How influencer marketing can help brands during COVID-19 

rewardStyle is in the unique position to look across our entire platform of thousands of brands and influencers, as well as millions of our consumers through our consumer distribution, LIKEtoKNOW.it, to provide strategic and actionable insights that bring greater certainty during these uncertain times. In the wake of the COVID-19, the role of influencers has become even more paramount as consumers exponentially increase their consumption of content as they adapt to the at-home lifestyle. As consumer behavior shifts to this new normal, we continue to see growth and demand opportunities in influencer marketing for brands who are seeking to rationalize their marketing spend. 

BRANDS ARE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencers humanize marketing and present a connection to the real world that consumers trust, especially in the current climate. Brands recognize this connection and are currently executing a greater number of campaigns both WoW and YoY. We executed more campaigns in the second half of March versus the first half of March, so demand is still there. In fact, in March 2020, YoY campaigns nearly doubled. So while brands are pivoting their messaging, they are not pivoting in spend (neither backing off or pivoting to other channels). Brands are maintaining pressure but redirecting their campaigns to categories of growth. 

BRANDS ARE TAPPING INTO POCKETS OF DEMAND
Our brand partners experienced growth with us during March as we helped them pivot to the shifts in consumer behavior. In fact, many of our top 100 brands experienced significant double-digit WoW click and WoW growth in GMV. Across these partners, clicks increased by an average of 20% and sales increased by an average of 65%. Brands experienced this growth because we know the influencer, their profile, the profile of their followers—both individually and collectively—so we positioned brands nearest to the demand. 

In addition, we identified follower insights from our consumer channel (LIKEtoKNOW.it) to further maximize a brand’s investment. For example, we identified more than a 400% increase in consumer searches for “loungewear” during the first week at home and advised our fashion brands to lean into athleisure. We also experienced a 100% increase in LIKEtoKNOW.it app searches for “office & desk furniture”, and therefore pivoted our home brands to home office and WFH accessories. By tapping into these pockets of demand, brands can do so with precision and ultimately maximize their marketing spend. 

BRANDS ARE MAXIMIZING THEIR SALES WITH INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencer marketing helps brand sales and promotions work harder. Influencers and brands who earn revenue by promoting e-commerce sales from their posts on social media experienced up to 30% increase in link activity in March. Through our influencer network, we were able to further maximize their investment of planned or newly-initiated sales to further motivate shoppers. We saw our retailers with site-wide sales average nearly 100% growth in daily GMV compared to early March. Rather than lean on traditional media channels, brands lean on influencers to help get the word out about sales with a relatable, authentic approach appropriate for the current climate 

Now more than ever, marketers must look for the best growth opportunity for their dollars.While the payback period with digital channels is similar, we differentiate in that we focus on conversion, so you can shrink your leap of faith compared to other channels, and have confidence in your return with us. rewardStyle can provide greater assurance on where to place your bets in this rapidly changing environment.

Cover image: Chic Talk 
Header image: Ever B. Styled