THE STATE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING AFTER THE EVENTS OF 2020
The pandemic brought with it a slew of changes to which brands and marketers spent much of 2020 adapting.
One thing that happened while everyone was watching but no one was really paying attention is that social media influencers went from being “online celebrities” to being bona fide online community leaders.
During the pandemic, influencers were the first to pivot their messaging. They took ownership of disseminating information to their followers, encouraging their community members, keeping them occupied, and even providing mental health resources.
When the murder of George Floyd gave way to a social movement, influencers held the line, starting the hard conversations that civil rights leaders have been angling to get brands and communities to have for more than 50 years.
THE INFLUENCER MARKETING SPACE HAS MATURED. INFLUENCERS PROVED THEIR INTRINSIC VALUE BEYOND JUST POSTING OOTD CONTENT FOR BRANDS.
That shift is the focus of this report.
#quarantinelife – The Shelf team reviewed the data surrounding influencers’ roles in creating community health hubs on Instagram to set the tone for global downtime.
#speakup – We sifted through the data to find out what role influencers played in activating people to take part in a protest that started in Minnesota and reached as far as New Zealand.
#vote2020 – We surveyed influencers to find out their thoughts on politicians running influencer marketing campaigns.
#globalcitizen – We even worked with influencers who created pro bono content as part of a social action campaign that reached more than 5 million Instagram users.