Posted by The field of social media marketing is evolving constantly, and as brands attempt to avoid social media marketing mistakes, many of them struggle to reach their target audience.
According to a 2023 study, $3.90 billion was spent in the US on influencer marketing in 2020. That figure is predicted to reach $7.14 billion by 2024.
With all the potential money you will spend on building your current campaign, it is essential that you stay on top of the latest progressions in this growing field.
With the help of these ten influencer marketing trends, your company will be able to reach customers quickly and effectively.
1. Exposure requires authenticity from influencers
The trust between influencers and their audiences provides brands with an excellent opportunity to reach their target consumer base.
While paying someone to promote a brand can boost sales, influencers also run the risk of damaging their relationship with their fans who perceive their promotion as disingenuous.
Customers want to maintain an authentic relationship with their favorite content creators. This means brands and influencers must carefully consider deals to avoid upsetting their audience.
In order to avoid damaging the trust between influencers and their followers, companies looking to promote their products should seek out influencers with relevant ties to their target market.
When influencers promote products that appear unrelated to their brand image, their audience rarely responds positively. This type of promotion leads to viewers doubting the authenticity of the speaker.
Companies can prevent these social media marketing mistakes from occurring by partnering with influencers related to their brand or field.
Businesses selling clothing would benefit from working with a fashion blogger, while automotive hardware producers would find more value in partnering with a content creator who specializes in car mechanics.
2. Build long-term influencer partnerships with trusted creators
One-time promotions thrive at providing immediate exposure for a product or service, but they are not as effective at sustaining ongoing interest in a brand.
Influencer marketing trends such as long-term influencer partnerships provide brands with consistent promotion over a set period of time.
Long-term influencer partnerships strengthen the relationship between brands and influencers, while also creating more opportunities to attract customers.
A one-time promotion might go unseen by a casual fan or be ignored by a committed fan who has been overexposed to one-time promotions, but a long-term promotion is more likely to reach both types of fans.
By partnering with influencers with established audiences and professional standards, companies can communicate the legitimacy of their business to new audiences while developing a brand identity.
Jesse James West, a compelling fitness influencer with over two million subscribers on YouTube, has had a long-term partnership with the supplement company, Gorilla Mind. He and several other influencers have helped to increase the popularity and awareness of this brand.
3. Partner creators with affiliate programs
Compensating content creators based on set rates avoids the difficulty of determining custom rates for every advertisement, but this form of partnership provides little incentive for an influencer to care about the success of a promotion.
Affiliate programs allow influencers to benefit from the success of their own promotions, while also driving them to boost their partner’s sales.
Similar to long-term influencer partnerships, affiliate programs act as a sign of approval from an influencer. By partnering with a content creator who personally endorses a product or service, brands can communicate to customers through a trusted voice.
Affiliate programs reward influencers when customers purchase based on their recommendation, causing each party involved to gain every time a sale is made. The more sales that come as a result of a promotion, the more everyone benefits from the deal.
4. Video-based content is popular and versatile
According to research detailing internet usage in 2020, over 3.0 billion people watched at least one downloaded or streamed video from the internet once a month. This number is predicted to reach 3.5 billion in 2023.
As platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok continue to gain momentum going into 2023 and beyond, video-based content will continue to act as a primary form of marketing.
Not taking advantage of video-based content is one of the biggest influencer marketing trends a company could miss out on, as video content is available on nearly every major online platform.
In addition to widespread availability, video-based content is also simple to repost and reuse.
Videos under two minutes in length can be shared on nearly any social media platform, while longer-form videos can be split into multiple parts, effectively creating multiple posts from one video.
This versatility is beneficial for both businesses and consumers, allowing brands to reach customers at their comfort level.
Another benefit of video-based content is that it can be reformatted to meet the needs of specific platforms.
Websites that host podcasts can use only the audio of a video, while videos that rely upon visuals can be converted into .gif files, making them easier to post on platforms that prioritize imagery.
5. First-party data collection is essential
As consumers gain control of their data privacy, the need for first-party data becomes essential for businesses looking to better understand the impact of influencer marketing trends.
Research indicates that 86% of consumers say they want more transparency in relation to their personal data, and just 27% said they understand how businesses use their data.
Thankfully for businesses with a presence in the online marketplace, customer engagement exists in several different forms.
Comments, reviews, survey responses, and even likes on social media posts can act as incredibly insightful first-party data.
In addition to gaining customer feedback, collecting first-party data can indicate the results of a social media campaign or brand endorsement.
