Influencer Marketing takeaways from the Lockdown period

Amit Mondal, Pulpkey shares learnings and influencer marketing takeaways from his time during the lockdown.

Covid-19 is one of the very few events that has shocked the entire world. Social distancing has become new normal and as the opening of restaurants, malls, events have been postponed, people are getting habituated to digital socialisation over in-person interactions. As the world changes, here are a few influencer marketing takeaways we saw.

Influencers are entertainers. Consumption of content has reached a significantly higher level and people relied on influencer massively for the same.

Key Takeaways around Influencer Marketing in this lockdown:

1. EdTech, Gaming, OTT, selected FMCG saw more engagements as they continued to educate or entertain people: We have seen brands like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar create engaging content, partnering with influencers to drive their shows. Similarly, gaming apps like Ludo picked up among not only millennials but penetrated across age groups.

2. Celebrities regularly did Instagram LIVE with each other. Platforms saw a spike in streaming and live content-format: We have seen cricketers, film stars and even influencers engage through multiple sessions of LIVE streaming among themselves which probably for the first time gave consumers a completely different type of e experience, seeing their favourite personality’s human side.

3. Vloggers had a hard time shooting on ground but they figured creative ways to create content. Including Facetime Photoshoot where shooting and even shows happened over a video recordings: These kind of influencers’ work naturally requires excessive travel and outdoor engagement which created a crisis in their revenue stream due to the pandemic. After a month of lockdown, we have seen them come up with creative ways to continue creating content from home.

4. Influencers helped brands raising funds for causes and safety awareness: This is an area where influencers actively worked. Food brands especially took help from influencers to raise awareness around safety measures. There are numerous agencies that worked on raising money for the cause and almost all influencers somehow contributed to get the messages out to a larger audience.

5. Performing artists like musicians and comics took their show on Instagram LIVE: This is something of a pandemic which nobody had ever experienced before; being stuck at home affected our mental health more or less. Musicians and Stand Up artist Influencers did a fairly nice job where they made their content free to consume and took part in Instagram LIVE or YouTube Stream sessions. On some occasions, this act of engagement not only helped them reach a bigger audience but for consumers also, it became a source of entertainment.

6. Travel influencers obviously suffered at this time: Full Travel Blogger and Vloggers suffered and it’s still an uncertain where nobody knows when the normal would come back.

7. Movie promotions happened over video calls: This is another interesting area where things move really fast. As many movies had an OTT release, influencers and artists promoted movie releases by creating content from their sofa.

Also Read: #SamosaTalks: Limited resources a boon for Influencer Marketing?

8. We asked around 100 content creators and influencers to share their viewpoints. Here are some key takeaways:

●     71% percent influencers said they have seen their followers spikes at a higher pace relatively in this lockdown

●     61% noticed relatively higher engagement on their sponsored post during this lockdown

●     79% told their reach across different social media platforms has grown during this time

●     72% influencers suggested brands to take advice from influencers on how to create smart, relatable content remotely and inside-home

Influencer Marketing spends

●     Brands looking to cut down their large production costs and operations-hassle will turn to influencers who are full-stack content producers and distributors

●     Brand’s ability to connect with consumers in real-life is tough. Offline gigs, events, festivals will have a long time to become ‘normal’ anytime soon thus high chances for the brand to utilise influencers to make the connection feel more ‘human’ on the internet

●     As quarantine becomes new norm, physical retail brands will shift more towards e-commerce and influencers will play a vital role in this

Moving ahead, things brand should continue to consider while working with influencers

● Think more on your Return on Objective. The Return on Investment will follow

● Take part actively in conversations. Don’t just promote your products.

● Give the exact amount of information to the consumers. If the customer wants less information give them less and vice versa. Let them choose.

● Be more honest while working with influencers and be open to suggestions.

Identifying the return on objective and turning it into an influencer marketing incentive can produce a cost-effective and high returnable impact post-COVID for brands across industries.

The article has been authored by Amit Mondal, Founder, Pulpkey.

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