Is Influencer Marketing Still Effective?

Li Ziqi's return really caught her fans off guard all over the world. With more people questioning the authenticity of influencers these days, her videos offer a refreshing and peaceful vibe. For a while now, the main debate has been about influencers getting too commercial and whether their content is genuine. We still believe in the creator economy and influencer marketing, and we're excited to share our thoughts on that in today's newsletter.

Influencers' commercial value and potential remain considerable

Influencer marketing today is still just as appealing—it’s just evolved. With brands cutting back on their advertising budgets, influencer marketing has to be more on point. We’ll show you the amazing commercial value of influencers and some great ways to promote your brand through them.

Top influencers' incredible impact on their fans & huge group of audience

The global influencer marketing scene was valued at a whopping 21.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, more than tripling since 2019. As influencer endorsements continue to grow as a legit industry, the size and value of influencer marketing platforms keep expanding each year, making partnerships between brands and creators more profitable than ever. Right now, the creator economy is worth $250 billion, and it’s expected to soar to nearly $480 billion by 2027.

The top three go-to social platforms for influencer marketing are TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

• TikTok marketing is super attractive thanks to the app’s crazy download numbers, wide audience reach, and stunning engagement rates for influencer content—especially with Gen Z. While mega-influencers have huge followings, micro-influencers can pack a serious punch on the platform too, sometimes even getting better engagement rates. As the app keeps gaining popularity globally and Gen Z users grow into more powerful consumers, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on TikTok’s influencers.

• Instagram’s brand value started to bounce back after the pandemic. It offers a bunch of formats for creators to promote a brand’s product or service, including photos, tags, Stories, and Reels. Plus, brand websites can be directly linked or accessed through a special shopping tab, showing how much the platform is focused on brand collaborations. By 2023, brands were posting an average of around five sponsored posts per week on Instagram, which helped the global Instagram influencer market hit 17 billion dollars.

• In 2022, the engagement rates for YouTube influencers with mid-to-large followings (between 100 thousand and one million followers) still topped the charts compared with other video-sharing platforms.

55% of organizations upped their influencer marketing budget year-over-year, with one in four brands spending over $1M into it annually.

Influencers’ content has a huge impact on consumers in their purchase journey.

For social media users, the influencers they follow come off as more trustworthy than ads. If these influencers have professional knowledge in a specific area, their content can really shape the consumer purchase journey in a few important ways compared to traditional studio content:

1. Creator content is way more effective during the research and consideration phases of buying. It’s got a 1.23x greater influence than studio content, helping shoppers make quicker and more confident choices—often within just a day. This happens because creator content feels more relatable and engaging, making it easier for people to picture themselves using the product.
2. Users who see creator content ads are more likely to decide to buy something quickly (within 24 hours), while those who check out studio content ads usually take longer (2-6 days) to make their decisions.
3. Creator content ads also have a 1.43x bigger effect on building brand loyalty and a 1.30x bigger effect on encouraging brand advocacy compared to studio content. So, creator content not only helps with those first purchases but also builds stronger relationships and loyalty to the brand over time.
4. Even after the purchase, creator content keeps adding value by boosting consumer confidence and satisfaction, which leads to repeat buying and recommendations.

In short, creator content speeds up the buying journey by making consumers feel more certain and decisive about their purchases, and it does a better job at building loyalty and advocacy compared to studio content.

Influencers’ insightful ideas for co-creating brand content

Not just important for building a brand people want to connect with; creators are looking to partner with brands for way more than just social media posts. A recent study by Aspire found that 96% of influencers are hoping for deeper relationships with brands beyond just those posts. They’re interested in:

• Creating content for marketing channels like emails, websites, ads, and more.
• Becoming long-term brand ambassadors.
• Joining exclusive events.
• Co-creating products.
• Co-hosting events and panels.

Challenges in influencer marketing

Are you really thinking about giving it a shot? Just take a breath. Before you dive in, be aware of some challenges we’ve come across in our research.

Inconsistent performance

The concern of inconsistent or hard-to-track performances is a pain point for 43% of brand marketers and 20% of agency marketers. Industry leaders really struggle with measuring influencer performance, with 69% calling it a common hurdle.

Here are the main reasons that hold marketers back from jumping into influencer marketing:

• Not sure what specific creators their ads will be placed next to
• Inconsistent performance
• Uncertainty about where or how to fit it into their media plan or mix
• It’s confusing or complicated to purchase
• Lack of control over what creators will say or do

Ensuring brand safety might be a major hurdle

Advertisers worry about the harmful content or shady associations that could hurt their brand's reputation. This means they need strong brand safety and suitability measures in place. Luckily, many platforms have set up these controls to ensure that creator content is safe to run alongside ads and also let advertisers customize ad placements across different platforms.

