Influencer marketing is replacing traditional marketing methods like print and TV ads. It uses digital marketing techniques to target specific audiences on social media platforms. Brands can reach large, engaged audiences through platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to promote their products and services.
Data suggests that in 2022 influencer marketing reached a new record of $16.4 billion in market value. Marketers who use it say it has the second-highest ROI after short-form video content. Businesses in many industries are realizing the power of influencer marketing.
The Rising Influence of Influencer Marketing in 2023
With advanced technologies bringing about a digital revolution and the penetration of social media, customer shopping habits are very different today. Social media is now an integral part of the shopping experience. Many young consumers discover new products on social media. According to some recent data, over 75% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media. They are more likely to trust a brand if an influencer they follow reviews its products.
Influencer marketing involves using influential individuals on social media to promote a product or service. In most cases, successful influencers have loyal audiences across many channels. Partnering with influencers who have a strong connection with their followers helps brands to have a more relatable and authentic brand image. Here are some of the main reasons why influencer marketing is so effective:
- Visibility and reach: By partnering with an influencer who has an engaged following in a particular niche, brands can target the right people for their messages. They can increase their visibility and reach new audiences.
- Trust and loyalty: Consumers trust the recommendations of influencers they follow. Brands can leverage this trust to promote their products or services.
- High engagement: As influencers have a strong relationship with their followers, they create content that resonates with them and has high engagement rates.
- Cost-effective: It saves money for brands to work with influencers to reach wide audiences than to spend it on one ad campaign.
- Measurable results: Influencer marketing campaigns are measurable. Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and clicks help to show whether a campaign is successful or not. By tracking these metrics, brands can see how well their content resonates with their target audience.
Nike is a brand that has a successful collaboration with influencers to promote its products. It partners with fitness influencers and athletes to create content. This has been very successful, particularly in reaching a young demographic
AirBnB is another well-known brand that has seen significant growth through the use of influencer marketing. It works with travel influencers to create unique content. This has successfully helped to build brand awareness.
The popularity of video uploads is transforming the way people consume and engage with online content. Video collaboration between brands and influencers is a proven way of growing a business.
Navigating new trends and strategies in influencer marketing
Brands who want to keep growing their businesses need to use the latest marketing strategies 2023.
Micro-influencers: Influencer marketing isn’t just for celebrities. Many businesses don’t have the budget for big, celebrity endorsements. They would rather work with smaller, niche audiences. Marketing strategies 2023 will include using more micro-influencers. Micro-influencers usually have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. Brands can collaborate effectively with them to target specific niche audiences.
Video content and influencer marketing go hand-in-hand: Many influencers use video as a way to engage with their audience. The popularity of video-based platforms like TikTok has made other social media platforms put more emphasis on video content. Now there are YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Facebook Reels. Instagram recently added Highlights so influencers can save stories to their profile. Influencers with more than 10,000 followers have a ‘swipe up’ feature they can use to drive traffic to a special offer. This turns video into a direct response tool.
Influencers are experts at creating the type of video content that captures the attention of their followers. Their content can take many forms, from product reviews on YouTube to sponsored Instagram posts.
Marketers who want to facilitate video collaboration with influencers can use Cincopa, a private video hosting platform. It helps marketing teams to centralize their video assets. They can access, edit, organize, and analyze all their digital assets from a user-friendly dashboard. Seamless video uploads are possible to Cincopa from Instagram, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
Growth of influencer marketing platforms: Influencer marketing platforms make it easier for brands to connect with influencers. They could start playing an even bigger role in shaping influencer marketing in the future.
Cross-channel campaigns: Brands working with influencers don’t have to market only on one channel. Influencers usually have engaged followers on various social media platforms. This gives brands the opportunity to create cross-channel campaigns. They can present their products in different ways depending on the platform. Using the Cincopa platform helps with facilitating cross-channel campaigns.
Live shopping: One of the most popular marketing strategies 2023 is live shopping. This takes place through online streams on social networks. By 2026 e-commerce shopping revenue is predicted to nearly triple. The increase in live shopping allows influencers to take their marketing to the next level. They can promote products and services directly to their audiences through live videos and interactive content.
