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How the coronavirus is changing the influencer business, according to marketers and top Instagram and YouTube creators

Amanda Perelli and Dan Whateley

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• Marketers and digital creators are adjusting to rapid changes in the influencer-marketing industry as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.
• As with most businesses in the ad industry, professionals are trimming budgets, cancelling events, and looking for alternative revenue streams.
• Business Insider spoke to influencer-marketing professionals across the industry to better understand how they are adjusting their businesses to continue to earn a living during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic turmoil.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the near-term effects of the coronavirus outbreak continue to be felt across the global economy, businesses and creators in the influencer-marketing industry are doing their best to adapt.

Influencers have seen their sponsorship deals shut down and events cancelled, with many shifting their focus to alternative revenue streams that allow them to continue to earn a living without leaving their homes.

Influencer-marketing agencies are seeing brands postpone campaigns while also observing that engagement on social-media posts is higher than normal as more consumers spend time in physical isolation. Advertisers are also discovering that the influencer-marketing business model could be particularly well-suited to a time in which DIY ad content filmed at home remains viable while commercial photo shoots are shut down.

Business Insider spoke to influencer-marketing professionals across the industry to better understand how they are adjusting their businesses during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic turmoil.

Travel and event-based opportunities have shut down for influencers

Instagram influencers and YouTube creators who earn money through sponsorships are facing a decline in business because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"I think a lot of people in the travel industry are holding their breath," said travel blogger Oneika Raymond, who has 84,900 Instagram followers. "Companies are reluctant to take on anything new and therefore that is impacting the income of creators."

Travel influencer Lauren Bullen who currently lives in Bali and is known as @gypsea_lust on Instagram with 2.1 million followers, said all her paid trips had been canceled.

Read the full post: Coronavirus is 'impacting all talent' on Instagram as brands cancel influencer-marketing deals and paid events get put on hold

Christina Vidal

Influencers and marketers are shifting strategies to continue to earn a living

Influencers are starting to switch up their revenue strategies, focusing on long-term bets like direct-to-consumer businesses or alternative revenue streams like consulting, teaching, and coaching.

"I think focusing on the long term, and setting adjusted and realistic goals every day to keep you focused and not distracted by short-term blues, helps me a ton," said Christina Vidal, an Instagram influencer.

Read the full post: Instagram and YouTube stars are shifting strategies as some influencer-marketing sectors hit a 'standstill,' focusing on income streams like directly selling products and online coaching

Influencers have seen a recent jump in affiliate marketing sales as ecommerce surges, but it could be threatened as major retailers cut programs

Affiliate marketers like RewardStyle and SmartCommerce have seen spikes in ecommerce sales in recent weeks as consumers spend more time at home and shop online.

"Click-to-cart is becoming really popular right now," said Keith Bendes, brand partnerships lead at the influencer marketing firm Linqia. "It takes the consumer directly to Walmart.com or Target.com or Amazon so the product is already in the consumer's basket."

Read the full story: Influencers are seeing a big bump in affiliate link sales as ecommerce surges, but it could be threatened as major retailers cut programs

But any recent gains from commerce marketing could be short-lived, as major retailers like Macy's, Ralph Lauren, and Victoria's Secret shut down or lower commissions on their affiliate programs to save on costs.

At least 10 different retail companies suspended their commission-on-sales programs with the affiliate-marketing company RewardStyle.

Read the full story: 10 retailers like Macy's, Ralph Lauren, and Victoria's Secret suspended their affiliate programs with a top influencer platform

Hanna Coleman is an Instagram and YouTube influencer based in NYC who shares fitness tips with her followers.

Hanna Coleman

As people seek at-home workout alternatives, fitness influencers have seen a spike in engagement and in direct-to-consumer sales

Unlike fashion or travel, fitness creators have recently become an anomaly in the influencer business. These creators often focus on direct-to-consumer services, rather than relying on brand partnerships for revenue.

With an increased interest in at-home work out programs amid the pandemic, some of these fitness creators have seen an increase in sales and overall engagement online.

"I would say website traffic has been up over 50% since this started week-over-week," said Ryan Dunlop, chief operating officer and cofounder of Love Sweat Fitness. "We are growing a lot on Instagram right now, and we are seeing organic views of all of our content and engagement on our content up a lot right now."

Read the full story: Fitness influencers have seen a surge in sales of direct-to-consumer workout services, as brand deals slump amid the coronavirus pandemic

Audree Kate Lopez is a fashion stylist, consultant and influencer, @simplyaudreekate on Instagram.

Audree Kate

How the coronavirus could change the influencer-marketing industry

In a recent report, Izea, a company that connects marketers with influencers, studied the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on the influencer-marketing industry.

The report found that despite increased social-media usage, the prices paid per post on all social media may fall dramatically in the short term and continue to drop, depending on the length of the coronavirus outbreak and its overall impact.

During the last recession, the average cost of a sponsored post fell by 62.7% between 2008 and 2010, according to Izea's data.

Read the full story: An influencer-marketing agency estimated how 'dramatically' the price of sponsored posts on Instagram and other platforms will fall in the near term

And as brand deals get put on hold, influencers and marketers should consider mixed-compensation models and revised structures to manage costs and improve overall return on investment, Izea said.

What are brands thinking as the situation evolves?

