Influencer Marketing during a Pandemic: Expectations vs. Reality

It comes as no surprise that during the Covid-19 crisis many of us look to our social media platforms for up-to-date information on the virus, how to stay safe, but also for entertainment and ways to escape everyday life while things slowly get back to normal after the lock-down.

Influencers have to think outside of the box when creating their content due to travel restrictions and lockdown rules.

Choosing the right platform is key

Influencer posts and influencer marketing has increased since the global pandemic started earlier this year, with TikTok in particular seeing a 23% rise in average viewing time and that number increasing on a monthly basis. In fact, 56% of brands plan to include TikTok in their future influencer marketing strategies in 2020, a platform largely driven by user generated content as well as Generation Z influencers.

TikTok reached two billion downloads in April 2020 and had the highest engagement on any social media platform according to Influencer marketing Hub. TikTok is a social platform that has become addictive and one can spend hours swiping up on videos. Commercially led videos are very smoothly integrated into the short video format making it a great platform to organically advertise products and services that are relevant during the global pandemic - such as food delivery services and meal kits.

Your favourite influencer is going live

Live streaming has always been a feature that influencers used, however, with influencers finding new ways to connect with their audience there has been a drastic increase of live streaming formats such as interviews, online concerts and Q&As. Research has shown that in many cases, users are notified as much as 200% more often about live streams than any other activity within their social media stream.

Since brands cannot create high quality production videos with influencers showcasing their products, influencers have had the opportunity to advertise these products in a much more natural and authentic way. Instead of shooting a video about how to incorporate a new skin care product into their life, the influencer would now host a Live stream where she speaks about her favourite beauty products that she genuinely uses during lockdown. Users do hear the product review by means of the influencer`s voice instead of the voice of a total stranger in a paid-for-commercial. By incorporating live streams into their content, influencers are turning social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram into places where users spend more time connecting with the brands they know and trust.

South African influencer Aisha Baker showing her followers her updated hair care routine using the Organics Nature Escape range.

Live streams and webinars allow influencers to talk and interact with their followers in real- time, making the experience feel more intimate and personal, as if you’re having a conversation with a friend. Live videos have also allowed influencers to bring their followers on their lockdown-journey offering them real life tips on how to cope during the pandemic that has left many feeling alone and scared.

YouTuber and fashion influencer Aidette Cancino opening up about her mental health during lockdown.

The pandemic has also allowed influencers to be a lot more vulnerable, relying on their followers for support which makes them a lot more relatable than before the global crisis.

Curated vs. spontaneous

Now more than ever people are craving social media content that is authentic and relevant – it is very easy to spot content that isn’t. Influencers understand that they are catering for their followers` needs and that’s how they bring value to our lives, as fashion and beauty influencer Mikai Mcdermott says, “People aren’t concerned with my regular content right now. They don’t want to see me only talking about make-up or fashion. They want to know how my family is, how I’m doing, how my mental health is”. In the era of COVID-19, people want to connect with influencers on a personal level, which means that they are mostly not focusing on how to live an aspirational lifestyle, but rather sharing relatable stories and tips on how to best get by during the pandemic.

Brands need to consider this when partnering up with Influencers, and carefully think through the message they want to portray about their brand. For example a UK based pharmacy partnered up with influencer Madeline Shaw to discuss how she has adapted to a new life during lockdown, rather than having Madeline doing the usual pushing of beauty products.

IGTV showing Influencer Madeline Shaw taking her followers through her daily routines and rituals during the pandemic. The video is sponsored by a UK based pharmacy.

The Covid-19 crisis has forced us out of a curated social media space and into a more organic and spontaneous space. Travel bloggers can no longer take us on adventures through Fishriver Canyon or view Cape Town’s magnificent sunsets from Table Mountain. They had to become creative in producing content and to think outside the box.

Lock-down landscape

Since influencers cannot create their ‘usual’ content such as posting travel blogs, restaurant reviews or OOTD (outfit of the day) Instagram posts they have to be a lot more creative and offer value to people’s lives with newer, fresher and more relevant content.

Local digital content creator Woven, who is a travel and lifestyle influencer, posted a YouTube video about easy meal preparation during lockdown that has just under 5 000 views, with many positive comments from her subscribers.

Local influencer, Woven, sharing easy meals during lockdown.

