Influencer Marketing in the Face of a Crisis

You secured your influencer marketing budget. You planned your campaigns. You hired the right agency who started securing your influencers. Everything was looking pretty rosy until… a global pandemic hit.

It’s not the first time and it’s not the last that a major crisis has thrown your business planning into a tailspin. The coronavirus outbreak just happens to be a long, large, far-reaching disruption not only to our health and well-being but to our lives as we know them.

So what’s a brand to do in the face of a crisis? Is it still appropriate to operate under a “business as usual” strategy or does everything come to a grinding halt? Probably neither. The real question is, how should we navigate in these unprecedented times?

Here are several approaches to consider as you rethink your influencer marketing strategy in the face of a crisis.

Shift Your Focus Entirely

While this is an uncertain time for many businesses, some brands have been able to shift their resources to directly address the pandemic. Hanes (Hanesbrands Inc.), known mostly for t-shirts and underwear, announced on its Facebook and Instagram pages that they will be converting some of their factories to produce cotton masks in the United States for healthcare workers. 

Lysol, which has once again become a household name, is using its cache to support the CDC through matching donations.

While most companies won’t be able to have a direct impact on the spread of the coronavirus, they can find other ways to connect with their customers during this time.

Shift Your Influencer Messaging

Not every company can make multi-million dollar donations nor can they help provide life-saving supplies. But they can shift the messaging for any existing or upcoming influencer campaigns.

For example, Theresa Pickett of Theresa’s Reviews took her sponsored post highlighting Little Bites and created an Instagram post with tips on celebrating a birthday, social distancing- style. Her advice included a virtual birthday party as well as picking up favorite snacks to celebrate at home.

In most cases, the campaign and the influencers can remain the same with the messaging tweaked to be more culturally appropriate right now.

Focus on Hot Topics

If campaigns haven’t been launched, there’s no better time to focus on topics that have suddenly become hot and trending! 

With a lot of at-home time, people are relying on the internet in ways they haven’t before. Influencers have reported an increase in traffic to content focusing on food & drink (meal planning, recipes, baking, cocktail recipes), mind/body health & wellness, entertainment (music, movies & tv, gaming) , crafts & DIY, and parenting tips & tricks including time management, and online education resources. 

If it makes sense for your brand, find a way to include your messaging in one of these verticals.

Time to Go LIVE

Although live streaming has been hot for a while, it’s become essential in our need to connect with fellow humans. From Peloton continuing to offer its live fitness classes (albeit without a typical in-studio audience) to celebrity DJs like D-Nice hosting a worldwide house party on Instagram Live, video is king and continues to be the great connector.

Even small businesses are using this time as an opportunity for a lot of creativity on social media. Local California wineries have encouraged online wine sales and plan to host virtual tastings for their customers to help bring the in-person experience to their homes.

Now is the time for your brand or your influencers to connect directly with a captive (almost literally audience). And with streaming available on TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, it’s easy to be where your audience is.

Why Continue Working with Influencers

Content matters more than ever.

As we shift to working from and staying at home, we are all seeking engaging content to keep us not only entertained but educated to help us through these times. We know a lot of marketing and advertising tactics are being reevaluated, but there has never been a better time to leverage influencers who have always been seen as trusted voices for their communities. The entire world is online now and social media is keeping us all connected. 

During this time, we are all becoming more digital and it’s possible that we won’t go “back” to how we once were. And the more significant social media becomes, the more significant influencer content becomes.

As with other industries, influencers are being impacted by the coronavirus as well. Many campaigns have been canceled or delayed which means a loss of income for them as well.

During this time, they are looking for brand partnerships that will make sense for their platforms with the right messaging for the current environment.

If you’re interested in learning more about influencer partnerships, Blissful Media Group can help you navigate the best ways to work with influencers right now and in the near term.