Do You Think Influencer Marketing Has a Future?

When we talk about influencer marketing the first thing that pops up in almost all of our minds is that it only means Instagram influencers. However, it has a wide range and believe it or not it’s been there since the 1930s. So what is Influencer Marketing? Influencers are people who have a sizable social following and are seen as authorities in their field. Influencer marketing is a form of social media advertising that employs endorsements and product mentions from influencers.

In the 19th century, influencers became a “thing”. Lillie Langtry (a famous actress) was the first female brand ambassador when, in 1882, she appeared in a Pears Soap campaign. In 1905, Fatty Arbuckle promoted Murad Cigarettes (a Turkish brand) in print and after Murad’s increased sales of cigarettes people realized that influencer marketing is the next big thing. In 1931, a brand like Coca-cola presented Santa Clause as their spokesperson. After this advertisement brands realized that if consumers liked the person promoting the product, they’ll like the product and the brand too. Moreover, in the 1990s Pepsi also chose a famous face, Cindy Crawford, to promote their brand products. Before 2010, Old Spice was seen as an old man’s product (deodorant and body wash) so to change its image it hired former NFL star, Isaiah Mustafa and made a jolly advertisement. In 2010, Amazon also connected to Facebook allowing people to know what their friends are buying. Paid advertisements were made possible by Instagram's introduction of the feature in 2013, which made it simple for marketers to work with different influencers on the platform. And just like this influencer marketing evolved.

Influencer marketing's expansion was boosted by the coronavirus in 2020, and it is anticipated that this trend will continue in 2023. Influencer marketing's market size is projected to have increased from just $1.7 billion in 2016 to $9.7 billion in 2020 and then further to $14.8 billion in 2023. The correlation of many niches, particularly on social media, will be a key component of influencer marketing in the future. The most powerful influencers are those who can spread ideas among many groups. Brands may need to spend more time evaluating influencers in order to analyze influencer networks. Brands have also realized that Nano influencers play a major role too as they have a personal connection with their audience due to which people admire them. It is also said that Micro-influencers are the future. Even big brands like Coca-Cola are using this strategy and engaging with micro-influencers. They’ve understood that sometimes less is more. Influencer marketing is a trend that won't go away anytime soon but it’s bound to change with new technologies and trends. Brands are now focusing on in-house influencer marketing as it allows them to work more closely with influencers. Macy’s has turned 300 employees into their brand ambassadors and they earn a commission for each successful sale. Employees that are admitted into the program have free access to the majority of the store's inventory.

“We see this as developing a relationship with our employees. This gives them an incentive to be proud of Macy’s, to make some money and to come to work more energized each day,”

a Macy’s executive told Digiday (Barker, 2022)

The commitment and sense of familiarity that in-house influencers bring to the table are unmatched by outside influencers. Their endorsements, therefore, appear more credible and real. Influencer marketing will take on these characteristics in the future. Moreover, CGI (computer-generated imagery) is a new type of influencer and a much easier one to handle. Another advantage is that brands have complete control over how their products are advertised, without any objection from real-life influencers. To continue being successful in the influencer marketing sector, brands will need to adapt to the shifting trends and methods.

According to the most current research, influencer marketing generates $6.50 in income for every $1 invested, giving firms a high return on their investment. The poll also found that the fastest-growing online marketing channel is influencer marketing, which is outpacing rival strategies including affiliate marketing, sponsored search, and display. There are many advantages of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is a powerful strategy for reaching a larger and more targeted audience while maximizing the impact of your content. You can gain access to their followers by working with well-known influencers in your industry. Secondly, it helps to discover new brands. Influencers can let their followers know about your brand and its special advantages and not only this but if an influencer endorses your brand, people will undoubtedly pay attention or at the very least visit your website. They can also improve brand image by writing a positive review of the brand or product

However, there are some cons of Influencer Marketing. Like at times it’s hard to tell if the followers that the influencer has are genuine or fake. Secondly, finding the ideal influencer for a brand's campaign requires a lot of time and homework. Your brand's reputation could suffer greatly if you don't work with the correct influencers. Moreover, brands at times find it difficult to track and monitor the performance of their campaign. A brand must assess whether an influencer can produce the intended effects. However, when it comes to influencer marketing, it can be challenging to measure outcomes, such as the number of people who positively reacted to your influencer marketing.

Nevertheless, the future of influencer marketing is promising and bright and there are something’s that need to be kept in mind like how to overcome its cons. Moreover, the idea is to select influencers by taking into account not only their category and subscriber count but also their actual content and other crucial indicators like engagement rate. Brands should adjust to the changing patterns and techniques to remain pertinent in the influencer marketing industry in the future. Simultaneously, influencers are turning out to be more competent and sorting out the ideal way to draw in their crowd. Lastly, there has never been an excellent chance to get everything rolling.