Love them or hate them, influencers have an undeniable impact on audiences. With the potential to affect user’s brand favorability and self-confidence, content creators have the weighted responsibility to ensure their platforms authentically benefit and uplift followers. Amid these unprecedented times, compassionate and purposeful engagement is even more paramount.
As evidenced by viral cause campaigns such as #FridayForFuture and #StopHateForProfit, Social media can be a powerful catalyst for good. Purpose, inclusion, and diversity are important user and brand considerations.
In a 2019 Deloitte report, 55% of audiences felt brands should actively engage with causes. In a 2020 Porter Novelli study, 64% of consumers claim to have selected, switched, and boycotted a brand based on its stance on social and environmental issues alone. 35% of digital users claimed an influencer inspired them to advocate for a cause with 52% spreading awareness and 51% making a donation as a result.
Impact-driven engagement can deepen connections between digital users and content creators. With the notion of purpose meaning something to all, this amplified affinity can be specially cultivated by creators who authentically align with followers’ values. As trusted voices, influencers have the capacity to incrementally impact a cause. For brands working with influencers, the prospect of doing good can motivate heightened dedication to a collaboration.
“Influencers have also gone astray. During The Blacks Lives Matter protests, multiple creators were caught disingenuously participating to promote their online personas.”
Recently, The World Health Organization partnered with INCA, GroupM’s influencer marketing solution, to carry out a global cause campaign to help fight the spread of Covid-19. Over 47,000 influencers, from celebrity Selena Gomez to the soccer team, Real Madrid, disseminated key health and safety information about social distancing and proper hygiene. The campaign garnered 34 million Instagram engagements and over 3 billion TikTok video views in two weeks,
That said, influencers have also gone astray. During The Blacks Lives Matter protests, multiple creators were caught disingenuously participating to promote their online personas. Singaporean influencer Xiaxue and Malaysia’s ex-Miss Universe Samantha Katie James faced social media fury after releasing controversial statements on race. Shortly after, both lost partnerships with brands such as Daniel Wellington and Velvet Vanity Cosmetics, respectively.
Acknowledging that genuity and sensitivity are key, how can creators, brands and marketers appropriately incorporate and promote purpose in influencer marketing strategies?
Transparency
Audiences are becoming hyper-aware of ‘woke washing’, or instances where a brand or influencer advocates for causes that do not reflect previous actions. This can be detrimental to credibility and trust as evidenced by online boycotts of Jo Malone and HSBC earlier this year.
Conversely, the choice to not acknowledge can similarly spark strong user reactions. Instead, influencers need to be open about their efforts or lack thereof. With the latter, creators should transparently convey intentions to improve and create space for discussion by encouraging audiences to share relevant insights and experiences.
Commitment
For both influencers and brands, advocating for good entails a heightened commitment to learn from and listen to audiences. Social listening tools can give marketers insight into follower sentiments, dictating when best to express solidarity and promote calls to action. Inclusivity and diversity is an especially pertinent topic with 69% of gen-z and millennials reporting positive reactions to ads with diverse models.
Efforts should go beyond visual representation and should use the reach of brand and creator platforms to sincerely amplify unique voices. For example, hosting social media takeovers. Cause campaigns similarly need to take additional steps by leading with validated facts and figures, redirecting to essential resources and giving exposure to relevant third-sector organizations.
Consistency
One-off diversity campaigns or cause-related posts are insufficient. Instead, influencers and brands must continue being transparent and committed. This begins by genuinely evaluating how this extra lens of consideration can naturally complement core content strategies. With ongoing efforts to listen and learn from audience sentiments, deep user engagement can be fostered and harnessed for sustainable change.
Engaging with purpose is an alternate way to forge trusted and authentic relationships with audiences. Influencers, privileged with reach, credibility and reliability, are uniquely positioned to be a powerful force for change. It is up to us as marketers, brands and content creators to harness this potential in genuine, authentic and accountable ways.
The Figures
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing has skyrocketed in the past five years and is expected to continue growing to USD $9.7 billion this year. In 2019, twice as many large corporate campaigns engaged with digital audiences through influencers compared to the previous year, with 90% of marketers now viewing content creators as an effective marketing medium.
