restricted which also cut down the opportunities for influencers to directly meet with the brands and create content. This cut down further opportunities leaving influencers with very limited opportunities. Travel Bloggers faced a great setback due to COVID and restrictions on traveling too. 

Content Creating Restrictions:

Creating content can be quite a task because we can only use so many of the backgrounds and ideas. Influencers faced difficulties in setting up backgrounds related to their content. For example, if they needed a movie theatre, they could not hire a space that had that backdrop because everything was shut. This restricted their ideas and somewhat affected them and their creativity. 

Influencers’ Increased Competition:

You might know of at least one friend who started doing something he/she loves because they had that “me time”. With increasing consumers on social media, the number of creators also increased, and hence the competition has increased in putting out the most creative content that stands out and is still relatable for consumers! 

Well, we can’t ignore the fact that pandemic has had positive and negative effects on all of us. In these hard times, we must support each other and make the internet a better place for people to come. Let’s make it safe for influencers and consumers to co-exist and cherish the being of the internet and its ability to connect us all!