Last December, Motor Trend Group—then North America’s premier publisher of automotive enthusiast magazines—announced that it was shuttering 19 of its remaining 22 print titles. In the announcement, company President and General Manager Alex Wellen provided a simple explanation.

Even in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermarket was rolling up its sleeves for business. For operations able to stay open under essential-business declarations, that meant adopting the latest best practices in coronavirus mitigation. For those unable to stay open, it meant crafting innovative strategies to weather the lockdown until the green light came to reopen. Now that the economy is shifting into recovery mode, businesses in the latter category may be asking what “safely reopening” means. How can they best protect the health of employees and customers alike?

For most builder-enthusiasts, car-care and restyling products are among the most indispensable tools for customizing a vehicle. They can provide added measures of protection for paint, glass and chrome. They can lend upgrades to interior comfort and optimize exterior shine. Many of the most popular products can be purchased without breaking the bank. They’re available nearly everywhere that auto parts are sold—and even some places they’re not, such as in neighborhood car washes or convenience stores.

There was a day when the foundations of the automotive aftermarket rested entirely on print publications, but now communications channels have evolved to take advantage of the faster, two-way interactions that the internet has enabled. Social-media marketing has become a necessity, and “media influencers” have become part of the picture. And given the challenging economic currents the industry is now navigating, social media and the potential of influencer collaboration presents a growing opportunity. In fact, those influencers could well play a critical role as aftermarket businesses look to recover from the coronavirus-induced slump that began last March.