Anyone can be an influencer – if they know how to

Source: Hypeauditor

Although influencer marketing (IM) is not a new term, its value continues to grow – from 2019 until today, it has grown from 6.5 to 13.8 billion dollars. It proves not only that brands shouldn’t think twice before using influencers in their promotion, but that IM should be an integral part of it. To help you plan your influencer campaigns for next year, we bring you the six most important trends.

1. Social commerce will open up new opportunities for sponsored content

As the Covid crisis made it harder for brands to connect with audiences, the need for social media presence and good e-mail newsletter software became even more acute. The newsletter allows you to send personalized offers to customers and is a proven method for encouraging large returns on investment, but the topic that will emerge in 2022 is social commerce.

A combination of e-mail marketing, videos, and posts that you can buy, creates influential content on social media and thus improves the user experience. Such planned and well-organized content will provide more sponsored content opportunities for influencers.

2. Brands will focus on building long-term relationships

The process of finding the right influencer is hard and expensive because it requires brands to take many factors into account. Given the growing number of influencers, brands should select influencers based on who fits their profile the best and then develop long-term relationships with them. This way, influencers will be more motivated to create the best possible content, and brands will achieve the desired results faster and easier. Such continuous collaboration increases the audience’s trust in the brand, influencers become its added value, and in the end, the result is more authentic for both the brand and the influencer.

3. Nano and micro-influencers will gain popularity

While great reach is an advantage, audience engagement is equally important. The connection with the brand is what affects the engagement the most, and it’s the biggest on the profiles of micro and nano influencers, especially on TikTok. This is also good news for smaller brands that get the opportunity to achieve results at a lower price.

4. CGI influencers will attract more attention

Did you know that CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), in addition to existing in movies, also exists in the influencer industry? Not only do the CGI influencers exist, but it seems that they are the rising stars of this industry. These virtual influencers may not be real, but their impact is. Their creation requires a whole team of programmers, designers, and social media managers. Just like living influencers, CGI influencers express their views on current topics and showcase their daily lives on social media. The potential of using this type of influencer lies in the great emphasis on technology that allows them a wide range of new content to share. Brands like UGG, Prada, and Diesel know this well. And how Mini (Cooper) does it can be seen on the profile of CGI influencer Lil Miquela, who is followed by three million people.

5. Employees are becoming influencers

Given the constant need for authentic content, brands are beginning to encourage employees to act as influencers. When an employee supports a brand, confirmation of its desirability or quality seems more sincere, which has more power than when someone is doing a paid promotion. Also, given that employees are already involved in the company’s content, marketing and business anyway, the connection to the company’s communication becomes even stronger. H&M, Macy’s, and Starbucks know that too.

 6. Social justice will strengthen

Until recently, brands avoided interfering in political or social issues, but today their silence is seen as unacceptable behavior. Social engagement and diversity also affect the influencers who no longer represent perfection and fitting in. Consumers support those brands that really act, and influencers choose carefully who they work with. Therefore, in 2022, influencer campaigns will be full of authentic and diverse influencers who advocate for equality and promote deeper messages.