Savvy Influencers Set To Benefit From The Pandemic

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Many industries are being forced into Darwinian change as a result of the virus and influencer marketing will not be spared the need to adapt. The current climate has sharpened advertiser requirements, which presents an opportunity for influencers to deliver more for their sponsors.

Notable winners during the pandemic highlight the importance of key fundamentals in execution. Nike’s Play For The World campaign blended top-tier sports stars with everyday people to deliver raw content shot in homes. Eva Longoria applied L’Oreal’s $9 hair color to cover her grays, and revealed herself as vulnerable and relatable to her 7.8 million followers. Ryan Reynolds’ satirical ad for Mint Mobile was perfectly toned for the moment. Even the World Health Organization engaged TikTok influencers to create native content about hand washing whilst governments fumbled via archaic broadcast announcements. These campaigns are not complex – they effectively blend relevant brand messaging with content suited to the climate. But marketers and influencers should still brace for forthcoming and necessary change.

Influencers Will Climb The Creative Ladder

Lockdowns have not only forced brands to invest more in digital media, they’ve also relaxed the reigns on high production values. A brand rushing to promote their e-commerce proposition can no longer coordinate locations, models and photographers to produce content months in advance. Influencers have stepped in to solve the problem delivering content shot on iPhones faster, cheaper and more relevant to the climate. Zara exploited this opportunity perfectly embracing their models to work from home in shooting their latest fashion lines.

Prior to the virus, we were beginning to see social-born influencers transcend social media channels. Progressive marketers pushed them onto billboards and TV commercials were produced with influencers as the stars. But as brands become more comfortable with the raw content once reserved for social media, marketers will no longer mandate prescribed color palettes and messaging frameworks. Instead influencers will be expected to add their own style and flavor to recommended brand guidelines.

Micro Influencers, Major Impact

The shift towards micro influencers, those with under 100,000 followers, is already in motion. Celebrity influencers naturally caught the first wave of influencer marketing for good reasons. Their organic reach and impact was powerful, they were easier to find and coordinate than hundreds of micro influencers, and social media endorsements had less parameters for success than they do today. 

Technology platforms and online marketplaces are now allowing brands to access hundreds of micro influencers in the same time it took to meet a single celebrity. Within the smaller audiences of micro influencers, followers are authentically interested in relevant recommendations, not just voyeurs to lavish celebrity lifestyles. Micro influencers are also far better at content production. They have added this creative string to their bows because their names and faces aren’t recognized by millions. As marketers strive to conquer more digital channels, and repurpose content outside of social media, the value of content produced by this cohort will alleviate costs and drive performance well beyond a single post.

Performance Is A Requirement

Performance measurement has been attached to digital media since pay-per-click advertising emerged in the mid-nineties. However, YouTube and Instagram weren’t built for performance. Their origins lie with enabling every day people to broadcast user generated content. Those who mastered content grew loyal audiences beyond broadcast networks and this inevitably attracted advertising dollars. 

Early measurement in influencer marketing lay in surface level likes and comments, and inferred sales data timed to posting. Some influencer channels and techniques allow for stronger attribution to sales, but this tends to compromise content and result in diminishing returns. 

Instagram is already investing in influencer performance tools. Richer digital media metrics such as reach, impressions and link attribution have been made available to influencers and their sponsors. Marketers can now safely apply paid spend to influencer assets via Branded Content Ads, turning an organic post into a direct response ad. TikTok has flown onto the radar of marketers for its booming audiences, but their advertising infrastructure is more advanced than prior social media juggernauts, with trials already underway for influencers to be able to earn sales commissions from endorsed products. Their entrance will spur accelerated investment by Instagram and YouTube, delivering marketers and influencers richer choice of platforms that deliver attributable revenue.

Some Influencers Will Perish With The Virus

The failure of Fyre Music Festival in 2018 all but eradicated grossly inauthentic influencer promotions. The risk for brand and influencer is too high and whilst edge cases remain, the majority of influencer marketing will successfully blend brand messaging via suitable content and measurable performance. 

This eradicates influencers who offer brands little value outside of smiles and poses, irregardless of follower counts. Celebrity influencers will remain relevant, but marketers will be more discerning with their investment, meaning fewer, but more impactful endorsements than the free-for-all that previously existed.

The successful maturing of any industry brings quality improvement driven by self-regulation and commercial imperatives. With this roadmap in mind, the current climate will mature influencer marketing faster than otherwise expected, giving marketers access to more dependable, professional and performance-driven influencers.

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