There’s no doubt about it, 2020 is a year nobody will forget anytime soon. For me personally, like so many, it started in a boom of excitement and opportunity. I founded SevenSix Agency in 2019 to challenge the lack of representation from brands within the influencer marketing space, and whilst I had felt certain that 2020 was going to be a year of change, I could never have imagined it would have happened to the extent that it has. So, whilst the world was adjusting to lockdowns, political change and social uncertainty, how was this reflected in the influencer marketing space? 

The year kicked off as expected from my perspective. Whilst influencer marketing was in good health, there was little interest in diversity and inclusion specifically. That may be a surprise reading that now given how much airtime the subject has had this year, but there was a real lack of work for black and brown content creators. This is no surprise to me; changing this was the reason I set up SevenSix Agency in the first place.

Generally, though, the industry was in a good place, with plenty of events, in person, remember those? and healthy discussions.

A social focus

Then came March and with it a whirlwind of uncertainty. Initially there was lots of negativity, with conversations full of budget cuts, redundancies and furlough. Every brand marketer was trying to work out where, if anywhere, they should put their money. Whilst there were some that halting spending completely, we saw a huge migration into digital, and particular social, content. Suddenly, social media was one of the most crucial ways of communicating brands had, connecting with consumers on a more personal level.

The smart brands put efforts into creating social content that was focused on curating and nurturing audiences. It shifted away from selling, instead aiming to grow brand loyalty and awareness, something that those who nailed it saw really pay later in the year, particularly as we went into the second lockdown.

The use of micro and nano influencers grew, with brands tapping into a more intimate feel; some of these influencers have as few as 1,000 followers. These influencers were all shooting content at home of course, which brands realised early on they could do successfully. Whilst they were trying to figure out how to subtly sell in a way that didn’t lessen the importance of the pandemic, we saw brands’ tones of voice move towards being more encouraging, informative and helpful.

Taking a risk & pivoting

When it came to brand verticals, I saw fitness and food go through the biggest transformations. Ciara London is a brilliant example of an influencer and business that could have been severely damaged by 2020, but instead, she’s seen enormous growth. Being one of the first to swap her in person training classes for an online fitness hub, her new subscription plan put her ahead of the game. The followers, the interaction, and most importantly, the paying customers, have flooded in.

The smart influencers and brands didn’t wait for the previous bread and butter of fashion and lifestyle paid content to dry up; they took risks and pivoted their businesses. Food brands were similar, with delivery services quickly becoming a mainstream consumer expectation. The real win out of these changes has been the rise of the small business. Speaking as one myself, I am all too aware that it became a make-or-break year, but for those who have survived, audiences have shifted in mindset, now seeking out local or small brands on a daily basis.

Another real bright spot is the creativity we saw; a combination of the slower pace of life and an intense brand battle for attention and engagement led to an explosion of new platforms. TikTok was of course making waves before 2020, but lockdown propelled it into the mainstream. It allowed brands to meet consumers’ needs for something different, an opportunity to laugh and a distraction from the realities of lockdown. It’s impossible to talk about creativity in influencer marketing without mentioning TikTok and it’s a great example of how the social space continues to evolve. Only recently, Clubhouse is another platform gaining traction, particularly for black and brown influencers.

Inclusion matters

Then came the Black Lives Matter resurgence, and with it a frenzy of information overload. Being an agency built to tackle diversity and inclusion in influencer marketing, we were on the frontline of conversations with brand marketers, not knowing what they should or shouldn’t do. There were lots of uncomfortable conversations, particularly around subjects such as micro aggressions, unconscious bias and tokenism. Brands didn’t know where to sit and struggled to make decisions amongst the outpouring of confusion and heartbreak from the Black community.

There were many moments where brands realised they were part of the problem, which isn’t an easy realisation to come to. After overhauling content strategies in March, brands had to do the same again, but this time, hopefully making a change for the future with more understanding and more inclusion throughout their marketing. It was a chaotic time for us, speaking daily to brands about everything from internal training, to matching them with Black and brown influencers from our network.

However, despite the ongoing emotion as all these conversations played out, we were, I believe, making process. The crushing disappointment is that now the momentum has slowed, we are seeing a real dip when it comes to interest in diversity within influencer marketing. So many brands we worked with on inclusive marketing strategies in the summer haven’t moved it on at all, despite claiming it was a priority just a few months ago.

Create room for change

I tend to be pretty pessimistic in this area, which strangely has its upsides. Launching SevenSix Agency for one, as this pessimism is what gives me my drive to make things better and help others make a change. However, it does mean that I very much think of diversity as a trend, and unfortunately, until something else happens that makes headline news, I don’t think it will be back on people’s agendas in quite the same way.

There has been some movement. For example, we’ve seen more representation in Christmas ads across the board. It doesn’t solve everything, but representation in such a major advertising moment is certainly progress and we should take it as a win. To marketers wanting to make diversity a key pillar next year, please keep fighting the fight internally.

There are some basic things you can do to make a difference; for example, get visual with your influencer lists and actually take a look at the faces you’re working with to see if there’s room for change. Try and widen your circle, with more diverse relationships both in and outside the office. Reflect your customers through your choice of influencers; sounds simple, but it’s amazing how often this isn’t done. Finally, ask for help; no one has to tackle this on their own. We work with all sorts of brands, from Propercorn, to Bumble, to Greenpeace, and we want to help as many marketers as possible make a change.