The global outbreak of COVID-19 quickly caused disruption for influencer marketers. With teams now adjusting to working from home as offices shut, advertising budgets have been frozen, and industry events postponed or cancelled altogether, the influencer marketing industry has been quick to react and adapt.

In response to the pandemic, the industry has banded together and shifted their strategies, messaging and content to highlight how vital human-to-human influencer marketing content is as audiences look to creators as a source of relevant information and much-needed entertainment.

Here’s a run-down of the smart campaigns, ideas, and offerings the leaders in the industry have launched in order to raise awareness of the pandemic and engage with their peers and audiences on a deeper level during this time of great distress.

Whalar

Whalar is introducing Whalar From Home, a new series of live video events to support the industry by providing resources to help brands and marketers effectively navigate influencer marketing during these testing times.

Viacom

Viacom partnered with the Ad Council to launch AloneTogether, a social campaign about social distancing in order to communicate the importance of social distancing at such a crucial time. The campaign includes a set of mobile ads that encourage people to stay home, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. Each ad includes the hashtag #AloneTogether and the following message: “We’ll be here to keep you company.” They have also released a talent video, encouraging viewers to stay at home and practice safe social distancing.

Takumi

Influencer agency Takumi launched a multimarket pro-bono campaign across TikTok and Instagram to protect public health. The campaign is running in the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain will help drive awareness and spread positively during this time.

The campaign is split into two executions.

  • #SafeHands – this initiative will raise awareness of the World Health Organisations protection measures against Covid-19 and highlight what influencers can do for 20 seconds whilst washing their hands e.g. playing keeping the ball off the ground etc.
  • Protect your mental health – given that the public is being advised to stay at home, this activation will ensure that anyone following social distancing measures is kept in the loop with the latest coronavirus updates and advised the best tips to protect their mental health during this period

Tailify

Tailify has launched a WhatsApp community where they’ll be releasing daily advice for brands and companies trying to navigate through these times. They have also partnered with the World Health Organization to deliver relevant messages to audiences.

CreatorIQ

CreatorIQ has launched an industry hub to share useful resources and powerful initiatives. It includes what big social platforms have created for the industry, ideas around employee support and thoughts on how influencer marketing will change.

Talent Village

Talent Village has launched the global movement #BreakTheVirus to battle COVID-19 by helping people stay at home. The creators will entertain audiences by performing new songs they wrote, sharing some acting tips, running a painting class or even teaching new recipes. Audiences have been invited to share skills they have by using the #BreakTheVirus hashtag. They can nominate three friends to take up the challenge too. A swipe up link will also be available for donations to the Covid-19 Response fund.

Digital Voices

YouTube influencer marketing agency Digital Voices is calling on YouTubers who have lost work as a result of the health crisis to get in touch so Digital Voices can match them with existing brand sponsorship campaigns the agency has. They are also running interactive online advice sessions every fortnight, offering tips and advice for how YouTubers can grow their audiences and also how they can work with brands during these troubled times.

As part of the scheme, Digital Voices is also urging YouTubers to incorporate COVID-19 public health messaging in their broadcasts to help ensure the YouTube community is helping to urge people to stay at home and stop the spread of the virus.

Tagger Media

Tagger Media is offering free chats for anyone that has questions around influencer reporting, measurement, analysis, and influencer vetting. Hit Ana Thorsdottir up if you want a helping hand.

Tagger is also putting together a series of content in their blog over the coming weeks, highlighting insights and useful influencer marketing strategies to help your business pivot and grow during this challenging time.

Influencity

Influencity has launched the solidarity #yomequedocontigo initiative to give voice and visibility to small businesses and SMEs who want to offer their services completely free of charge. They invite those companies that are offering free services to register on this form in order to disseminate it.

Vamp

Vamp is offering small to medium businesses free access to the Vamp platform to help those who rely on marketing to continue to promote their products and services during this time, without platform or management fees. The company has also partnered with the World Health Organisation on their #SafeHands campaign to help spread awareness around the important safety practice. The creators were asked to post a video of them actively washing or sanitising their hands correctly and tag a friend to pass on the “challenge”.

MG Empower

MG Empower has designed a live online weekly class to bring enlightenment to followers’ day over the next few weeks. The #WeAreTogether campaign will feature meditation, yoga, cooking, dancing and more.

Wearisma

In an effort to document the changing behaviour of various online communities and our way of life, and to highlight the way brands are and should be responding in this current climate, Wearisma has launched a new mini-series “(Digital) Life in the Time of Coronavirus”. From in-depth analysis to digital-forums to webinars, the mini-series will give you an insightful and digestible view on this new digital world of influence on a weekly basis.

Pulse Advertising

Pulse Advertising is working with the German Department of Health, pro bono, to spread awareness on the importance of staying home. The company created a large scale influencer marketing activation for #WirBleibenZuhause to make young people aware of the importance of social distancing.

Matter Of Form

Over the next 12 weeks, Matter Of Form will be offering complimentary Community Management support across Facebook and Instagram, to any of their contacts in need of help at this challenging time, as a small gesture of support for businesses and their communities. In this time of physical isolation, Matter of Form believes bringing together online communities with taste and sensitivity will be invaluable. If you are interested, get in touch via hello@matterofform.com.

Popular Pays is donating its platform and services to various non-profit organisations and connecting them with key influencers that are able to quickly engage with their robust followers. They are also furthering the “Pop Pays It Forward” program and asking creators to donate their feeds for the same causes.

CURE Media

CURE Media is running a virtual influencer marketing meetup where they’ll do their best to answer current questions and thoughts – such as how the spread of COVID-19 affects consumer behaviors and the online marketing landscape, and of course, the influencer marketing industry.

The Fifth Agency

For anyone (most of us) working from home, The Fifth has put together a fun playlist to help you get through the day. The Fifth has also been busy working with fellow agencies on supporting the World Health Organization and WPP on a pro bono campaign to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by rallying influencers to promote the correct handwashing behaviour to a global audience. Behind the scenes, the team at The Fifth is working on new initiatives to support frontline workers and small businesses through this difficult time.

SocialPubli

SocialPubli has launched a pro-bono iniative to assist non-profits from over 35 countirues responding to the COVID-19 crisis in raising awareness and mobilising support for their causes. Effective immediately, local, national, and international non-profits in North America, South America, and Europe will be able to utilise the platform to launch influencer marketing campaigns on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook,
Twitter, and YouTube.

Billion Dollar Boy

Influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy has launched BDB TV, an influencer-
powered production company created to tackle the production chaos caused by the Coronavirus. BDB TV will harness the agency’s influencers to quickly deliver high-quality content that can be created from the influencer’s home, meaning the production costs will be a fraction of a traditional TV ad, for example.

ChannelMum

With many families needing assistance, mum social media influencers in the UK have banded together to create a daily programme of ‘lockdown content’ to help families for free. Organised by ChannelMum.com, the #influenceforgood campaign is entirely produced by families in quarantine ‘from one mother to another’. Help ranges from budget cooking lessons and arts and crafts to mindfulness and family fitness.

The Corner

The Corner has been working with Little Dish, who are giving out 10,000 toddler meals to families with frontline workers as parents, and influencers in the parenting space, who have been helping raise awareness of the initiative and have been sharing custom assets to their pages pro bono, too.

Do you have something to shout about that you would like included? Email content@talkinginfluence.com.

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