COVID-19 and is’s Effect on Content Creators.
Freestak has conducted a two-phase online survey among our most active members, all of whom are influencers in the outdoor and endurance sports sectors. On 14 and 21 March, we asked 50 members the same questions regarding how their situation has changed, from their physical activity levels, to brand collaborations and whether they had modified their social media activity.
Decrease In Physical Activity.
In just seven days, levels of physical activity dropped from “78% still as active as last week” to just above 50%. 52% of our respondents are in lockdown, of which 34% have government guidelines that allow outdoor sports. 12% practice self-isolation despite being allowed out – and 4% admit “flouting the rules to sneak out outdoors for exercise”.
These figures come with strong local variations, and we clearly see how the drop in physical activity is following the spread of the virus, with North and South America still as active as they were before.
Increase In Event Cancellations.
In just seven days, we went from 50% of our respondents having events cancelled to 73%. We expect this to keep rising.
Keeping Fit Despite The Crisis.
Even though the crisis resulted in 71% of our respondents training less (up from 30% the week before), strong community spirit and resourcefulness are kicking in, and influencers have found other means to stay active, with “at-home training” the favourite at 72%.
YouTube accounts for 52% of the source of training, with 46% making use of home treadmill or stationary bikes, and 40% gym equipment.
“I have noticed the sports community coming together and solving cancelled events with virtual events and various training plans.” @Anonymous
As the situation continues to evolve, we expect further decrease in activity due to regulations and more events to be cancelled. The challenge now is for influencers to get creative in not only how to stay active themselves but also inspire their communities too.
If you would like to read up further on this topic, the team at Freestak have written a thorough report on the endurance sports market, which you can download in full here.
How We Can Help.
Our platform of >1,500 endurance and outdoors sports content creators (all over Europe and in the USA) can help spread your message effectively. Our team can help you select them, and they can help you with content ideation, strategy or simply spreading the word for you. You could have a campaign live in less than 24hrs, and see results on your analytics dashboard soon after.
We intend to keep monitoring the situation in our sectors and will publish updates to the report regularly. If you have any comments or questions, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at simon@freestak.co.uk
Leave a Comment