Navigate The Influencer Landscape

Influencer marketing, a growing sector in social media marketing, leverages influencers and their word of mouth endorsement to create a favorable image for a product or service. It is an important marketing tactic for companies to connect and engage with savvy consumers.
 
Research shows that “when friends, relatives, or influencers post about a product or service, more than 80 percent of consumers either investigate it, buy it or consider buying it.” (Source: Businesswire). “It's understandable why the sector grew to $16.4 billion in 2022.” (Source: Forbes).
 
Other key findings include the following information.
 
“The market for influencer marketing platforms, however, is expected to reach a global value of $84.89 billion by 2028.” (Source: Influencer Marketing Hub)
 
“The fact that marketers will collectively spend over $4.5 billion on influencers by the year 2023 should not come as a surprise.” (Source: Grin)
 
In this blog, Allen Marketing Communications, Inc., a boutique travel and lifestyle consumer marketing agency offering influencer marketing services, showcases the current trends in influencer marketing.
 
Authenticity And Transparency In Campaigns Is Key To Build Credibility
 
Authenticity and transparency are essential for influencer marketing to gain credibility and trust.  Influencers followers are more inclined to take their advice when it is sincere and transparent.
 
Additionally, a number of nations have laws requiring the disclosure of sponsored content to viewers. For instance, the FTC in the USA requires influencers to clearly state that content is sponsored to ensure transparency with the promotion. “Consumer criticism from influencers who choose not to disclose their relationships with brands can be detrimental to both the brand and the influencer.” (Source: Tapfiliate)
 
The Expansion Of Social Search
 
Social search has become more popular for users to do information searches on social media platforms rather than more established search engines such as Google or Bing. “Google estimates that TikTok and Instagram are the preferred search engines by 40 percent of young people over Google.” (Source: TechCrunch)
 
Social media sites provide a more interesting and tailored experience for Gen Z consumers. Social media algorithms provide users with relevant material more effectively because the algorithms are adapted to each user's interests and browsing history. Social media platforms also make it possible for users to access more user-generated content, which is regarded as being more relatable and reliable than conventional commercial content.
 
By working with influencers, it also helps to boost a company’s SEO visibility.
 
Video Use Will Increase Dramatically
 
Video content is one of the most often used formats for the consumption of information and the development of 5G and fiber internet have made it easier for individuals to access the content.
 
Users can now create and consume video content at the touch of a button on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, as well as features such as Instagram Reels and Snapchat Stories.
 
Research shows “more people share social media videos than both image and text information combined by almost 1200 percent.” (Source: G2 Crowd) This trend video content reaches a larger audience.
 
For both short and long-form material, most influencers use either TikTok or YouTube, and many use both to reach a larger following. “Sponsored author content generated over 107 million likes overall.” (Source: NeoReach)
 
A few creative firms have begun incorporating TikTok trends into their advertisements to market their goods. Consumers are unaware that they are seeing an advertisement, this factor leads to additional views.
 
Although there are still many applications for text and graphic content, video content creation has virtually unlimited potential for marketers.
 
The Popularity Of Live Shopping Will Rise
 
Live shopping is becoming more and more popular.  “Live shopping events are the future of influencer marketing, which will generate an astounding $35 billion in sales by 2024.” (Source: Coresight Research)
 
Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram have all offered tools for livestream purchasing as well as collaborations with different influencers. For instance, the live shopping feature on TikTok mixes live streaming with online purchasing and enables the target market to make purchases without ever leaving the app.
 
Live shopping makes it possible to browse and buy things in a straightforward manner while having a seamless shopping experience. “Four times more than mega-influencers, middle influencers were able to draw 40 percent of their viewership through live streams.” (Source: Statista)
 
Last year, live video streaming ranked third among all content types – influencers engage their followers by showing products, by responding to chat inquiries and by providing links to buy the products. For one-off partnerships and affiliate marketing initiatives, social media influencers will continue to promote brand content using live video and interactive content.
 
TikTok Spending Will Increase
 
TikTok has seen significant growth that will continue in the coming years. “In 2022, TikTok social media posts will receive an average interaction rate of 5.96 percent.” (Source: Social Insider)
 
Budgets will reflect a considerably higher focus on TikTok than on other social channels since many Gen Z consumers are coming of age and starting to make purchasing decisions on their own. “Advertisers will spend $1.05 billion on TikTok in 2023, and by 2024, they'll have doubled their spending from the previous year.” (Source: THEB2BHOUSE)
 
Additionally, TikTok has made data public about the effectiveness of the platform for e-commerce companies.     
 
Create Successful Influencer Marketing For Your Brand
 
Influencer marketing is an effective social media marketing tool for companies to expand its customer base and ultimately, increase their revenue. Influencer marketing has a noticeable ROI and it should be included in any digital marketing approach.
 
Allen Marketing Communications, Inc. team of influencer marketing professionals stay on the pulse with current trends to build the word of mouth visibility for brands.
 
By Joanna Allen, chief executive officer, Allen Marketing Communications, Inc.