Many fitness influencers are hosting live workout classes, chefs are hosting cooking classes and beauty bloggers are hosting live make-up tutorials. This has enabled brands not only to add value to audiences who are at home with more time on their hands but also brings an added element of authenticity to social media. This is because, during live chats, there is no room for editing, changes or staging shots – the content that is shown is more raw and true, which studies have shown is often appealing to the watchers tuning in.

V5 Digital - one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Windhoek, Namibia - recently worked with Local influencer Dillish Matthews on an influencer marketing campaign for the Emoneko Group. She recently hosted a Instagram take-over on the Aesthetic Centre Olympia Instagram page which garnered a lot of engagement from her followers. Her followers and fans got to ask her questions about how she stays positive during tough times, relationship and skincare advice and how she maintains her fitness regime during lockdown. By embracing a new way of connecting with her followers, Dillish is able to maintain her influencer status whilst bringing value and entertainment to her followers.

Dillish Matthews: Instagram Take-over with Aesthetic Centre Olympia.

Using influence for good

Sarah Penny, Head of Content at Data Platform Influencer Intelligence says, “Companies aren’t currently measuring the success of sponsored posts by how many products they sell and instead are looking at whether people who see those posts are simply aware of those brands”. We expect to see less of a hard product push from local influencers and a stronger focus on their followers` well-being and their community. A product or service will now have to fit into a follower’s daily life in a much more realistic way and this needs to be conveyed correctly by the influencer. This was clearly seen when the World Health Organization enlisted a number of global influencers for the #SafeHands challenge. The campaign encouraged people across the world to wash their hands to protect themselves against the spread of the Corona virus. Celebrities like Selena Gomez and Gordon Ramsey were amongst the thousands of people who participated in the viral challenge.

Selena Gomez participating in the #SafeHands Challenge by showing her 182 million Instagram followers how to wash their hands correctly.

In conclusion, influencer campaigns need to be approachable and practical and not aspirational as in pre-Covid-19 times. Influencers are adding value to our lives by being authentic and relatable by creating content and selling us products and services that will assist our daily routines as we all shift back into the ‘new normal’.

Ready to start your journey to success with influencers? Ready for them to add value to your marketing campaigns? Don’t hesitate to contact V5 Digital for a free assessment or to help you decide whether investing in influencers is the right next step.

WhatsApp Enterprise coming to Africa is a big deal for brands

V5 Digital will accelerate your WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Enterprise implementation.

Why has WhatsApp Enterprise managed to pique the interest of so many major businesses and brands? The reason is simple, they know that the introduction of this version of WhatsApp is about to make their lives so much easier.

So, what makes this iteration of the world’s most popular messaging app so special? WhatsApp comes in three flavours, WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, and WhatsApp Enterprise.

General WhatsApp needs no introduction. Most of us use it every day. In fact, surveys tell us that Namibians love and trust the app so much, that they check it a few times every hour.

The difference between WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, and WhatsApp Enterprise.

The next rung on the messaging ladder is WhatsApp Business, a standalone app that allows small businesses to communicate with their customers. Customers can access a business profile that shows them details like opening hours, product catalogues, website links, and more. It also includes an automated messaging function that sends warm greetings and away messages when nobody is available to talk.

Another great feature is Instant Replies, this time-saving function allows business owners to pre-program answers to frequently asked questions. No need for someone to type the same response fifty times.

The only downside of WhatsApp Business is its reach. It’s designed for small businesses and can be limiting for bigger brands and companies. Its cap of 256 customers and reliance on manual, human-powered, messaging means it scales poorly. Thankfully a better way is finally available.

WhatsApp Enterprise allows AI-powered messaging for up to 100 000 customers all at once, skyrocketing reach and fostering growth. It saves companies time and money on customer service and makes it super easy for users to share engaging video and voice note campaigns.

What this extension allows is staggering. Consumers can check their account balances, make bookings, participate in loyalty programs, set reminders, fill out forms, enter competitions, download brochures, and receive vouchers. A potential customer can even drop a location pin and receive directions, via Google Maps, to a store they wish to visit in seconds.

Why WhatsApp has the potential to streamline and revolutionize your business communication.

There are countless examples of international brands using WhatsApp Enterprise to their advantage.

Hellman’s Mayonnaise used a WhatsApp chatbot to ask consumers what they had in the fridge and then sent them recipes they could try. They got over thirteen thousand responses and people loved the campaign.

Absolut Vodka created a chatbot called Sven, which consumers had to persuade to give them tickets to an exclusive Absolut party. The event earned them a massive amount of buzz and media attention.

South Africa’s Standard Bank launched a WhatsApp chatbot to keep customers informed about how COVID-19 affected their services.

