Best Influencer Marketing Practices During the COVID-19 Crisis
Introduction An effectively proven way to reach and engage target audiences, influencer marketing can be just as powerful during times of crisis. The current coronavirus pandemic is no exception. In this presentation, we’ll focus on how influencers can stay one step ahead of the rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic which has effectively turned the world’s economies upside down.
The Challenges
1. Facing challenges during the pandemic Log into any social network and you’re likely to see feeds with #COVID19 and #coronavirus. Naturally the topic is at the forefront of society’s collective dialogue, so it’s important for influencers and their sponsor brands to keep up with this fluctuation in the global rhetoric. Staying current isn’t something new for seasoned influencers, but it’s necessary now more than ever to keep both thumbs on the daily pulse of our social media landscape.
2. Affected Sponsorships Depending on the industry, the main challenge that influencers are facing during the coronavirus pandemic is affected sponsorships due to brands needing to adjust their budgets in the face of a crisis. Add social distancing, travel restrictions, and afflicted marketing strategies into the mix and it’s clear that influencers will encounter multiple challenging scenarios over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Travel Influencers feel it more Travel influencers are feeling the heat. For instance, they have had to deal with grounded flights, canceled trips, negatively impacted sponsorships with curbed or frozen budgets, and event cancelations which would normally be crucial for networking and securing projects. Anyone coming back from a trip since March has most likely had to self-quarantine, further affecting their calendar of planned business travel.
On The Bright Side
1. Content Availability Influencers typically have an eye for content, and there’s plenty of content to extract from global lockdowns and pandemicrelated restrictions. Followers are still checking in on their favorite influencers while everyone deals with the crisis.
2. Resilience and adaptability Adapt to the pandemic and its repercussions. Brands are reacting in different ways to the pandemic, but they’re reacting and that’s what is essential.Influencers are brands so they should react as well. Change content to be COVID-19 relevant (and if that’s too uncomfortable of an option, there’s always the possibility of side-stepping the topic completely). Posting the right content, no matter where you are, is the key. Stop posting about cruises and travel to Europe, instead repost old content or offer #stayathome guides.”
Note: Documenting day-to-day activities while social distancing can be a popular content strategy for many influencers who aren’t able to produce their usual pre-pandemic content, and a well-done quarantine skit or sing-along has increased potential to go viral. TikTok, Instagram Stories and Twitter are especially popular destinations for posting and finding such viral content.
Best Practices • • • • •
Stay up-to-date with trending COVID-19 information. Create content that is: safe, civil, relevant, useful, entertaining. Leverage new situations such as the stay-home economy. Communicate with sponsor brands & stay aligned with them. Keep the community involved, engaged, & informed.
Created By www.influglue.com