Influencer marketing is already massive, and it will only grow in the future. New social media platforms, content kinds, and ways to communicate with potential customers emerge every year. The best influencers remain on top of trends to provide companies with the tools they need to shine. With the social media world evolving so fast, influencers must capitalize on the current influencer marketing trends as soon as possible to establish their authority and expertise, making them more appealing to companies. Brands, for their part, will seek to capitalize on these influencer marketing trends to broaden their audience, create new leads, and increase revenue.
After years like 2020 and 2021, when organizations were trying to alter their marketing and advertising efforts to engage with a suddenly stranded audience, 2022 holds a lot of potentials. Not only have companies discovered that they could function digitally, but an increasing number of customers are turning to the Internet to satisfy their eCommerce demands. And, because numerous traditional marketing approaches were incompatible with the consequences of a worldwide epidemic, corporations sought out reactive content makers and influencers. While the IPA reported a 20% drop in advertising, influencers saw a 46 per cent rise. That is enormous. And it’s because of this, the spotlight on influencers has grown brighter.
So, let’s take a look at the 2022 influencer marketing trends you can rely on to keep your brand thriving throughout the year.
Six Influencer Marketing Trends to Look Out For in 2022:
According to Research and Markets, the influencer marketing business was worth $10.24 billion in 2021. However, they estimate that by 2028, the worldwide influencer marketing platform industry will be worth $84.89 billion. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 63 per cent of marketers expected to boost their influencer marketing expenses in 2021, with more to follow in the following years. As influencer marketing grows in popularity, demand, and marketing spend, it’s critical to keep an eye on these 2022 influencer marketing trends to ensure you’re wisely spending your time and money.
1. A Greater Focus on Following Favorite Creators on Multiple Platforms:
Although many creators have a preferred social media site, they usually work across many platforms. While this isn’t new, the difference now is that these creators have “super fans” who follow them around and engage with them everywhere they go.
As a result, successful producers tend to have enormous fans that connect with them across several platforms. Instagrammers and YouTubers, for example, aren’t the only ones. Instead, they consider themselves specialised creators who share their work with admirers across the Internet. And they will frequently choose the ideal platform for a specific task.
Since the game’s debut (ten expansion packs ago) in 2015, ImperialJedi has been making movies on the city-building game Cities Skylines. He began by uploading videos to YouTube, where he garnered a small but devoted following. He’s grown his fanbase to approximately 90,000 subscribers in the last six years. He also has a Twitter account with under 2,500 followers, which has developed more slowly. Despite its limited performance, the Twitter account aids in disseminating information about future and new YouTube videos. ImperialJedi also broadcasts live on Twitch, like many other players. He started doing two-hour-long streaming once or twice a week. He now streams for up to six hours, three times a week. ImperialJedi, like many other creative, uses his many social channels for various objectives — they are all components of a larger whole. The last part (at the moment) is Patreon, which allows supporters to support the project financially.
2. Many affiliate programmes will rely heavily on influencers:
Most people used to think of influencer marketing and affiliate marketing as two separate activities. But, in truth, they are inextricably linked. Both actions entail “outsider” advertising and urging fans to purchase someone’s goods. Indeed, Refersion, one of the platforms, acknowledges the link and functions as both an affiliate and influencer platform. “The boundary between affiliates and influencers is getting increasingly blurred as influencer networks link with e-commerce more and more, pushing beyond basic ‘awareness’ efforts to drive purchases,” wrote one of our reviewers of that platform.
Most affiliates used to be traditional bloggers or publishers. They would provide product demonstrations, walkthroughs, and reviews on their websites. Furthermore, they frequently advertised various, sometimes rival, affiliate programmes to enhance their chances of receiving referral money from a larger audience. However, we are now witnessing a shift. Influencers increasingly suggest items to their followers, but only those they use or believe in. They don’t want to annoy their fans by endorsing things they don’t support. As a result, marketers realise that influencers may be actual product ambassadors. Influencers frequently include personal testimonials, demonstrations, and calls to action when discussing a brand. They may guide their fans through the entire sales process, from awareness to consideration to purchase. All of this is done in a genuine, personal manner.
Many affiliates are beginning to engage with influencers to market their affiliate products since they lack the enthusiastic audiences of influencers.
3. The shift from text and images to audio and video content is continuing:
In recent years, global bandwidth has improved. 5G is gaining traction worldwide, while fibre internet is becoming more widespread in many places. People are increasingly consuming more video and audio information due to this. Twitch, YouTube, and even podcast creators are gaining in popularity.
As previously said, many of these producers have overlapping audiences across several media. Logan Paul, for example, is a YouTube sensation with 23.2 million subscribers. He also podcasts, with over 3.5 million followers to his Impulsive channel.
Leading Marketing Podcasts “Every Influencer Professional Should Listen To” was previously discussed. You may get podcasts on almost every subject you can think of. Podcasts are beneficial for persons who learn by hearing. You could be hesitant to read a book or article yet delighted to listen to a podcast where experts offer guidance.
Text and photos are still alive and well on Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms. However, in the coming year, expect to see a greater emphasis on video and audio material. TikTok and YouTube are becoming more popular, while podcasting is becoming more popular. Even old standbys like Facebook and Twitter have made video sharing a priority.
4. Influencer campaigns will incorporate more live shopping:
Over 2021, live shopping became increasingly popular, and this trend is expected to continue into 2022. Influencers and other prominent thought leaders use live video and interactive content to sell items to their audiences on their preferred social media channels. According to projections, sales of live streaming are expected to exceed $500 billion by 2023.
Livestream shopping technologies and collaborations have been created by Amazon, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Many of TikTok’s most well-known influencers have also participated in shoppable Livestream events. Over the coming year, expect to see a lot more of these.
5. In Influencer Marketing, a Greater Focus on Diversity and Representation:
In recent years, society has focused on diversity and representation. As a result, it’s no wonder that influencer marketing has followed suit. There are even influencer marketing firms dedicated to expanding the model. For example, Shade aims to “assist artists of colour in becoming self-employed while doing what they love.” Shade currently boasts over 1,000 black and brown creators on its roster, including chefs, authors, actors, and comedians.
On the other hand, Black Girl Digital is a high-end digital marketing and influencer firm that caters to black women. The city and state of New York have designated them as a minority and women-owned business. Their objective is to eliminate compensation discrepancies in the influencer marketing sector for Black and Multicultural women. Their mission is to motivate companies to form deeper relationships with women of colour and enable female influencers of colour to develop a sustainable career doing what they love.
Influencers and consumers alike now scrutinise branded messages and initiatives to represent everyone. Brands may change their company cultures to emphasise inclusion and eliminate any vestiges of exclusivity.
6. Micro and nano influencers will receive more attention:
Influencers come in various sizes and shapes, ranging from nano influencers with a few thousand followers to famous influencers with millions. Micro-influencers, particularly those with less than 25,000 followers, had the most incredible engagement rates, at roughly 7%, according to a 2019 analysis by Later and Fohr. Because Instagram engagement rates have been falling, companies are paying more attention to influencers with a large, engaged following, even if they have fewer followers. Brands may stretch their influencer marketing costs by concentrating on nano and micro-influencers while still engaging with influencers strongly linked to their audiences. Partnerships with a growing number of businesses will benefit influencers.