"We're at an interesting point where brands are in a limbo area where they're kind of waiting to see what happens before they start spending their budgets as normal," said Anish Dalal, CEO of the influencer-marketing agency Sapphire Apps.

Read our key takeaways from the report: An influencer-marketing agency made a 68-page report on how the coronavirus could change the industry. Here are the 5 key takeaways.

Influencer marketers say engagement on sponsored and unpaid posts has soared the last few weeks

But even as campaigns get canceled, the ones that remain get more engagement.

As more people stay home in an effort to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, social-media use appears to be increasing. Influencer marketers are seeing a spike in ad impressions and user engagement on sponsored posts on apps like TikTok and Instagram.

The influencer marketing agency Obviously said it's seen a 76% boost in the number of "likes" on sponsored posts on Instagram in the past two weeks.

"Everyone is home and is on TikTok actively, and everyone's social distancing," said Mae Karwowski, the company's founder and CEO. "We're just consuming so much more content."

Read the full story: Influencer marketers say sponsored Instagram posts have had views, likes, and comments sharply increase the past 2 weeks

Many influencers are also reporting an uptick in engagement and views on unpaid social-media posts.

In a new survey of 389 digital creators conducted by the marketing firm Influence Central, creators reported seeing increases in audience engagement across social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and their personal blogs.

Influence Central's report focused on the period of time from mid-February to mid-March when states and local governments first began implementing stay-at-home orders in response to the pandemic.

Read our key takeaways from the survey: A survey of 389 influencers reveals how viewer habits on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have changed in recent weeks

And the cancellation of live sporting events is leading to increased demand for sports-related content on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

Tubular Labs, a leading social-video analytics firm, looked at what types of content digital creators are uploading and users are being drawn to as countries around the world enforce social isolation. The company put together a 22-page report on what content is grabbing consumers' attention.

Read our key takeaways from the report: A top social-video data firm made a 22-page report on how the coronavirus has changed viewer habits on YouTube and other platforms. Here are the 5 takeaways.

Brands are focusing on philanthropy and 'feel good' messaging for influencer marketing campaigns

Brands that are continuing to run marketing campaigns during the coronavirus pandemic are treading softly in order to avoid appearing insensitive or opportunistic. Many are leaning on influencers to strike the right tone.

"Brands are being very sensitive not to be tone-deaf at this time," said Vickie Segar, the founder of the influencer-marketing firm Village. "When you're working with influencers, they take every product and they put it into context. Their context right now is they're stuck at home."

Business Insider spoke with the chief operating officer of the influencer-marketing agency Linqia to learn how the firm is guiding brands and digital creators on how to create sponsored content during a crisis.

Read the full story: 7 key lessons for brands that want to run sponsored social-media posts during a crisis without appearing tone deaf, according to an influencer-marketing exec

Many brands are focusing on philanthropy and "feel good" messaging in recent ad campaigns.

The backpack company JanSport recently ran an influencer-marketing campaign focused on its charitable giving to the nonprofit World Central Kitchen.

"We wanted to really connect with students who are being displaced and also try to meet the needs of those students who rely on school for both a safe place to go during the day, and also nutrition," said Monica Rigali, the senior director of marketing at JanSport. "We just wanted to meet our consumer where they are right now. And we know they're on TikTok probably more than they should be."

In other categories of advertising like traditional TV commercials, brands like Toyota have been leaning into "feel good" messages of unity in place of more transactional messaging.

Read the full story: JanSport hired a Gen-Z 'think tank' to help launch a TikTok influencer campaign during the coronavirus pandemic without appearing tone deaf

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How have influencers been impacted by the coronavirus?

Answer 1

How have influencers been impacted by the coronavirus?

Many influencent marketing campaigns were stopped or completely scrapped due to the pandemic of coronavirus, as brands stop all activities which in the current environment may be considered insensitive. It is interesting that the vast majority of such initiatives are connected to supporting potential activities, such as tourism and hospitality that are not ongoing, or other sectors that have been directly impacted by the pandemic. At the same time marketers are clearly very careful that during this era of confusion and chaos, they are flippant or even allocating marketing expenses which can not be necessarily traced to revenue. Yet while marketers may try to find a way forward for ads, social content remains ubiquitous, with influencers in particular well equipped to cope – and the evolving behavior of the customers we see as a result. The rise in the use of social media and the systematic pursuit of information for the good of people during self-isolation can be very difficult. Influencers have also allowed live streams to talk to and communicate with viewers in real time, as a common medium. Self-isolation contributed to the creation and maintaining of relationships by individuals.

It may be tempting to dislike influencers whose job is to lead a better life than yours, but the profession has gone from a $5 billion to an industry worth 10 billion dollars in itself. Influencers have more confidence than celebrities and athletes, and more than half of young Americans between 13 and 38 years of age have bought on the basis of someone in their social feeds; 86 percent of them will be willing to purchase them themselves, given the chance. Some 88% of customers now have as much faith in online recommendations as in face-to-face recommendations. There are no public figures to measure how the pandemic will impact people making content on their personal platforms, but an inactive look at the layoffs, work stoppages and/or plummeted stock prices from companies they represent — LVMH, Volkswagen AG, Coty etc — suggests that the leverage they are recruiting is financially burdened, even painful. Advertisers 'budgets will be drastically reduced, and brands will exit business. I assume that it would lead many people to take other sources of income seriously.