One of the most debated marketing tools of the last decade, what the future holds for influencer marketing in a post COVID world is just as up for discussion. From a pure marketing perspective, we’ve seen brands across the board cutting their budgets. One of the first things many decided to cut was spending on non-traditional forms of advertising. This has called into question if the nearly $10b/year industry can weather the storm.
While all this has been going on, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of time people are spending on social media platforms. Both Facebook and Instagram have reported that their usage by people under 35 is up by nearly 40%. Other platforms have seen comparative numbers.
One of the biggest things that set influencers apart from other marketing types is the connection between the content creator and the target audience. Relevant influencers have built a relationship with their followers and know which types of content will garner the highest engagement rates.
As ROI takes an even larger role in marketers’ plans, micro-influencers with their niche followings have the potential to become in high demand. Engagement rates are much higher for micro-influencers and a recent study stated that 70% of millennials are influenced by social content from their peers. Their low cost per engagement makes them a good fit for brands looking to try out influencer marketing on a budget.
One of the prevailing reasons for the recent surge in social media consumption has of course been the rise in unemployment coupled with the self-quarantine measures imposed in many countries. Expectations that influencer marketing campaigns six months to a year from now will still garner the same types of engagement are optimistic and probably misguided.
Of all the industries to be hit hardest by COVID, travel and tourism are at the top of the list. A recent IZEA Worldwide report showed the industry saw a 66% drop in content volume for travel and tourism, two of the biggest markets for influencers. Once restrictions begin to relax and traveling becomes common again, we expect to see the types of influencers that specialize in these topics to be highly sought after by marketing agencies.
On average, B2B marketers have to create campaigns for four different target audiences. The ability to easily repurpose influencer-generated content not only saves time but also money. B2B marketing generally requires more time to take effect because B2B purchase decisions are more long-term and comprehensive. Influencer-generated content can have a significant long-lasting effect on B2B campaigns because it continues to be picked up by organic SEO searches.
While Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are the main platforms for social media influencers, newer(ish) platforms have started to see a sharp rise in users and marketer attention. Most notable among these are TikTok (800 M monthly active users) and Twitch (15 M daily active users).
Only available worldwide since August of 2018, TikTok has become increasingly popular recently, especially among Gen Z which makes up 60% of its users. While other age groups have seen their numbers increase, it is the perfect platform for marketers looking to reach this highly sought after segment. Additionally, the average amount of time users spend on TikTok (52 minutes/day) outpaces Facebook (38 minutes/day) and Instagram (28 minutes/day).
Everyone has at least one video game that they love. Much like TikTok, Twitch users are predominantly younger, with 73% under the age of 34. Twitch gives users the opportunity to see people playing their favorite games in real-time. On average, 56,000 people are broadcasting at any time to almost 1.5 million viewers. Finally, Twitch viewers spend average time spent on the platform is over 8 times more than YouTube (95 minutes vs. 11.5 minutes).
At the time of writing this, there still isn’t a consensus on when worldwide lockdown measures will end. Until a sense of normalcy returns we can expect to see many of the trends in terms of time spent online and lack of spending by certain industries to continue. When that day does happen, the adaptability of the influencer marketing industry has proven that it will continue to thrive.
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