The pandemic is changing how brands work with influencers. Not only is it accelerating existing industry trends, it also presents new challenges and opportunities for influencer marketing.

The influencer marketing industry is changing, and the pandemic is propelling many of the major shifts in the market.

While TikTok's popularity was picking up well before COVID-19, individuals secluded in their homes have been in search of new forms of entertainment, causing TikTok's US unique vistor count to rise 48.3% between January and March.

Since its launch in 2017, Peace Out Skincare—known for its Acne Dot patches—has been rapidly expanding its business through an exclusive partnership with Sephora, as well as its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) business.

Live streaming commerce—a form of online shopping that is interactive and takes place in real time—is creating new and innovative ways for brands and retailers to connect with consumers. The format has gained wide popularity in China particularly.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss polarization on Facebook, whether kids spend more time on TikTok or YouTube, how much people trust influencers, Facebook trying to make TV social, out-of-home advertising in Q1, podcast ad skipping, pyramids where they shouldn't be and more.

eMarketer principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Mark Dolliver and Debra Aho Williamson discuss whether TikTok has a future and what that might look like. They then talk about Instagram's new music-based augmented reality feature, how much the influencer market might take a hit and a new revenue-sharing agreement with Instagram creators.

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly affected publishers’ short-term ad revenues. A March 2020 survey from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) found the majority of US news publishers have dealt with pauses, adjustments and cancellations of campaigns, while the same has been true to a lesser degree for non-news publishers in the US.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst Blake Droesch discuss how brands are changing their approach to influencer marketing, the main challenges influencers are struggling with and what influencer marketing might look like going forward. They then talk about TikTok's call-to-action button, how platforms are dealing with misinformation and Twitter's purchase of a mobile-focused demand-side platform.

As the 2020 presidential race continues, some candidates are turning to social media influencers to spread their messages and garner support for their campaigns. It was reported that former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently partnered with popular Instagram accounts to create meme content for promoting his candidacy, called the Meme 2020 project.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst Blake Droesch recount their experiences interviewing 16 social media creators about how they approach brand partnerships, which platforms are working for them and influencers' role in the purchase process.

Younger generations are more likely to buy products based on influencer recommendations, as well as consider them reliable. However, these demographics still see influencers as less trustworthy than other sources.

In this year’s Key Digital Trends report, we identify what changes are coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2020 and why they matter to marketers.

Mobile video viewing habits are evolving, and along with that comes a variety of opportunities for creators and publishers to monetize their content—and, in turn, for marketers and advertisers to reach audiences.

Creators are all over the news, but are they different from influencers? While it’s easy to say yes, it’s hard to say why. For our latest report, “Video Ads in Social Media 2019,” we explored how the two are differentiated.

Video-sharing app TikTok was the darling of VidCon this year. The media latched onto its low-fi approach of seeding creators all over the conference, where fans could easily interact with them. By contrast, YouTube creators were often cordoned off into formal presentations and meet-and-greets.

Measuring attribution and return on investment remains a key challenge when marketing with influencers—which means that it can be hard to quantify the merits of utilizing them. But neuroscience research from the UK, showing cognitive responses to traditional marketing vs. influencer posts, may provide some answers.

Scrolling through social media, it’s hard not to be influenced by influencers. Do you need another carry-on bag? Probably not. But do you have to have it after you saw an influencer capturing its essence on the hills of Santorini, and you suddenly saw yourself there? Of course you do.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson discusses the influencer shift toward authenticity, and why influencer marketing may soon become regulated. She also assesses Facebook’s mind-reading program, a TikTok smartphone and Apple’s new credit card.

Consumers can be super picky about shopping. Some will spend hours looking for the right deal, only to back out at the last-minute because of shipping costs. Others won’t consider a product unless it’s accumulated enough positive ratings and reviews—or unless their closest confidants personally recommend it.