Conscious content: how brands can partner with creators to raise morale

Content creators’ main power lies in their ability to build and maintain engaged communities; people who trust their recommendations and follow them because they want to know more.

This is part of the success of influencer marketing, which allows brands to tap into these engaged communities and harness the creator’s voice, in order to speak to their target audience. And creators still have this power. Content creators are speaking to and engaging with their followers everyday. We have seen a huge increase in creators doing Questions on Instagram Stories, which allows their followers to directly ask them questions. These might be around their COVID-19 fears or what they had for lunch; either way the creators are constantly gauging their audience’s mood.

Welcome distraction

In a recent conversation with the Influencer team, content creators in our network discussed the feedback they had received from their audience in response to a post they did, asking their community how they felt about them posting content in partnership with brands at the moment. They said they received hundreds of replies, the vast majority of which were incredibly supportive, with followers saying that it was a welcome distraction, especially as it gave them inspiration for online shopping, and that their followers stressed how keen they were to continue supporting them at this time.

Moreover, brands should always see creators beyond their following and their influence. Creators are able to build their communities due to their fantastic content creation abilities paired with a knowledge of what their audience wants to see. We advise our clients to think of creators more as part of their creative team than as a corner of their marketing strategy. We would therefore advise that brands that are nervous about appearing insensitive and opportunistic, talk to the content creators they are hoping to work with about the best ways to deliver the brand’s message.

Not only will the creator be able to help them build a strategy based on their audience knowledge, they’ll also be able to produce branded content at a time when many brands are struggling due to studios being closed or teams being seperated. Many creators have home studios or can produce content digitally.

Finally, it's important for both brands and creators to remember why people come to them and to take this into consideration when devising a content strategy. Currently, consumers are looking to their favourite brands and creators for inspiring or uplifting content that helps them to forget the situation we find ourselves in or informative content that helps to improve it. There is also so much misinformation out there. Brands must ensure that, should they feel the need to reference COVID-19 in their content, that the messaging is fact checked and fake news-free.

The period of uncertainty that we are currently in is providing all of us with a great opportunity to show our true colours. Consumers will remember the way that brands made them feel at this time, long after the situation has changed. Those brands who show compassion, mixed with humour and intelligence will reap the rewards for years to come.

If you are interested in how your brand can harness the power of content creators, head to the Influencer website to find out more.

Ben Jeffries, co-founder and chief executive of Influencer.