Understanding the driving forces behind likes, comments, and views can guide brands toward the best ways to reach their audience.
Many of the most popular social media platforms offer ways of tracking engagement. These resources can be used to keep track of social media marketing mistakes and successes.
By monitoring how certain posts perform across multiple websites, companies can determine how best to communicate with customers on each platform.
6. Honesty is worth more than perfection
Consumers desire quality when they purchase from a brand, but promising quality to an unrealistic degree could invite skepticism from potential buyers.
By partnering with influencers who care about the importance of honesty, brands can communicate the value of their products without customers needing to worry about being misled.
Comment sections for product posts and videos are oftentimes used as an outlet for customers to share their experiences with a brand.
Understanding what consumers are commenting on can help a company understand how best to satisfy its audience. Their feedback can guide them toward necessary improvements.
Customer reviews also serve as a way for brands to prove their dedication to customers. Some customers will voice their problems with a purchase in the product’s review section.
Rather than only highlighting positive reviews, companies that attempt to resolve customer concerns demonstrate honesty and a commitment to customer satisfaction.
7. Build trust using user-generated content
Partnerships with influencers and social media marketing campaigns are excellent ways of spreading brand awareness, but some consumers feel indifferent toward the endorsements of content creators.
While implementing influencer marketing trends can make a product more desirable, influencers do not always share the perspective of the average customer. This is why user-generated content is valuable.
Relying solely upon paid influencers for product promotion is one of the most expensive social media marketing mistakes a company can make.
User-generated content provides customers with an idea of how everyday consumers feel about certain brands.
When an audience watches someone similar to them feel the excitement during an unboxing video or satisfaction after a product review, they are more likely to desire that product.
Companies can incentivize customers to create this type of content by offering promotions to consumers who post videos on social media using specific hashtags.
Here is an example of the technology company, GoPro, resharing a customer’s content. Leveraging user-generated content is an excellent way to showcase your product or service in a fun and creative light.
8. Collaborate with multiple influencers
As social media influencers and content creators rise in volume and prominence, more relationships between like-minded influencers will form.
These relationships help content creators expand their audiences, in addition to creating opportunities for a collaborative brand partnership.
Promoting a brand in collaboration with various influencers increases exposure while targeting multiple audiences that share similar interests. This type of collaboration can also convince hesitant consumers that a product is trustworthy.
Many customers follow multiple influencers, and if they see that more than one person they follow is endorsing a product, they are more likely to believe the recommendation.
Partnerships help both brands and influencers increase their follower base while boosting sales.
As partnerships become more common, marketing mistakes such as relying upon only one influencer or social media platform will become detrimental to the success of an online business.
9. Smaller influencers provide ample opportunities
Influencers with millions of followers are excellent at promoting brands, but their partnership is often expensive and limited in scope.
People with large audiences cannot afford to dedicate too much of their time to promotions, but smaller influencers are cheaper and more available in many cases.
While they might lack the audience of a major influencer, smaller influencers’ conversion rates are often higher.
Rather than spending a large number of resources on one deal with a popular influencer, businesses can save time and money by making multiple deals with smaller content creators.
According to data, 47.3% of influencers are micro-influencers. This group has roughly 5,000–20,000 followers on the platforms they use.
Working with smaller influencers also results in multiple positive business partnerships with influencers, which can become even more valuable as those influencers increase their audiences.
10. Livestream shopping is rising in popularity
One of the most innovative influencer marketing trends to emerge within the field of online marketing is live-stream shopping.
Live stream shopping allows consumers to watch live demonstrations of a product, while also providing the opportunity for customers to ask questions.
This form of promotion makes hiding product problems more difficult, improving the consumer’s faith in the product’s quality.
Social media marketing mistakes such as using highly-edited promotional videos or bland imagery will fail to communicate the value of a product to a consumer.
Not only does live-stream shopping provide consumers with an unedited demonstration of a product, it also allows companies to combine shopping with entertainment.
Products promoted during live streams can be used in creative and entertaining ways, proving to consumers just how desirable the product is.
Limited-time deals combined with the freedom to make an immediate purchase during these live streams can also create a call to action for customers.
Moving Forward
Staying competitive within the field of online marketing requires succeeding in several different fields, but with the help of these ten influencer marketing trends, consumers will better understand what makes each brand special.
From influencer partnerships to user-generated content, there are plenty of ways to communicate brand value to consumers, and each business will benefit differently from each.