Cincopa uses a content delivery network (CDN) to make sure it’s possible to deliver high video marketing content fast. Using the Cincopa platform also offers many interactive features. More viewers can enjoy videos with the use of subtitles and closed captions. Adding annotations and calls-to-action help to engage viewers and turn them into active participants. Annotations appear at the top of a video without interrupting the viewer experience. Calls-to-action can encourage viewers to download an ebook, subscribe to an email list, or make a purchase.
Brands and influencers team up for the long haul: Brands are realizing that building long-term relationships with influencers helps with their video marketing and making sales. Long-term relationships allow influencers to deeply understand the values of brands which results in video marketing campaigns with more impact. Video uploads surge when influencers share impactful content.
Employees become influencers: Another one of the popular marketing strategies 2023 is for brands to treat employees as influencers. They encourage them to share their experiences with products or services. Employee-driven video content can help to attract new recruits. It can showcase the company culture and build credibility.
Cincopa makes it easy for employees to create videos. They can use Rec-Trace, a video screen recorder to record their screens, cam, or both at the same time. Many consumers watch tutorial videos so they can see exactly how to use a product.
More regulation: Social media platforms are likely to regulate influencer marketing more as it continues to grow. Brands and influencers will need to keep on top of any regulatory changes.
Identifying the right influencers for your brand in 2023
One of the biggest pitfalls in influencer marketing is choosing the wrong influencer. It is important to research potential influencers to make sure their audience, values, and content align with the brand image. Creating an Influencer Persona to help to identify what kind of influencer would work best for an audience. Leverage social listening and data analysis tools can help. To find the right influencer it is essential to consider the following factors.
- Define the target audience: Select influencers with a following that matches the brand target demographic.
- Find influencers in the same niche: Make sure the influencer is already creating content and engaging followers in an appropriate niche.
- Consider the size and engagement of an influencer’s following: Remember that engagement matters more than the size of a following. Micro-influencers may have strong connections with their followers and create content that truly resonates with them. Check that an influencer’s engagement rates are high as this shows followers relate to their content.
- Review content: The content an influencer creates should align with brand messaging and values. It must be a good fit for the brand.
- Check their reputation: Select influencers who have a good reputation and produce high-quality content.
- Look at pricing: The prices influencers charge can vary a great deal depending on the size of the following and the level of influence they have.
Maximizing Influencer partnerships for product launches
Brands use many different marketing strategies to launch new products. This includes in-person events, pop-ups, and social media campaigns. Using influencers adds a human element to a launch campaign. Their trusted relationship with their followers helps them to create a genuine buzz and excitement about new products.
When Motorola launched its new smartphone range, they partnered with tech-centric YouTube influencers. These influencers had followers who were a perfect fit for the Moto Z range. The launch was a great success and the campaign drove more than 122k followers to the sales landing pages.
Not only do audiences trust the recommendations of influencers but they can see in videos how influencers use products. This gives them more assurance to buy. There are opportunities for collaboration with influencers at every stage of a launch, from pre-launch to post launch.
Teaser posts: During pre-launch influencers can create a buzz with teaser posts that give a sneak preview of a product without giving too much away. This helps to spark curiosity and drive anticipation.
Behind-the-scenes footage: Influencers can also share behind-the-scenes footage of new products being made and packaged. Abercrombie and Fitch worked with influencers to post content like this when launching their fall clothing line.
Reels and TikTok videos: On the day of the product launch influencers can feature the new products in Reels or TikTok videos and across their social media feeds or in Stories. Customers can go directly to sales landing pages with call-to-action like ‘buy now.
Interactive events: Brands can invite influencers to a launch event and encourage them to post about it online. When Bondi Sands, a self-care and skincare brand launched its new skincare line, it had an interactive event with goodies, samples, and demos. It invited influencers to the event. Product stations and ‘selfie’ mirrors offered influencers moments they could share on Instagram.
Live ‘unboxing’ videos: These can generate high conversion rates with an online audience. Followers watching influencers ‘unboxing’ products on videos are fully immersed in the experience.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for driving business growth. It offers tangible results and should be part of the marketing strategy of all forward-thinking businesses. The collaboration between brands and influencers is only likely to increase in the future. The Cincopa platform facilitates video collaboration. It helps with centralizing and sharing digital assets on different platforms. Its advanced analytics allow for measure of the performance of influencer campaigns in order to improve them and capitalize even more from them.
