Brands have found it increasingly challenging to gain traction on the internet in recent years post-COVID-19 but before you jump to any conclusions, let’s learn about new and more effective ways to accomplish your goals.
Given that there are so many things happening at the same time on the internet – not to mention the fact that millennials and Gen Z have the attention span of a goldfish – marketers must work extra hard to stand out. You may want to hire an influencer marketing agency to achieve your goals in Influencer Marketing post-COVID-19.
Meanwhile, clients have grown wary, as they are easily swayed by social media influencers who have clout in the market. Brands, on the other hand, have just begun to see the value of how influencer marketing can help in advancing their objectives.
Companies are investing a lot of time and money into expanding their marketing operations, but given the general relevance of influencer marketing, the notion should be investigated to get an idea of the success of what you’ve been doing for marketing so far.
In this piece, we’ll look at the relevance of influencer marketing, with a focus on why it could be beneficial to your company in 2022.
So, what actually is influencer marketing and how does it work?
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that involves a company collaborating with a relevant influencer to develop a mutually beneficial partnership. This partnership benefits the firm by increasing brand awareness, while the influencer is compensated for endorsing the company’s products on social media.
Here’s an intriguing question: do celebrities have social media influence?
They definitely do in certain ways, but influencers, on the other hand, have a closer bond with their fan bases. Furthermore, the audience of a social media influencer is quite niche-specific.
The influencer marketing post-pandemic will be shaped by a few key trends. The pandemic is still far from over, but as governments ease restrictions and businesses reopen, there’s a sense that things are starting to get back to ‘normal.’
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on several industries in the last year and a half and a lot has changed. As the post-COVID world takes shape, it is important to take note of how influencer marketing is also changing.
Connected technology has become an increasingly more important element of people’s lives, according to the Global Overview. The year has witnessed tremendous growth in social media, e-commerce, streaming content, and video games.
The number of people using social media increased at the quickest rate in three years, reaching 4.2 billion people (Digital 2021: Global Overview).
54 percent of people don’t track how much time they spend on social media (Global Web Index, 2020).
Following the breakout of COVID-19, people have been on the lookout for trustworthy influencers and artists (Global Web Index, 2020).
The shift in digital content consumption habits has significant ramifications for organizations attempting to establish long-term relationships with their customers. Influencer marketing provides brands with a critical tool to contact consumers in relevant and meaningful ways as we begin to enter this new world.
Here are the key themes affecting influencer marketing post-COVID-19, at a time when building a brand and audience engagement are critical.
Things You Need To Know About Influencer Marketing Post-COVID-19
Hiring an influencer marketing agency might be a good idea since many businesses have been in a difficult state since the pandemic struck in 2020. Influencers were also affected by these shifts, although they changed their focus to more sophisticated internet marketing strategies.
As a result, many influencer advertisers not only got through the COVID crisis but also helped other firms stay afloat without having to resort to drastic measures.
Livestreaming will continue to be used to generate high levels of engagement.
As most sectors shut down during the pandemic, the number of people utilizing social media accounts, YouTube, and other platforms increased — to the point where 45 percent of users were allegedly engaged in getting information from various influencer channels throughout the day.
It didn’t take long for businesses to notice a change in user behavior. Various organizations increased their partnership efforts to reach out to influencers to get traction on their separate social media pages.
Consumers are wiser than we believe
Consumers have more time to thoroughly investigate different goods thanks to the COVID-19 scenario, which has allowed them to do so through social media accounts, influencer reviews, and blog postings.
People became savvier about boycotting organizations that appeared sketchy or didn’t receive a lot of great press from social media influencers.
To get the brand message across, firms have to step up their partnership game with high-profile social media influencers. Customers were looking up to legitimate “storytellers’” perspectives to get started on buying products, therefore relying on posting updates to the company’s social media pages or newsfeed was no longer an option.
During the lockdown, e-commerce became more of a social commerce phenomenon.
The evolution of your regular online e-commerce experience is social commerce.
