COVID-19 Shutdown Creates New Influencer Marketing Opportunities

The COVID-19 economic shutdown has devastated influencer marketing. Brands and marketing agencies have slashed budgets. Live events that influencers use to obtain new content and promote themselves have been cancelled. Influencers in sectors like travel are especially hard hit.

Yet the current unprecedented situation presents new opportunities for marketers and influencers. With less access to physical stores, consumers are turning to online shopping. They’re spending more time on social media while they’re stuck at home with nowhere to go.

Influencer marketing offers a superb strategy for reaching those consumers, say influencer marketing experts.

In this new stay-at-home culture, influencers are uniquely poised to capture consumers’ attention on what to order, where to shop online, what to cook at home, how to entertain and educate children, and how to dress and save money during economic uncertainty, agues Stacy DeBroff, CEO and founder of Influence Central, in WWD. “More than ever, consumers will turn to social media for content, comfort and creativity,” DeBroff says.

As experienced home-based workers, influencers can also provide tips on how to use digital communications tools and how to work most productively from home.

Turn to Those They Follow and Trust

In a time of stress, consumers favor messages from those they follow and trust, according to influencer marketing platform Izea.

These are some of the key points and recommendations from an Izea survey of almost 1,000 consumers.

Many people, especially older consumers, have never purchased products online. This is an opportunity to educate new customers.

Bored children at home are a concern for parents. That opens an opportunity for the arts & crafts industry as well as the entertainment and education industries.

Many people will focus on home improvement and do-it-yourself projects while confined to homes. Home improvement and craft stores have a unique opportunity to capture consumer spending.

Facing tighter budgets, marketers can prove the value of their campaigns with greater emphasis on social media measurement.

The most loyal and profitable core customers of travel and tourism brands will plan their next trips and vacations over the next few months. Most demand significant discounts to book nonrefundable trips, but business travelers seek smaller discounts.

Highlighting free shipping or pickup options in marketing messages can help win sales.

Some ideas:

• Use influencers to tell stories that focus on bringing families “back to the dinner” table together.
• All sponsored posts should have an authentic element of caring and empathy.
• Create content for self-care, work from home tips, and public service announcements.
• Position cooking as something that can relieve boredom and teach children new skills.

A Marketing Opportunity for Small Businesses

As large brands withdraw from influencer marketing, small business will see an opportunity to develop relationships with influencers and micro-influencers, says Kristen Harold, director of demand generation at IMPACT. Harold suggests:

Enlist your employees to create DIY videos for social media, answering the questions your customers are asking.

Monitor hashtags or accounts that your customers engage with and enter conversations when feasible. Businesses can still engage with audiences, even with limited budgets.

Because social media usage is up overall, now is a good time for businesses to engage more with customers online, with or without the help of influencers.

Bottom Line: With customers confined to their homes and seeking new ways to spend their time, marketers have new opportunities to connect to customers through social media influencers. Both marketers and influencers will need to revise their content strategies to be less promotional and more educational with authentic elements of caring and empathy.