There are certain undeniable facts that will face each other head-on in the coming months:
- With COVID-19 continuing to foster a shelter-at-home scenario, people are spending more time on social media and the number of users continues to grow, amplifying reach.
- In the face of it and the economic downturn, businesses are scrutinizing ad spend now more than ever before.
Things were on an extremely good track for influencer marketing with brands anticipated to allocate $15 billion to this strategy by 2022, according to Business Insider Intelligence, an increase from $8 billion in 2019. With the impact of the pandemic, only a crystal ball can predict what will happen next.
There are some highlights to consider. Business Insider Intelligence predicts that influencer marketing will flourish as more content creators embark on it, society in general is more engaged in social media and the voice and the endorsement influencers provide brands becomes more relevant and important. In fact, 71% of consumers are likely to make purchases based on social media referrals (Source: Invesp).
There will be change. Buying habits are in a state of flux, for instance, away from business casual to sweats, home décor instead of travel abroad. The key as to how vibrant this tactic will be, as you might have imagined, is measurement. As budgets tighten, ROI will be carefully examined with the use of direct links, custom landing pages, unique URLs, QR and promotional codes relied upon to help track effectiveness. Influencers need to continue to be at the top of their game.
Those who abandon their effort in establishing partnerships with content creators are being short-sighted. It takes time and a financial commitment to gain momentum that once quickly lost, is hard to recover. Even a smaller budget allocation would prevent a complete reboot as businesses revitalize. Influencer marketing has its distinct advantages as it engages, communicates and informs, does not require extensive creative such as commercial photography and graphic design and can be turned on-a-dime.
All things considered, the consensus is that the forecast looks bright for this marketing strategy and it will prove invaluable on the road to recovery.
