It would be fair to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the marketing industry into disarray, leaving you with fewer options than before for promoting your offerings. That’s probably the perceived wisdom, anyway — and arguably doesn’t apply so strongly in influencer marketing.
This revelation could surprise you. After all, you probably associate influencer marketing with glitzy celebrities sharing Instagram photos of themselves soaking up the sun in exotic overseas locations. Are influencers really still an option for you? Yes — and there are several reasons why.
It’s time to dissipate the myth about influencer marketing’s “death”
At a time when overseas travel is — in many instances — a no-go, expecting some Instagram-bound influencer to snap themselves sipping your company’s latest cocktail on a Hawaiian beach is, indeed, probably being unrealistic. However, this isn’t the be-all and end-all of influencer marketing.
It’s true that travel bans have barred many influencers from many traditional means of capturing content. Meanwhile, product launches previously intended to include an in-person element have been cancelled due to social distancing measures. So, where does all of this leave the influencer?
The answer: in a surprisingly advantageous position. For a start, lockdowns have seen social media use increase; according to one tracker highlighted by PRWeek, in the last week of April, that usage increased by 50% compared to the same period last year.
Secondly, being restricted to their homes has given influencers plenty of time to put together compelling content capable of helping their followers through the pandemic.
Learn from these examples of COVID-friendly influencer marketing
Popular LinkedIn influencer Alexandra Galviz, also known as Authentic Alex, tells other influencers that, for them, success is currently “about understanding what your audience needs in this moment in time and partnering with the right company who can support you in doing so.”
If you are uncertain which influencers would be best-placed to help you fulfill your company’s own ambitions, you could contact a specialist company like the influencer marketing agency Socially Powerful for advice. Furthermore, in the current climate, you don’t have to look far for inspiration concerning what form your influencer marketing campaigns could take.
The World Health Organization teamed up with selected influencers for its Safe Hands Challenge campaign, which teaches followers how to appropriately wash their hands to guard against COVID-19’s spread. Especially conveniently, many influencers can easily capture images and video on their phones, enabling them to create promotional content time-effectively for their clients.
Don’t underestimate the versatility of influencer marketing
The principles of good marketing in the influencer sphere can be effectively applied to various sectors. The Manhattan-based fashion influencer Gabriella Zacche tells FashionUnited.uk of her drive to “produce uplifting content in my stories (steering away from the COVID-19 information overdose that we see everywhere)”.
Meanwhile, in this Forbes article, you can find an array of tips for how to target baby boomers with your influencer marketing material. You can see that this particularly modern form of digital marketing has the potential to appeal far beyond the younger crowd.
