The Rise of Influencer Marketing as a go-to strategy in 2020
Keeping in line with the ‘change is the only constant’ philosophy, it’s incredible to see how influencer marketing—which was once a very niche arena in brand marketing—has taken an all-inclusive, 360-degree transformational turn during the pandemic. In the lockdown, when the whole world had gone offline from the streets, it was the online world that saw unparalleled engagement. It seamlessly spread its wings and took proactive control over the whole narrative.
Anything and everything became a viral trend that was actively spearheaded and consumed by everyone online. Something like a dalgona coffee became an overnight sensation oblivious to its almost ancient origin and use by the name of ‘fetti hui coffee.’ From celebrities to micro-level influencers, all partook in posting about it in an attempt to beat their share of FOMO. Even the leading coffee brands didn’t miss out to leverage the virality of this fad to earn those extra brownie points.
‘Pass the brush’ challenge, which first started out on TikTok, became a sensational trend across all social media platforms. A visibly fun video idea became such a huge craze that people from all nationalities, ages, and genders took part in it. Here too, influencers took the opportunity to not only popularise this trend but also effortlessly personalized it and gave it their individual flavor that panned out in creative formats.
Even OTT platforms, which have now taken to a collaborative premise that people love to binge-watch no matter what, have been ahead in the race to leverage influencers to construct creative narratives around their shows and movies. From the likes of Komal Pandey and Kusha Kapila promoting The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives through a catchy song to Prajakta Koli starring in a Netflix original series herself, OTT platforms have been more than keen to employ the humongous power of influencers and their permeating network. With curious patience, we can all wait to see what all industries would go ahead and tap into the world of influencers. With the kind of tremendous transitions influencer marketing has been making in recent times, its overarching dominance in the field of marketing won’t come as a total surprise.
While it is quite clear that 2020 was the year for influencers, was it also the year where brands made a significant shift in investing in influencers over media houses? The answer is a delirious yes!
Marketing campaigns have robustly seen a massive shift between their pre-covid and post-covid agendas. In the time when the world is still battling the pandemic, brands have realised how crucial it has become to strive for a marketing campaign that is more holistically effective and integratively impactful. As a way to achieve that, they have actively started to incorporate influencer marketing in their brand campaigns; so much so that they may actually prefer to invest in influencers than shell out all their money on media houses alone. Before covid, there used to be launch events and a lot of offline marketing to promote brands. But now, brands are taking the game virtually and engaging in a heavy influencer blow out to get more traction for their product/service. Initially, it was only the fashion and beauty segment that saw major influencer activity and engagement. Now, the category has expanded to FMCG, tech, home & living, etc. There are several reasons behind such a drastic transition.
For starters, influencers are credibility and trust builders. They serve as the perfect bearers of a credible voice that enjoys a great influence on their followers. Gone are the days when a brand would solely rely on the popularity of a big celebrity. Now is the time, when a brand would prefer to leverage not just the popularity of a reliable influencer but also the prodigious degree of credibility that he brings to the table. These influencers are extremely relatable, and they churn out the most engaging content for their followers.
Moreover, when it comes to influencer engagement, a lot of their activities happen in real time wherein the brand can actually gauge the success of the campaign—in terms of reach, engagement and traction— by looking at the likes, shares, views, followers and other quantifiable components. Apart from that, finding and connecting with influencers has become incredibly easy since they are all over social media.
When a brand employs the services of an influencer, it is not just his popularity, credibility and audience that emerge as the determining factors. Rather, it is that influencer’s creative genius that comes into play as well. It has been established over time that creative content grabs more eyeballs, which eventually translates to gaining more traction for the brand. Interestingly, since each influencer is unique and different, what she creates is essentially quite authentic as it can’t be replicated.
Influencers build their network and following over time, and they know quite well how to get their target audience ticking. They know that their audience is looking to consume and act upon brand content that is creative, relatable, and realistic. So basically, your run-of-the-mill ideas find no place in an influencer’s modus operandi.
Clearly, there are several reasons why influencer marketing has become such an indispensable force to reckon with. However, there is one factor that gives it its distinctive flavor—it is its propensity to set off the bandwagon effect on people. People like to see, hear, and do what everyone else is doing, and influencers are the best persons to trigger that. While this psychological voodoo harmlessly drives monumental change, it also strategically fuels this multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow with leaps and bounds.
About the author:
Ramya Ramachandran, Founder, Whoppl