Majority of influencers see a significant increase in follower activity
The pandemic is an unavoidable topic of conversation – whether it’s a conversation in the queue in front of the supermarket, or a video call with a colleague. This appears to be no different in the world of influencers: a study into the behavior of influencers and their followers shows that 80% of the influencers surveyed regularly or often made content about the corona virus in the past months. Fitness influencers are exercising at home, YouTubers come up with creative challenges you can do at home and fashion bloggers are shopping online. But what other effects does the corona crisis have on influencers and their followers?
Activity
What stands out the most is that both influencers and their followers are more active, which makes total sense. Almost a quarter of the influencers indicate that they have created more content than usual. They also try out channels they haven’t used before, they have more time on their hands, they can’t travel, can’t go to events, parties etcetera. Your phone usage has probably increased too. Am I right?
Followers
However, the opportunities for influencers and the companies they work with lie with the activity of their followers. That activity has increased significantly: more than half of influencers indicate that they have seen more views and / or traffic on their channels, and they also report an increase in the number of likes and comments. In addition, influencers indicate that they have gained more new followers. These increases offer opportunities for advertisers, with the same influencer you can now reach a bigger audience due to their follower growth.
Covid-19 is changing the media landscape faster and this will likely stay this way in the foreseeable future. Many of the trusted channels of advertisers are less effective. Now that consumers are spending even more time on social media, this is also the place where advertisers should be.
Collaborations
Nevertheless, influencers are also affected by the crisis: many collaborations have been paused, postponed or canceled. More than one influencer has indicated that they have had fewer requests for collaborations in the past month than in the months before. As a result, some of them have decided to lower their rates. Which brings opportunities for your brand to start with or expand your influencer marketing budget / strategy.
