The pandemic revolutionized the online business industry. The influencer marketing industry has also undergone tremendous change. According to statistics, the influential marketing sector increased from $ 1.7 billion in 2016 to $ 9.7 billion in 2020. If 5–10 years ago only celebrities were used as influencers, today the situation is different. And as eCommerce and social media converge, influencers will become increasingly vital intermediaries, helping to connect brands with consumers on social media.
Influencer marketing is a collaboration with social media content creators and bloggers who influence communities and audiences of varying sizes. It is a big part of a strong marketing strategy. It is the new take on the old technique of using celebrity endorsements. The main purpose of influencer marketing is to increase brand awareness and attract new customers by using the target audience of influencers. On social media, we distinguish between macro, micro, and nano type of influencers.
Fun fact: 67% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing.
Can you remember how many businesses included influencer marketing into their marketing strategy before Covid-19? It’s a difficult question, isn’t it? Now marketers are valuing influencers like never before! The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the brick-and-mortar trade, and the brands switched to online presence. The number of active social media users rose by 12.3% in 2020. Whether everyone was at home and content creators could not create content for their audience, the pandemic was a great way to promote influencer marketing. Marketers were looking for sensible solutions to get out of that situation and social media was the channel that was able to unite individuals with different audiences, bloggers, and influencers. It was an effective way to ensure business awareness and accessibility to consumers who were unlikely to leave their homes during the pandemic. According to statistics, in April 2020, more than two-thirds of US buyers made more online purchases than before COVID-19. All this was facilitated by the updates of social networks, which only had a positive impact on the work of influencers. Tik Tok has grown tremendously, ranking among the best downloadable apps. Global brands began collaborating with several celebrities and influencers, focusing their marketing budgets on brand positioning on social media. On March 15, 2020, YouTube saw a 500% increase in views, and digital media accounted for 59% of global advertising spending. During this time, the number of micro-influencers increased, and the percentage of influencer engagement became more important than the number of page likes.
- Partnerships with micro-influencers increased by 36.7% from the end of 2019 to April 2020.
- Carousel posts increased by 34.2% and pictures decreased by 16.8%.
- Social network users spent 2 hours and 26 minutes on social media each day.
- 90% of influencers sought ways to promote small businesses.
- Instagram influencers to get a 67.7% boost in likes and more than a 50% increase in comments.
- 74% of B2B marketers think that influencers help improve business prospects and customer experience.
So influencer marketing is not as simple as it sounds! Influencers should spare no effort to build a loyal audience so that brands can show their confidence in advertising their product or service. A brand must be sure the influencer’s content aligns with their overall image. Given the rapidly evolving influencer marketing industry after the pandemic, marketers need to incorporate it into their business marketing strategy to launch an influencer marketing campaign.
Go digital, raise brand awareness!