The UNDP have a WhatsApp chatbot, built by V5 Digital, that drives consumers to learn more about the 17 SDGs and how they can contribute to creating a sustainable future for us all.

Selected WhatsApp Enterprise functionalities.

Does this sound very exciting, but a little daunting to pull off on your own?

Don’t worry, V5 Digital is fluent in chatbot! As the leading provider of chatbots in Africa, we're always happy to assist any business or brand looking to use this invaluable tool.

The very first enterprise-grade Facebook Messenger Chatbot in Namibia was built by V5 Digital for Bank Windhoek and we helped Kosmos build the first Afrikaans chatbot in Namibia. We have enhanced the customer experience for Entrepo Finance and NHP, and can do the same for you!

So if you need a chatbot that perfectly represents your business personality and achieves your particular business goals contact V5 Digital for a consultation.

Are you keen to test out one of these clever little bots? Go have a chat with our friendly chatbot here.

V5 Digital Powers Namibia’s Largest Medical Aid Fund.

When NHP, Namibia’s largest medical aid fund, approached V5 Digital to rebuild their website, they had one overriding goal: to make their customers’ lives easier. Medical Aid is a complicated business, so the central challenge for the Windhoek-based agency, V5 Digital, was to make the new website easy and delightful to use, with the user experience being at the forefront of the design.

In order to achieve this, V5 Digital kept the customer front-of-mind at all times, crafting ideal journeys for the various types of visitors to the site: members, potential members, as well as those simply browsing.

The first task was to ensure that site visitors could easily compare the various options & benefits offered by NHP, which involved building a custom calculator that needed to consider all permutations specific to that individual or employer, and give a price comparison for all the different plans on offer - V5 Digital displayed all the options on one page so that key differences across the packages can be compared at a glance. If a customer wishes to know more about a particular plan, they simply click into it to find out more. A handy drop-down menu allows visitors to input their details (such as age, spousal details, children and/or other dependents), and then uses these details across the various plans.

An NHP Customer browsing the new NHP Website and engaging with the Abibot through his smartphone.

Filling out application forms, printing them, scanning and then sending them back is another laborious process – and one of the first things V5 Digital aimed to solve. All of NHP’s forms are now able to be completed and submitted electronically, which is far more quicker and convenient for customers, while also saving paper and reducing the brand’s carbon footprint. Ensuring that all forms can be completed online, aligns NHP with the needs of their burgeoning market: the Millennial's and Gen Z, who spend most of their time on their phones, tablets, and laptops. The form’s library is laid out clearly and categorized in a manner that visitors can find exactly what they’re looking for in seconds.

NHP is much-loved by its members, so the brand wanted the website to be a place where members and non-members alike could access information that adds real value to their daily lives. To achieve this, V5 Digital created a news hub on the site, packed to the brim with relevant articles about how to improve health and lifestyle. When site visitors land on the news section, they see tiled images that bring to life the various topics which can be clicked into for further exploration. A simple, clear navigation bar enables visitors to toggle between events, articles, and updates as they wish.

V5 Digital Managing Director, Mr Armin Wieland, toasting to the new NHP Website with NHP Medscheme Namibia Managing Director Rudiger Saunderson, outgoing Manager of Marketing and Communication Ms Abigail Raubenheimer and Senior Manager of Marketing and Managed Care Mr Ronnie Skolnic.

V5 Digital is passionate about digital innovation that improves the customer experience. For NHP, this meant building a chatbot to live on their new site that uses artificial intelligence to provide automated responses to customer queries. When a customer engages with the bot, they can select whether they’re a member, non-member or just have a general query, which helps guide the user’s journey. If the chatbot, nicknamed “AbiBot”, is unable to provide an adequate response, the issue is escalated seamlessly to a customer care agent.

All in all, V5 Digital delivered a new site for NHP that is easy-to-navigate, highly user-friendly, and keeps the NHP customer at its heart. To see the site in action, go to www.nhp.com.na

Mr Ronnie Skolnic, NHP Medscheme Namibia Senior Manager of Marketing and Managed Care:

“We wanted a website that was more user-friendly and interactive, and also accessible from the various platforms. V5 Digital delivered on their promise. What was particularly impressive was the attention paid in ensuring that they delivered in line with the client’s expectations and also the manner in which they walked the client through the entire process. Their support throughout the process was tremendous in ensuring that a flawless product was delivered according to the clients expectations, with minimal delays experienced. I can definitely recommend V5 Digital.”