With innovative AI technology, video platforms are already using it to spot and remove harmful content and spam that break the rules.

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) has brought the industry together to boost digital safety. They’re working to tackle harmful and misleading media environments and create a solid set of actions, processes, and protocols to protect brands.

Inadequate budget

This year marks the second year that tight budgets have been the top hurdle marketers are dealing with. Even though budgets and teams for creator marketing have been on the rise, the money that goes into creator marketing hasn’t quite kept up with the industry’s growth. The most effective creator marketing is all about measuring results. Brands should look at forecasting ROI by checking out what it costs to work with creators and comparing that to what it would take to get those same results through ads. Remember, not all creators are created equal. Some groups of creators are better at connecting with consumers and spreading the brand, while others excel at driving conversions. Assessing your creators’ strengths (and being open to training them through ongoing partnerships) can make a big difference in boosting your ROI.

Latest influencer marketing trends

If your previous influencer marketing campaign didn’t meet your expectations, you might want to explore the following three trends from this year to determine if you need to make some revisions.

ROI over engagement

The shift to a focus on ROI has changed the kind of influencers that brands are teaming up with. In the past, brands tended to stick with mega influencers who have huge followings, but now many are leaning towards micro-influencers, who might have smaller followings but are often more engaged. Micro-influencers usually bring better conversion rates than their macro counterparts, making them more appealing for brands keen on ROI. All in all, this shift towards focusing on ROI is a great thing for the influencer marketing scene. It’s making the industry more professional and accountable, leading to better results for brands.

Leveraging influencer marketing for B2B

72% of B2B marketers say that influencer marketing boosts brand reputation. B2B influencer marketing is all about teaming up with key players in your industry to promote your products or services to other businesses. It's a solid way to connect with new customers, build trust, and generate leads. One of the biggest perks of B2B influencer marketing is that it lets you leverage the expertise and reach of others. Influencers already have a loyal following of folks who trust their recommendations.

Storytelling in 60 seconds or less

Actually, Statista shows that the average watch time for big accounts is only 42 seconds. The growth of platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels really emphasizes the need to craft compelling stories in under 60 seconds. Brands like Nike and Apple have totally nailed this format to connect with audiences and showcase their products. Short-form videos are super engaging and can quickly reach a large audience.

Strategies for influencer marketing

Based on our research of numerous cases and reports, we’ve analyzed some important strategies for influencer marketing during these uncertain times.

Digital Ads Featuring Creators

Sponsored digital ads with creators turned out to be the most effective marketing strategy for both brands and agencies, beating out other creator-led approaches like affiliate marketing and user-generated content (UGC). 66% of brand respondents said that creator content delivered better ROI compared to traditional digital ads (without creators) in the past year. Meanwhile, 22% of brand marketers singled out sponsored digital ads with creators as the top marketing strategy, surpassing other creator-driven options like affiliate marketing and UGC.

Stretch the influencer's creativity to create

Trust the influencers. They really know their audience, so let them show you how to weave your brand into their world. They get the importance of staying true to themselves and keeping that connection with their followers while bringing your brand to life. Avoid asking them to do things they wouldn’t normally do, and give them the freedom to stay real with their audience. That’s what makes for the relevance and personal touch that consumers are looking for in quality video content.

Leveraging multiple social platforms

Multi-channel marketing has been a major factor in the success of influencer marketing lately, and it's set to become even more important in 2024. With the average person using about 6.6 different social media platforms each month, the impact of multi-channel influencer partnerships is huge. By teaming up with influencers across various platforms, you can connect with a bigger audience and boost your brand awareness.

If you’re thinking about diving into influencer marketing, just reach out to us. Our professional team is always here to help!

Reference

Influencer marketing worldwide - Statistics & facts, Statista

Most-followed creators on TikTok worldwide as of July 2024, Statista

Co-creation: What does it mean for brands and influencers? Aspire IQ

10 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2024, Influencity

Influencer Marketing Trends Report -- Key Findings from CreatorIQ’s Annual Influencer

Marketing Surveys, and Trends to Expect in 2024, CreatorIQ

The Creator Economy Opportunity -- Where Authenticity Meets Impact, IAB&TalkShoppe