Covid-19 has forced consumers to stay indoors and go online. Knowing that a good consumer interaction or positive experience could do wonders for a brand, several brands are taking to digital influencers to push their story, leading to 25 per cent growth in influencer marketing activities amid the lockdown.

A recent study by Salesforce revealed 92 per cent of consumers tend to trust online content from friends and family above all other forms of brand messages, and 50 per cent of consumers find user-generated content (UGC) more memorable than brand-produced content.

Several brands are realising that user-generated content is a content strategy that encourages consumers to share their experiences with a brand, which, in turn, shares the experiences with other consumers through digital channels.

Multinational food company Kellogg’s collaborated with UGC platform Momspresso to promote its cereal. Prashant Sinha, Co-Founder and COO of Momspresso said a live session was hosted on the agency's Hindi page to engage mothers to cook interesting recipes with their kids while at home, even as the brand continued to emphasise the need for a balanced breakfast.

Momspresso collaborated with celebrity chef Ranveer Brar and showcased some interesting recipes he made with his child using Kellogg’s cereal. Sinha said the live session generated 465K+ views, with an over 10K+ engagement.

“Our key strategy to make this campaign successful was to opportunistically make use of all our social media platforms. We garnered maximum reach by leveraging Whatsapp groups, Facebook Watch Parties, Facebook pages of Momspresso Punjabi, Gujarati and Marathi, the Instagram Swipe feature and IGTV Channel on Momspresso Hindi and English, as well as promotions by both brand and the celebrity on their social media channels,” said Sinha.

Incidentally, GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, had also suggested that marketers should place even greater emphasis on communication tactics such as working with micro- and nano-influencers, to help mitigate digital advertising fatigue during the lockdown.

In order to support growing interest among brands, GroupM has recently introduced Inca, an influencer marketing solution in select markets, which helps marketers with its accurate, verified and measurement-based influencer marketing outcomes.

Several other brands have followed the trend. Gilettee Venus, a grooming brand for women, collaborated with YouTube star Prajakta Koli in another similar campaign to promote grooming at home amidst the lockdown. Koli posted on her self-care routine using the product.

Since the creation of content is democratised and not restricted to a few creatives, UGC platforms tend to bring on much higher reach in terms of user diversity, language and content. Research has shown that consumers trust content produced by their peers far more than what is created by marketers, and they tend to reward brands that deliver UGC with engagement.

Momspresso launched another initiative with Pidilite, in its 'India Crafting Memories' segment. Pidilite-Fevicreate sought to encourage families to bond together at home and make some happy, creative memories by indulging in fun craft activities.

Given the trying Covid-19 circumstances, marketers are eagerly approaching organic reach through customer advocacy. Be it through micro influencers, customer advocates or celebrity endorsers, by relying on customers and their followers, brands are hitting home with their message.

In another campaign #OnceUponABookWithPenguin, Momspresso teamed up with Penguin Random House India with an online initiative. From March 30, one author will be live on video on Momspresso's Facebook Page at 6.30 pm every evening, reading out an interesting story from their book to the kids.

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