Micro-influencers as an Effective Channel to Reach Customers Using Social Media in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, which swept the world at the beginning of 2020, has radically changed the traditional marketing model. As a result of these changes, in the future, digital communication will be fundamental to gaining (and maintaining) consumer attention and confidence. More than ever, digital engagement will define consumer relationships and loyalty in a socially distanced reality. Recipients forced by lockdown to transfer their activity to the Internet - remote work, remote learning, shopping - necessarily focus more on the transmission from the Internet than before the crisis [1].

On the other hand, the sharp decline in organic reach on Facebook and ad blocker plugins make promoting content on social media more challenging. As the latest research shows, influencer marketing, which is currently one of the most popular forms of reaching potential customers, has become a means of effective promotion. Between 2013 and 2016, there was a 90-fold increase in the number of Google searches for “Marketing Influencer”. In 2017 alone, this phrase saw a 325% increase in search results and is still growing [2]. Recent studies also show a new direction in influence marketing - an increase in the effectiveness of micro- and nano-scale influencers, who during a pandemic turn out to be much more effective in reaching recipients.