My 2 cents on Influencer Marketing in 2017

I think the trend and the importance of micro-influencers will increase in 2017, but more importantly – companies/brands will look to the business results they can drive with their influencer programs versus awareness and reach. Specifically, in B2B influencer marketing, we will see companies plan campaigns that include influencer content and offers that help both lead-gen and demand-gen in the customer journey. 

In 2017 influencer marketing

1) Will prove its value through concrete ROI and pipeline touch – through influencer-led content and marketing offers (eBooks, videos, etc)

2) Due the rise of mobile first content, marketers need to deliver “snackable” content that is easy to consume and share (example: mini video series vs. longer corporate driven videos)

3) Rise of influencers who can drive purchases vs. awareness – continuing the trend of the micro-influencer model

2017 is also the year when Influencer Marketing will become embedded into Marketing & Communication activities. Brands need to be more agile and align their messages and content with what the influencer community really cares about. They need to invest in training internal subject matter experts to connect with the influencer community both offline and online to win over the key influencers. Authenticity and credibility as well as engaging content will be pivotal to successful engagement to improve brand perception and trust with consumers.

After experimenting with influencer marketing for a few years now, brands are still at varying degrees of maturity and influencers are increasingly selective and savvy of how to work with brands. One thing is clear, however, if there is no mutual value creation, influencer marketing will fail.

2017 will be the year of brand and influencer content co-creation that is sincere, meaningful and valuable for both parties and helpful to the consumer. My prediction for large B2B brands is that the often failed attempts of brand publishing on owned properties (as an extension of marketing) will evolve into a much more sincere digital content co-creation between brands and influencers.

Key factors will be a brand’s focus on customer experience, in this case in brand publishing, and much improved understanding of building long-term, human-to-human influencer relationships. Emerging brain research on digital story processing and improved social analytics capabilities will play a key role as well.----

A study from Burst Media reports an average of $9.60 earned media value for every $1 spent working with influencers.

Both B2C and B2B marketers can benefit from an influencer-focused approach to content marketing. Instead of viewing influencers as shills for conference tweets or simply as industry celebrities for publicity, CMOs can approach influencer relationships as a content partnership that provides mutual value.

There are arrays of options when it comes to influencer content programs, but many of these efforts can be segmented into three use cases.

1. Micro-content: These are often short-form content contributions including quotes, tips, or insight from individual influencers that are added to brand content assets.

2. Campaigns: Longer-form content contributions by a group of influencers, often as part of a larger campaign.

3. Community: Brands that can commit to influencer engagement and see the value of ongoing relationships will identify and activate a dedicated group of influencers who participate in a mix of scenarios and contribute a variety of short and long-form content.