These 7 trends will have a severe impact on influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is now part of the mainstream. More companies are using influencers to promote their brand or product on social media. This strategy is, however, subject drastic change. What should you be aware of in 2016?

 In this digital world companies have a limited number of instruments at their disposal to reach out to their (potential) customers online in an effective way. The value of online adverts has decreased significantly because of the widespread use of adblockers. Branded content is an alternative, but faces the same disadvantage as advertising: easier said than done to convince the modern consumer. There are many reasons why companies choose the influencer marketing strategy.

Research has shown that the majority of marketers are using influencers and that budgets for this have increased. It is logical that this marketing branch is gaining popularity. If one of our peers recommends something in a tweet, YouTube movie or Instagram post, we are more inclined to believe them. It also lines up nicely with the existing digital marketing strategy. Content marketing in particular benefits from the help of influencers.

The value of influencer marketing is both B2C as well B2B. Good influencers can help for example by generating leads and increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty. On the B2B market they are an instrument to increase the visibility of a brand. Nice but at the same time influencer marketing still has a long way to go. I have compiled a list of the 7 most current important trends:

1. The rise of micro-influencers

Influencer marketing is not a matter of wildly handing over money to celebrities with the most amount of followers. Scope remains a factor, but it's no longer the most important one. Authentic and therefore valuable interactions are what matters. Companies are therefore opting to work more and more with influencers who do not necessarily have a large following. We call them ‘micro-influencers’.

These micro-influencers serve a niche that may match your target group perfectly. Another example is that it is often easier to use influencers for your benefit as compared to experienced celebrities or thought leaders who only work for (a lot of) money.

2. Measure, evaluate and improve

The fact that the scope is less decisive doesn't mean of course that companies don't want value for their goods or merchandise. Social media such as YouTube and Instagram have started making more detailed information available that provides insight into the effect of influencer marketing.

Analysis of big data of for example retweets, shares, website visits and conversion allow for the creation of very specific and concrete KPIs. It is a way to determine whether a campaign met its expectations. These insights help companies to do just a bit better or smarter job next time.

3. Quality is what matters, not the distribution channel

Influencers are active on all kinds of social media, from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to Instagram, Snapchat and Vine. What is popular now may be old hat tomorrow. The quality of the content of a well thought out cross-platform strategy is therefore more important than the chosen distribution channel.

An interesting development in this regard is that companies are using influencers more and more as a type of content producer for their own channels. Their website or blog becomes a source of relevant stories, videos, and images created by the influencer. This in turn will create more traffic. The influencer contributes by promoting the site on social media.

4. Companies and influencers are finding each other.

All kinds of new platforms are emerging for influencer marketing in The Netherlands and on a global scale. Sites such as BuzzSumo andTraackr, that act as an intermediary, are making it increasingly easy to find the right influencer and to contact them.

Companies can for example narrow down their searches to subject, type of content or age category of the influencer or target group It is even possible to land an entire group of influencers in one go with an app as Popular Pays for your campaign. These platforms ensure that new influencers can develop a stronger profile.

5. Influencers are getting to know their worth

Influencer marketing is big business and influencers are starting to become aware of this. Credible, loyal influencers are rare. On top of that it is not always easy to maintain a balance between sponsored and non-commercial posts. It is important that followers do not view an influencer as a money hungry spammer, this will only have an opposite effect. 

As a result, influencers who do well do not feel the need to promote too many different parties. So the rates increases. There are still (newbie) influencers whose demands are not as high. Cherish these people.

6. Influencer Relationship Management

Every company wants good ties with people who are influential on social media so that they can provide a constant stream of word-of-mouth advertising. Influencer Relationship Management (IRM) structures this form of relationship management. It is similar to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), but for influencers.

Some large companies have created their own IRM team to guarantee positive attention on social media. This is not necessarily a positive development for smaller companies. It is after all not easy to compete with such a dedicated team.

7. Long term relationship with the influencer

A problem influencer marketing had to deal with in the early stages was that marketers were focusing too much on the short term. An influencer was brought in for a product launch or to promote a (business) event and that is sort of where it came to an end. The results of this approach were mostly disappointing.

A cooperation with an influencer is mostly fruitful in the long term. This way you cultivate loyal influencers who are genuinely and consistently connected to your brand. It benefits their credibility. Do not engage your influencers too businesslike, instead approach them as people with emotions. A pleasant dinner will create a bond, a dry email won't.

The world of influencer marketing is just as dynamic as the social media landscape. Nobody knows how and on which websites the influencer of the future will make their living. One thing is certain though: influencer marketing is here to stay.