59 Percent Of Influencers Report An Increase In Brand Interest During COVID-19

At the onset of the pandemic, influencer marketing took a hit as marketers canceled events, postponed product launches and slashed budgets—resulting in a 41 percent drop in influencer marketing efficiency. Despite the setback, the industry has rebounded and influencers have proven to be even more valuable this year. That’s according to the latest research from HypeAuditor, which found that 59 percent of influencers have seen an increase in brands wanting to work with them during COVID-19.

The results, based on a survey of 1,000 influencers worldwide, reveal that the pandemic has encouraged influencers to create more, but different content. Sixty percent said they’ve changed their content since the beginning of the pandemic and 42 are posting more content than before.

Two-thirds are also feeling pressure to produce content immediately, with 40 percent attributing this to the amount of influencers that have emerged since lockdowns began. For 34 percent of respondents, this increased pressure stems from their desire to obtain better brand deals.

For brands, influencers have remained or are becoming an integral part of their pandemic strategies, as 50 percent of marketers reported spending more money on influencer marketing during COVID. And 22 percent of brands plan to increase their influencer marketing spend by 30 percent or more.

Their investments are paying off, as 62 percent of brands said they’ve noticed increased sales due to influencer partnerships vs. online ad campaigns. In addition, 37 percent of brands reported an increase in consumer trust after working with an influencer.

Half of brands believe the most effective influencers have between 5,000 and 20,000 followers, namely nano-influencers and micro-influencers, two groups that marketers have increased investment in over the past year. Research from Influencer Marketing Hub and Creator IQ found that on Instagram, nano-influencers have seven times the engagement rate than mega-influencers, those with more than 1 million followers.

Thirty-seven percent of brands said influencers with an audience size between 100,000 and 500,000 yield the best results.

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