How has COVID-19 affected the influence of the influencers?

Around nine months ago, the world as we knew it changed. 

As the near-term effects of the outbreak continue to be felt across the global economy, there are several industries that have gotten disrupted – for better off or worse, and one of them is influencer marketing. 

While businesses and creators within the influencer marketing industry have been putting their best foot forward to adapt, times have been tough. Campaigns have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely, travel sponsorships have been canned till the distant future, and brands have been weary of expanding their marketing budgets.

But as we wind up November, we see that all’s not lost and it might not just be time yet to completely throw out the rulebook. 

• People being home and screen times have risen considerably, with everyone spending added hours on social media. Naturally, more people have started to look out for and consume alternate content coming in from various content creators.
• By pivoting revenue strategies, many content creators are looking at alternative streams, and are also focusing on long-term, adjusted, and realistic goals without getting distracted by short-term blues. 
• Some of the brands have also been soaring high because they acted on time and made the most of having people’s undivided attention on social media through influencer marketing.

In any case, this has raised some all-pervasive conversations on COVID-19 and what it means for the content creators. Read on to know more!

COVID-19 and the change in the content creating landscape 

To put it very simply, the pandemic has only accelerated the changes that were already coming. These include the shift towards more “unfiltered” or less-scripted content, rise of the reels, and the popularity of “everyday content creators”. Brands that hadn’t invested heavily or explored the space earlier at all have also started learning how to navigate the space and this only equals more opportunities and brands to collaborate with. 

This is not to say that the industry doesn’t bring with it challenges, but contrary to popular belief, brands are shifting their focus to reach out to their consumer bases the best way possible from homes — content creators. For brands there’s a new balance between being sensitive, yet providing entertainment and novel content and services through this medium. And since content creators have the capability to make their homes their playing ground, they definitely have the scope to act as spearheaders in generating awareness within their followers. 

More reasons for content to be better than ever

The audience wants a sense of normality and stability as the pandemic has caused concerns for the present and the future. In such a time, brands and content creators instead need to build trust and present a familiar face with hopeful and inspiring content. Brands have started leveraging content creators to subtly place their products or integrate while still taking a strong stand against the pandemic. After all, content creators do help give any campaign momentum, and that’s the beauty of it, don’t you think?

Higher engagement continues consistently 

Recent studies have shown that content these days have gotten more engagement than ever in the last 6 months. Creators have seen a spike in ad impressions and user engagement on sponsored posts across platforms. 87% of U.S. consumers and 80% of UK consumers say that they’ve consumed more content with online videos, one of the top areas of increased media consumption. We’re also seeing collaborations across all categories, some that had even been untouched before. Virtual content is becoming more innovative and brands are finding newer ways to make partnerships with content creators more useful and see how they can help their consumers. To match this high engagement, even though the ad prices are only increasing moderately at the moment, it’s inevitable for it to bounce back.

At VAVODigital, the platform is intuitively built for the content creators. With this revolutionary web and mobile based platform, VAVO aims to help all content creators directly reach out to brands of their choice and create content from the comfort of their own homes, work on their terms and prices while letting brands track their true performance, and ensure transparency and timely payments. With A to Z help on base pricing structure that you as a content creator should charge, content that will garner more eyeballs, and engagement rates that truly drive value, VAVODigital strives to be the industry’s beacon of hope and a much needed revolution. 

If you’re a content creator, it’s time to get digital, digital. (Get it?) 

Sign up in less than 2 minutes for free, only with VAVODigital! https://vavodigital.com/influencer/