Working With Influencers In The Covid Era: New Rules, New Ways of Engagement
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many marketers to pivot their budgets into different areas that they may have only dabbled in before. One of those marketing tactics getting a lot more attention is influencer marketing. According to a recent Chief Marketer survey, before COVID-19, influencer marketing was ranked as a top three ROI strategy among nine percent of marketers. After COVID hit, that number jumped to 22 percent.
Not surprisingly, social media use and engagement is skyrocketing, too, giving online influencers new reach and leverage. As a result, the art of partnering with a social media influencer or celebrity to promote your brand has changed.
Indeed, when it comes to striking the right chord with the right influencer partnership—the stakes have never been higher. Join Chief Marketer editors and an expert panel to hear lessons learned from brands that have effectively pivoted into influencer marketing and leveraged successful partnerships in this unprecedented time.
You’ll learn how to:
Craft an influencer strategy that’s authentic to your target audience and goals
Avoid tone deaf messaging and visuals while building brand trust
Identify best practices for vetting influencers and combatting fraud
Work with third-party agencies to supplement campaign strategies
Choose social platforms that work best for your target audience and objectives
Develop true content collaborations between your brand and influencers
Devise measurement strategies for delivering desired campaign outcomes
Identify best practices for influencer contracts in the COVID-19 era
Assess which influencer tier—micro, macro or celebrity—works best for your brand
Determine production needs and “co-create” with talent
FULL AGENDA:
SESSION 1: INFLUENCER PARTNERSHIPS: FOSTERING A VALUES-BASED APPROACH
Choosing an influencer to work with, particularly during times of political and cultural upheaval, must be informed by a clear strategy and carefully crafted business goals. Learn how to ensure that influencer partnerships are reflective of shared business goals and are values-based. Discover how influencers can help build brand trust and be part of the solution. Hear which social platforms work best for specific business goals, how to foster creative partnerships with influencers and best practices when it comes to protecting brands’ agreements with content creators.
Speaker:
Kim Haney, Senior Manager of Experiential Marketing, Pernod Ricard
SESSION 2: IN THE TRENCHES: HOW TWO BRANDS ARE LEVERAGING VIRTUAL PLATFORMS
In this lively panel discussion with two established brands from different industries—Turner Networks and Ally Financial—you’ll hear how influencers are now leveraged at virtual events, how the advent of direct mail “marketing boxes” are assisting brands while social distancing and how diversity and representation have taken center stage in both brand communications and actions taken. You’ll learn how to use different tiers of influencers to meet business goals, leverage the right social media platforms, ensure your partnerships with influencers are authentic and use measurement strategies to meet specific KPIs. Plus, you’ll hear about the brands’ latest influencer marketing campaigns and how they’ve pivoted during the COVID-19 era.
Speakers:
Dan Cho, VP, Digital & Social Marketing, TBS/TNT/truTV
Saloni Janveja, Executive Director, Social Media and Marketing Innovation, Ally Financial
SESSION 3: INFLUENCER MARKETING’S RISE: NEW RULES FOR THE COVID ERA
COVID-19 has required marketers to examine all campaign messaging—and influencer marketing programs are no exception. In this session you will learn how to pivot when facing challenges, such as what the industry is experiencing with COVID-19. You’ll learn tips for thinking more strategically when communicating with audiences during a time of stress and uncertainty. Learn how marketers can harness content creators, filmmakers and editors to deliver quality content when productions are halted. Also, hear a discussion about best practices for vetting influencers and combatting fraud, advice on managing influencer contracts and how technology can enhance the influencer marketing campaign process and their measurement.
Speaker:
Chris Bower, Senior Vice President of Sales and Brand Partnerships, Fullscreen
