Top 5 Influencer Marketing Trends

Influencer marketing has been one of the most effective forms of social media marketing for the last few years and this is set to continue. As platforms develop their content features, we are seeing influencers create new types of content and engage with their audiences in new ways. The social media landscape evolves constantly, so it’s important for influencers to identify key influencer marketing trends and changes in order to appeal to brands. Influencers that keep on trend will help brands expand their audience and generate leads and revenue. 

2021 presents brands with the opportunity to really resonate with their audiences again. After 2020, many brands were left in a muddle trying to appeal to an audience stuck inside. Moving to a more digital and ecommerce focus, consumers have begun to favour brands that are accessible online and through social media. White general advertising from brands decreased, influencer marketing experienced a nearly 50% increase. So, it’s safe to say influencer marketing is here to stay.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is where a brand leverages the existing reach of an influencer. In partnerships, influencers can endorse your product or co-create content with the intent to increase brand awareness and drive sales. There are various types of partnerships including discount codes and affiliates, competitions and giveaways and post sponsorships, to name a few.

Why You Need Influncers ?

Influencers have already created a strong relationship with their followers. They know the type of content their audience is interested in, the times they’re most online and, most importantly, have created trust. 

Only 1% of millennials trust advertisements, but over 30% will trust a blog review. 40% of consumers have bought a product online after seeing an endorsement from an influencer on social media. 

Influencers are a way to open a line of communication between brand and consumers. They’re a modern-day, mass-scale version of word of mouth marketing.

5 Key Instagram Marketing Trends 2021

Influencer marketing can be incorporated directly into your brand’s overall marketing strategy or can be used as a one-off to boost awareness and sales. Either way, we’ve listed the top 5 influencer trends you should keep an eye on in 2021.

Live streaming popularity set to continue rising

As a result of various lockdown restrictions, many consumers were left without real-life connection and human interaction. To fill this gap, they began turning to live streams. This real-time communication method with influencers slowly filled the need for meaningful connection.

In Q3 of 2020 alone, consumers watched over 7.4 billion hours of live streamed content—a huge 92% growth YOY. 

Amazon Live created shoppable live streams, IGTV and Twitch boomed, and don’t get us started on the impact of TikTok. Thanks to platforms investing heavily in the development of live streaming features, many businesses are planning to continue streaming as a priority post-pandemic. 

We’ve seen a huge surge in live streamed concerts and events hosted by Influencers (including YouTube’s Beauty Festival) and this is set to continue post-COVID. Live streaming makes exciting content accessible to everyone globally. 

Influencers will help continue the importance of live streamed content thanks to an influencer’s marketing strengths: authenticity and creating an online buzz.

TikTok and TikTok Creators will continue to dominate online

TikTok’s growth in 2020 was outstanding and it shows no sign of slowing down in 2021. The platform boasts over 800 million users, 75% of whom are daily active users. 

TikTok has focused on enticing creators to post on the app. The Creator Fund was set up to pay influencers for their work. Pairing this with the possibility of a highly-viral win, many creators have started focusing on creating high-quality TikTok content. For brands wanting to target Gen Z, TikTok will be a good place to stay relevant with them.

Celebrities lose their relevance

While influencers are more popular than ever, celebrities are quickly becoming irrelevant to consumers. The pandemic pointed out huge, unrelatable differences between celebrities and consumers (think a tone-deaf rendition of “Imagine” or feeling trapped in a 1.3 acre property). The pandemic highlighted how untouched celebrities were by COVID and this has led to the swift decline of celebrity influence.

Celebrities may be a way to reach a huge audience, but celebrity and brand partnerships are seen as inauthentic by consumers. The lack of authenticity is incredibly off-putting to consumers, so it’s wise that businesses put their marketing budgets elsewhere… to micro influencers, perhaps.

Micro and nano influencers will reign supreme

Nano and micro influencers should be a brand’s go-to when it comes to influencer marketing in 2021. Nano and micro influencers are influencers who have just a few thousand followers, compared to hero or celebrity influencers with millions. What they lack in following, they make up for in engagement. 

Due to the oversaturation of influencers on social media, engagement rates have been swiftly declining. However, those with less than 25K followers have an average engagement rate of around 7%. 

Micro influencers are considered to be real experts within their niches. By focusing on smaller influencers, brands will be able to stretch their influencer marketing budgets while working with influencers that are incredibly well connected to and engaged with their audiences. Working with smaller influencers is beneficial to both brand and influencer.

 Ongoing partnerships beat one-off partnerships

Throughout 2021, it is expected that brands and influencers will begin creating long-term partnerships instead of one-off sponsored posts. The reasoning for this is that consumers are now demanding authenticity, something hard to achieve with a one-off post. Consumers are unwilling to part with their money for an ingenuine partnership, so creating a long-term partnership with influencers helps build the authenticity needed.

FAQ’s

What are future trends in influencer marketing?

Within influencer marketing, we expect to see a continued shift towards more authentic partnerships online. 

Live streaming is set to continue to grow as platforms develop their live streaming (and ecommerce) capabilities. Celebrities will continue to lose their influence, but micro and nano influencers will be high in demand. 

TikTok will continue to be a driving force for social media trends and creators. 

Is influencer marketing effective?

Yes. Only 1% of millennials trust advertisements, but over 30% will trust an influencer review. 40% of consumers have bought a product online after seeing an endorsement from an influencer on social media. 

Influencers are a way to open a line of communication between brand and consumers. They’re a modern-day, mass-scale version of word of mouth marketing. 

How do influencers affect trends?

Influencers are the primary driving force behind trends online. They are seen as individuals with trusted opinions, so a product recommendation from an influencer can go a long way. Influencer trends, more often than not, generally end up being popular with most consumers. 

How many followers do you need to be an influencer?

There are different categories of influencers for follower ranges, but nano-influencers have at least 1,000 followers. 

How can you build a powerful influencer marketing strategy in 2021?

When building an influencer marketing strategy, you need to ensure you’re using influencers that are relevant to your audience; this includes using influencers who are on relevant platforms. While large influencers can help boost brand awareness, micro and nano influencers can really help drive sales.

Our Influencer marketing agency and Social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

If you want to receive our industry insights, visit our Influencer Marketing & Social Media blog.

@ Socially Powerful

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