Does it surprise you that Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp usage have increased by over 40% during the pandemic period? Usage patterns indicate that the highest growth has been in the 18-34 years’ age group across all social media platforms.
Despite these numbers, there have been contrasting effects on influencer marketing campaigns. While many brands have upped the ante and are channeling more budgets into influencer marketing, others have paused campaigns or have reduced budgets. This is our view on brands in two minds about the merits of Influencer Marketing during COVID-19.
According to data shared by Facebook, there has been a 70% growth in time across all apps since the crisis with group calls showing an increase of more than 1000%. In spite of the increase, user feedback indicates that they didn’t wholeheartedly trust the platforms with regard to news.
Apart from news channels and government agencies, celebrities and influencers are considered credible sources for information and recommendations.
People to a fair extent trust the choices of brands, services, and products that influencers are using themselves or endorsing to their followers.
It is quite possible than in the future, Influencer marketing will be referred to in 2 distinct periods: Pre COVID-19 and everything after. The average screen time of consumers per day is anywhere between 3 hours to 6 hours with some guesstimating it to be around 5 hours 40 minutes. Never before have people consumed so much content or paid so much attention to the quality of content.
Errors, mistakes, and blunders go viral in a matter of minutes but so does great engaging content. The need to get the tone, illustrations and content right is not only vital but critical.
In this new era where 80% influencers are reporting higher engagement, brands are afforded the opportunity to have creative third party high-quality content that appeals to their specific audiences through the influencers.
With most industries taking drastic cuts to budgets and salaries, the influencers have also been affected. Many influencers are reducing their rates to ensure that brands can afford them. This is to ensure continuity of business. Results indicate that globally, over 40% of influencers have reduced rates. In fact, they are working with brands with discounts around the 30% mark.
Brands need to think about the short term. They need to work with influencers who best fit the ethos and values of their brand. This phase may just prove to be the most cost-effective investment for brands with influencer marketing.
