Influencer marketing has taken the world by storm

Businesses want to be associated with a voice that resonates with them and helps them produce sales.

Influencer marketing is still a relatively young marketing brand that still has a lot of potentials. There are several trends in influencer marketing that businesses need to take into account before and while using influencers in their overall marketing.

Here are some influencer marketing trends that will dominate in 2020:

Rise of micro and nano influencers

It has been a well-established fact in the world of influencer marketing that micro-influencers outperform traditional celebrities in terms of return on investment (ROI).

Smaller influencers are generally more connected and in tune with their audiences. When they promote a product or service, the audience reacts in a much more positive way.

Some traditional celebrities may also have a highly engaged and loyal audience, but these celebrities are shrinking quite rapidly.

Another thing about micro-influencers is that they don’t have a lot of sponsors. For brands, this is a good thing. This means that brands can approach micro-influencers much more easily and at an affordable price point.

Nano influencers are also gaining popularity. Nano influencers are even smaller than micro-influencers. Why would you want to hire an influencer with a small audience?

Well, there can be many reasons. Your brand might want to cement relationships with a nano influencer who has the potential to grow exponentially in the future. Or you have a very niche market with only nano influencers.

Another thing that makes smaller influencers more attractive for brands is that smaller influencers produce more relatable content. After all, these people aren’t a whole lot different from everyday people and hence can produce content that speaks volumes to their audiences.

Domination of video content

Video content does great on social media platforms. The reason being that engagement for video is much higher than other forms of content like text.

Influencers that make use of video content are not only able to get a significant following relatively quickly (depending on the quality of their content, of course), but they are also able to get an audience that is highly engaged.

Brands will also prefer to invest in influencers who produce video content. Video content gets more engagement, while at the same time, social media platforms (according to influencermarketinghub.com) organically promote video content around 135% more than other forms of content like links, statuses, and even images.

You’ll also notice that almost all influencers have incorporated stories on their overall content plan and strategy. Short-form videos are a great way to grab attention, as well as being an ideal medium to place a CTA (call to action).

Forming long term relationships with influencers

In the not so distant past, brands used to partner up with an influencer for a single campaign and then move on to the next influencer. This not only made the brands look like they would sponsor any influencer, but it also made most influencers look like sell-outs.

So, to combat this, brands have recently started to stick with influencers in the long run.

This helps brands to associate themselves to a limited number of influencers who share the same values and ideals as them.

Long term relationships not only benefit brands, but they also help influencers with maintaining a relatively stable form of income.

Brands will prefer influencers who share the same values as them

Businesses need to be proactive in how they represent themselves online. Maintaining a positive brand image is crucial for businesses in the digital age.

When partnering up with an influencer, brands need to make sure that the influencer shares the same values as them. But what does that mean?

Sharing the same values and ideals with an influencer means that you are guaranteeing the safety of your brand image. You wouldn’t want an influencer to share content that deviates from what you find acceptable and beneficial.

Most of the time, brands and influencers decide what kind of content the influencer would produce for the brand and what things to keep in mind while creating content.

Brands need to make the right decision when choosing an influencer. Using a live chat app will allow make it easier for your audience to have a say in who they would like to see as an influencer for your business.

Once a piece of content is released on the internet, it will stay there forever. Mistakes will be made, but it should be your priority to assure the safety of your brand image as best as you possibly can.

An increase in agencies that specialise in influencer marketing

Agencies make businesses ‘ lives a whole lot easier. By outsourcing their influencer marketing work to an agency, businesses wouldn’t need to have in house staff for influencer marketing. Businesses and organisations will be able to focus on the core aspects of their business.

This has been true for other aspects of marketing, like social media. Some companies want to focus on their core activities and not be bothered with other essential, but not core components of the business.

You can expect an increase in agencies that specialise in influencer marketing, as it is going to only grow from here.

Storytelling will become even more preferable

Storytelling is something that makes human beings special. Human beings love to hear stories, as it makes retaining information more palatable.

Influencers that convey their content in a story like a format often get to have a loyal audience.

Brands want their target audience to remember them, and what better way than in a story told by their favourite influencer. Messaging that is conveyed via stories tends to be remembered by the audience for longer.

Conclusion

Influencer marketing is here to stay. The impact that influencers can have on business can be extraordinary.

Marketers need to be aware of any and all trends in all aspects of marketing, especially the ones that are still quite nascent. Influencer marketing is poised to become an integral part of the modern marketer’s arsenal, but it still has a ways to go before it becomes widely accepted by all marketers in the digital space.

Hamzah Adil loves all aspects of marketing being a digital marketer himself. He’s currently working for a startup that has released a new live chat app called SwiftChat.
Website: https://www.swiftchat.io