The coronavirus pandemic has made life difficult for many brands. Offline activities stopped in many cities, and even express delivery services have been affected. Products cannot be delivered smoothly, and sales have suffered a severe decline. Some brands reported a drop of at least 30% in volume since the outbreak.
As a result, online social media marketing has become the primary marketing channel for maintaining exposure. So in the second half of 2022, how should brands adjust their KOL marketing plans on time? Let’s take a look at PARKLU’s Top 5 KOL Marketing Trends.
In this article you’ll learn…
#1 Marketing Shifts To Online, Live-Streaming
We learned that some brands have cut their social media marketing budgets by 30% after the
pandemic. With all brick-and-mortar stores being closed, the main target focus has been on
social media KOL Marketing.
Live-Streaming in particular is becoming an increasingly popular channel. With more and more people forced to communicate and interact online, social media is now the entertainment space of choice and live streams are the medium.
Brands can make good use of this opportunity.
By building strategic KOL partnerships they can increase exposure so that once the pandemic situation calms, they’ll be ready for the inevitable wave of retaliatory rebound sales. It’s also predicted that Live Streaming will remain an important marketing tool when people are able to once again stroll the high streets.
#2 Sports, Fitness, and a Healthy Lifestyle
Judging from the popularity of this year’s Winter Olympic Games and sports stars such as Su Bingtian and Gu Ailing, activations such as national team and event sponsorship are a great way to enhance brand image.
Also, sports stars themselves represent “strong spiritual and physical attributes” and their association can significantly enhance a brand’s credibility. Cooperation with sports stars also presents an opportunity to reach out to new customers and audiences you may not have previously considered in 2022.
Brands are also starting to take note of the customer shift towards a more positive, healthy lifestyle and how content from sports and fitness KOL plays a significant role. Cosmetics brand OLAY has just announced a partnership with Wang Shuang, the winner of the 2021 Chinese Women’s Golden Globe Award as its new spokesperson. MAKE UP FOR EVER also unveiled a collaborative makeup campaign with Wang Shuang and Zhao Lina back in March.
Of course, in addition to working with sports stars, more and more fashion and lifestyle
brands organize running campaigns or work with local running groups that naturally include
products in every running social campaign, and further increase brand awareness
after sharing on social media.
#3 Social Media Platforms Will Be More Used As Search Engines
In the past, when searching for “keywords” we might the likes of Baidu and Google would have come to mind, but now more and more people are using the search function inside of social media platforms, especially Gen Z.
In fact, they use social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin more often than other traditional search tools. They actively look for relevant information to help make decisions, and searching has become the most permeable function of mainstream social media platforms.
Therefore, when posting content with KOLs, brands should pay attention to the rules of each platform’s search function, selecting the right keywords, frequency, and density to ensure a higher content ranking.
Even if a KOL has a large number of followers, their exposure may still be limited to their fan base. However, if the content is correctly optimized for the platform’s search function, then the chance of it gaining additional exposure increases significantly.
#4 Collaboration With Virtual KOLs
The recent popularity of Bing Dwen Dwen, the cuddly panda and official virtual mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 shows that virtual spokespeople and KOLs may not be as farfetched as they might seem.
On May 20, 2021, a hyper-realistic digital character named “AYAYI” began appearing on various social platforms. She was then invited by various brands, including:
- Guerlain’s Beeloved Garden Campaign.
- LV’s Fall-Winter 2021 Men’s Clothing Time-Limited Space Campaign.
- Collaborated with AMBROSIAL to develop the world’s first digital yogurt.
- AMX Digital Trend Art Recommendation Officer
- Joined Ali as a “digital employee” and became the digital mastermind of Tmall Super Brand Day.
Recently, she has also been featured on Xiaohongshu, where she promoted products related to the cosmetic brand MAKE UP FOR EVER, as well as a METAVERSE LIGHTFUL MAKEUP design collaborated with M.A.C.
So the question is, how do you choose a KOL that matches your brand positioning? Which social media platform is more suitable for your promotion?
These problems may perplex the brands. Now, it will be easier and simpler to achieve the marketing objectives with the help of a third-party agent in a professional manner.
By Launchmetrics Content Team
The Launchmetrics content team is always on the lookout for new trends in the fashion and technology sector. We are geeks with style and lovers of good stories!
