COVID-19 created new communication challenges and this was normal, even necessary. Like any crisis, many lessons have been learned. Companies that have been conservative in terms of positioning and online sales have realized that they cannot do without it.
The worldwide lockdowns resulted in yet another event; the TikTok pandemic.
For two months, the audience focused on information sources on the Internet and social networks, omitting traditional media. This led to the triumph of the influencers.
The rise of the new social media giant
The Chinese social network TikTok became extremely popular during quarantine. In March, the application was the most downloaded app with over 115 million installations.
The age category of the audience has also changed. In just one month the social network aimed at Generation Z managed to cover a large part of the millennials. Creative competition between content creators attracted ingenious companies to start using TikTokers as a new arena for positioning their brands.
This trend is expected to grow, as many businesses have already entered the profiles of famous influencers on Instagram and Facebook in one form or another. New opportunities provided by TikTok will only diversify the advertising mix. 
Using influencers as an advertising form is logical – their audience is more tolerant of the so-called hidden advertising. They offer brands voice and access to a new audience. Moreover, one that is committed to viewing all of their content and even attempting to imitate their lifestyle
Consider your long-term strategy
As an agency, we advise brands to act prudently and in the long run if they want to campaign with influencers. Persistence and a clear vision of the steps and the desired audience are needed.
We should not forget that influencer marketing is only part of the advertising mix and its use will not replace traditional positioning channels such as radio, television, press, and online media. The audiences of these communication channels are different and have different needs. The more opportunities to reach we use, the greater the scope of the campaign.
The choice of influencers is currently very rich – chefs, models, travel maniacs, fitness gurus, artists, comedians, and others. When choosing influencers for a campaign, their audience is looked at – what it is, what it is interested in, what its average age is, and whether it is most engaged.
Choose your influencers wisely
It makes no sense to choose an influencer just because they have over 300k. followers. It is important whether his audience will comment, like, and share what they see. To this end, we do in-depth research and take into account only profiles useful for the specific campaign.
Today you can see companies like Tesla, Amazon, and Apple on the pages of influencers. With this, the work of PR and marketing agencies continues to change and evolve, because what the influencer does is make recommendations for word of mouth (albeit in the digital space), and this is the best way to create publicity.
About the author
Pavel Penchev is the founder and manager of PRPENCHEV with more than 9 years of experience in the field of works with media. His company has accomplished a number of successful projects in the spheres of Digital marketing and PR since its very founding. Pavel’s professional experience includes a long period of work as a television journalist after which he started looking into PR.
