As many of us in strategic communications know, creating social media content day in and day out takes a lot of mental bandwidth. With all our other responsibilities, it can be overwhelming keeping up with social media trends and developing creative new content for multiple platforms every day of the week.
This is one of the reasons why influencer marketing has skyrocketed on social media in recent years. In 2021, the influencer market was worth about $7.36 billion, and it’s expected to reach nearly $70 billion by 2029.
Influencers are skilled at designing compelling content that authentically promotes a brand or cause. Plus, they have already garnered the trust of a sizable followership, providing your brand with a megaphone to reach your key audiences.
There are a number of different trends in influencer marketing we are following, and we have some influencer marketing tips from our experts at Tunheim that we want to share.
4 Influencer Marketing Trends We’re Watching
- AI influencers – Tunheim’s David Erickson, Director of Integrated Digital and Social Media, has been tracking the rise of AI influencers. An Instagram account by the name of lilmiquela claims to be a 19-year-old influencer living in Los Angeles, but the caveat is that she is not real. The account has almost three million followers and features a somewhat convincing depiction of a young woman who sings and wears her hair in Princess Leia buns. We are rapidly approaching a future where brands can create their own AI influencers that will promote their products – and nobody will know the difference between the AI and the real influencer struggling to secure partnerships.
- Deinfluencing – At the beginning of 2023, deinfluencing became a trending topic on beauty TikTok. The trend was designed to show products were overpriced, overconsumed, or poor quality. Influencers made videos showing off all the products they didn’t like, telling their followers not to buy them. While this trend has slowed, it is a good reminder that influence can also work in the opposite direction.
- Authenticity works wonders – Gen Z is tired of the sales pitches. They can spot an ad a million miles away and don’t want to be sold a product that influencers are not passionate about. Gen Z wants influencers to be genuine and not attempt to hide behind the money motivator. This means allowing the influencer to get creative.
- Increase in spending for video platforms – In 2022, over $2.2 billion were spent on influencer marketing for Instagram, while YouTube had $948 million in spending and TikTok saw $774.8 million. With the permanent popularity of video and consumer desire for more video content from brands, we expect influencer marketing spending on these platforms to increase over the next several years.
3 Influencer Marketing Tips
Now that you have a peek into the future of influencer marketing, our Senior Digital Strategist Maddie Greene has some recommendations for how to get started working with influencers.
- It’s not necessary for influencers to have a huge following. Surprisingly, micro and nano influencer campaigns tend to be more successful in terms of conversion rates compared to macro campaigns. This is because micro and nano influencers usually have a more focused and committed audience. Consider all your options, big and small.
- Becoming an influencer is within everyone’s reach. To authentically connect with your target audience, it’s important to find someone who genuinely represents the audience’s interests and values. Vet the influencer’s content and history thoroughly to ensure their profile aligns with your brand and message.
- Before selecting an influencer, it is important to have a thorough understanding of your target audience. Develop personas for your key stakeholders, and request audience demographics from potential influencer partners, so you find a voice with the right audience.
If influencer marketing could help you connect with untapped audiences, get in touch with us. We want your audience to hear your message.
