Lessons I Hope Lockdown Taught Brands About Digital Marketing, Influencer Marketing and Social Media Marketing
The Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown restrictions forced businesses around the world to adapt their core value propositions.
Marketers had to quickly re-invent the rulebook to keep up — and to keep going.
So what light do we take with us from the crack that is COVID-19? What lessons have businesses learnt that we should carry into the post-lock down era?
There are so many lessons this list could have been 20 long, but here are a few which I hope lockdown taught brands about Digital Marketing, Influencer Marketing and Social Media Marketing.
1. Your brand can reach more people online than anywhere else.
2. Influencer marketing and content marketing are key drivers of online success.
3. Marketing departments can save more money with online activations, events, and campaigns than with traditional campaigns. Online event assets are easier to track and afford brands opportunities to repurpose their content real estate.
4. Plugging yourself (as the brand) into existing online assets is more effective than creating your own online platforms from scratch. Collaborate with Podcasters, YouTubers etc, and leverage from their existing communities.
5. Influencer/thought leadership produced content converts to more engagement, leads, customer acquisition, and sales than overly scripted “Brand × Influencer” generated content.
6. An influencers community can tell the difference between a social media advert and a meaningful paid collaboration between influencers and brand.
7. Unique voices and not necessarily new content drives success online.
8. An influencers true influence is driven by the value of their community, not by the number of followers they have. Invest in influencers who have communities that have rallied behind them.
9. Good influencers have a meaningful understanding of their community and how brands can extract value from that community. Therefore Influencers should be integrated more meaningfully and as easily as possible into a content marketing strategy for influencer campaigns.
10. Conversation and audience participation are a good thing. Brands that are afraid to participate in conversations about them, lose out on opportunities to grow and cater to customer needs.
11. Authentic “Brand × Influencer” collaboration reinforces brand credibility, core brand values, and brand promise. Choose influencers meaningfully.
12. Customers who consume content online are global consumers by virtue of the internet being a space that can reach anyone in the world. They are aware and they have options.
13. Inclusive and diverse social media marketing and influencer marketing campaigns are the currency for an informed, global audience. You can’t trick the digital customer.
14. Online cancel culture is a powerful force that can bring brands to their knees. Brands need to manage their online assets with immense skilful, social and cultural sensitivity.
15. Lastly, TECH is IMPORTANT, and it should be incorporated into marketing strategy as early as possible.
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