Companies wisely recognized the value of influencer marketing and learned how to convert traffic to sales using social commerce plugins.
Users may buy things directly from brand profiles on Instagram, and vice versa, thanks to the social commerce feature.
As a result, consumer experiences have evolved, and online businesses have realized the relevance of influencer marketing from the standpoint of the buyer. Because of the clever integration of the social commerce system, the average online user may purchase a product without having to utilize the Google Search box to find a brand’s official website.
Collaborating with micro-influencers is much better
It is preferable to engage with micro-influencers, which adds to the relevance of influencer marketing.
It’s all about relying on the higher engagement rates of micro-influencers. Micro-influencers have assured conversions of up to 4%, even if mega influencers have millions of followers.
Mega influencers make the most of their authenticity, but working with comparatively tiny social media influencers is far better for a new business owner.
The future of influencer marketing is video
For companies to inspire, connect, and interact with consumers, digital video is more vital than ever. Short-form videos are becoming increasingly popular.
With the introduction of TikTok, the appeal of bite-sized video content has exploded, and now Instagram Reels, Thriller, YouTube Shorts, and Dubsmash are all working to improve their video offerings.
Consumers' attention spans are short, and they demand material to be available immediately. The battle for people's attention has never been more fierce for companies. So, how can you use influencer marketing to tap into this finite resource?
Creators are collaborating with one another to address the ever-increasing need for video content. Brands may even build fresh content on the backs of their followers' remarks (a well-used tactic among YouTubers).
This allows a company to stay on top of current events while also developing content that has the potential to become viral.
After the pandemic, video content will continue to develop, as seen by the emergence of social platforms such as TikTok, which reflect an ever-increasing need for video content.
They encourage users to produce films as well as watch, like, and comment on them, allowing advertisers a whole new way to get their products noticed. Brands who wish to capitalize on the popularity of video should build a short-form video strategy in order to also stay relevant.
What Are the Benefits to Businesses?
If you're a startup or a small business owner thinking about the value of Influencer Marketing Post-COVID-19, here are some of the most compelling reasons:
Brand awareness has increased
Influencer marketers dare to improve brand visibility in a very short period due to their vast reach. When influencers, particularly those with a spotless track record of advocating things without prejudice, endorse anything, people take notice right away.
Furthermore, when recommendations come from trusted influencers, consumers believe they are genuine. However, the influencer must be authentic to persuade the consumer, as fluff can easily be detected these days.
Pinpointed targeting
Rather than launching your own social media advertisements, consider collaborating with influencers. You can obtain greater results this way since influencers have audiences that are specific to certain topics, nations, and demographics.
In some ways, internet influencers have already done the hard job of weeding out a specific audience. To push the limit and get things going, you merely need to contact the "appropriate social media influencer."
For example, if you’re a clothing brand, then it makes sense to reach out to influencers in the fashion industry. If you're launching a new beauty product, now is the moment to work with social media influencers that focus on beauty and so on.
A successful content strategy
Working with influencers can result in compelling content for both you, the business owner and the influencer's followers.
It is dubbed that the "renewed content approach" is more imaginative and geared at attracting those who are interested in a niche specialty. Influencer material is a breath of fresh air during the monotonous promotional content that many firms produce regularly.
Also, while dealing with a social media influencer, don't put too much pressure on them to establish a content plan that is identical to yours. Influencers that have been in the business for a long time and have a handle on what they're doing, are far more innovative than you think. Limiting an influencer to a sales script provided by your firm is as solid a rule of thumb as any other.
Influencer marketing, according to experts, may yield a greater ROI (up to 11 percent) than standard marketing tactics. We cannot, however, deny that this significantly greater ROI percentage will complement or fit your business strategy. Before starting any marketing plan, a team of professionals must assess several key restraints.
To examine your company requirements and scalability possibilities, we propose talking with influencer marketing agency professionals. Getting advice from a subject matter expert is always preferable.
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