Influencer Marketing Campaigns – Trends to Watch Out For

There are few industries more dynamic and subject to rapid changes than influencer marketing. Public interest in social media trends is constantly shifting and constant study is required to make sure you’re not using outdated tactics in your marketing messaging. Strategies that worked last year do not have the same guarantee of success now. So we’ve compiled a list of new trends in the industry that you will want to focus on in your next influencer marketing campaign.

Nano and Micro-Influencers

Surprisingly, the biggest follower counts don’t necessarily yield the biggest results for your products. Content creators with fewer followers show higher levels of engagement and relatability, meaning that micro influencers (less than 25k followers) and nano influencers (less than 10k followers) are worth considering for your brand. Not only does it cost you less money to hire a smaller influencer for your campaign, their high engagement with their followers also helps you lower your cost per conversion. Even big brands like Daniel Wellington have dipped into this trend with considerable success.

Marketing on Twitch

For those unfamiliar with Twitch, it is a platform on which influencers can live stream content. While it has been around since 2011, influencer marketing campaigns have generally overlooked it till now. But brands have recently begun to take note of the massive responses that creators on Twitch can generate from their audiences, with companies like UberEats recording impressive gains from their Twitch campaigns. And because using Twitch to market your products is still a relatively new idea, getting into this trend allows you to avoid competing with other brands over influencers.

CGI Influencers

The latest stars in the influencer industry don’t exist. But they have well-organized social media profiles with nice photos and well-thought out opinion posts. CGI influencers are created by a team of designers and programmers to mimic the style of real-life influencers. This trend is nothing to laugh at though. Brands like Diesel and Prada have had hugely successful marketing campaigns involving CGI influencers. And because they aren’t real, collaborating with them means that you have full control over how your products will be displayed on the profile. From captions to post layout, you get to choose everything as per your preferences.

Employee Influencers

Get ready to change your definition of the word “influencer”, as this new trend has brands encouraging their employees to take up the mantle of promoting them on social media. And it makes perfect sense. An employee’s endorsement of their brand seems more genuine than the comments of a disconnected celebrity. Employees are also aware of the inner workings of your company, meaning that they are familiar with the values of your brand and can easily curate their posts to fit within those values. Brands like Starbucks, MasterCard, and Reebok have used this trend not just to boost their sales but also to improve their relationships with their employees.

Long-term relationships

Lastly, we’ll talk about the way the relationships between brands and influencers have changed in today’s times. Hiring good influencers can be a tedious process. And as the industry gets more competitive, the process will only become more tedious. So it stands to reason that it is in your interest to maintain a long-term relationship with your influencers. A longer relationship allows influencers to make multiple posts about your products, meaning that their attachment to your brand seems more convincing and genuine. In addition, having a professional contract with a content creator gives them a vested interest in the success of your company; in turn making them put more effort into their endorsement posts. Brands like L’Oreal have openly stated that they, “believe in long-term relationships with influencers”.

While the study of influencer marketing trends does not end here, we believe that these are some trends that are here to stay. Incorporating them into your marketing strategies is sure to give your brand a noticeable boost in visibility and sales.