What is influencer marketing? Yes, the term is getting so much popularity these days that everyone is just discussing it. What actually it is and how does it work etc. etc. Is it really beneficial? You are maybe also among the ones who have heard this term repeatedly. So, here in this article, we are going to discuss everything about influencer marketing.
With the rise in social media networks and their users, the number of influencers has also increased. If we move back to the past, there were a limited number of celebrities and bloggers who were doing influencer marketing for brands.
Earlier, influencer marketing was seen more in movies and TV series. You may have noticed that the actors use a phone of a specific brand or go to a branded restaurant. They even take soft drinks of a particular brand in many scenes.
Knowingly or unknowingly, these things influence us as we tend to follow these celebrities. As followers, we try to follow their lifestyles and things. The brands place their products so smartly that they left an impact on the followers.
So read this article to the end to know more about what is influencer marketing.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is the type of marketing where a brand promotes a product or message to the audience through content creators who have a huge following and are considered experts in their niche.
Influencer marketing is considered better than traditional marketing because of the bond of trust created between the content creators and their audiences. The audience of the influencers become the brand’s potential customers, and recommendation from them plays a key role in conversion.
Why influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is on-trend these days, and some organizations are taking this technique as the primary marketing technique. It is going to be more popular in the coming days. That means the future of influencer marketing is very bright.
Many industry leaders are also moving towards this, as this technique has the highest user engagement rate. So, this is the right time to start and earn some money with this marketing opportunity.
1. Increase in the number of influencers
With the growth in the internet, many new social media platforms are introduced in the last decade. And when the platforms are growing, new opportunities for the influencers are coming.
Influencers that stick to specific niches get more followers, and algorithms help them to increase reach. So people nowadays are optimizing their social media accounts and increasing their reach to more people. It is also helping brands to identify them and to become influencers. Because more followers are equals to an increase in the number of influencers.
2. Strict advertising rules and regulations
In traditional advertisement campaigns, strict rules and regulations from the government are imposed. But this is not in the case of influencer marketing. In influencer marketing, the influencers must obey some guidelines, but these are not as strict as the traditional advertisements.
In some countries, the government is started making policies for influencer marketing. It will bring transparency to this marketing segment. So, the trust between influencers and followers will be more in the coming years.
3. Interest towards the reality
People really don’t like more fancy things. They are moving toward the real content that has a natural touch. It means people are becoming smarter and know that everyone makes mistakes. They want to see mistakes as mistakes, not as fake corrections.
The influencer must make things understandable only. If they have a problem speaking any language or made any mistake, it doesn’t matter. So, in the coming times, people will be more interested in the real content.
4. Introduction of new niches
Every day people are discovering and inventing new things and sharing these things with new audiences. Content creators are creating content on both macro and micro-niches.
So, the generation of new niches is creating new influencers. And with time, more new things will come.
5. Influencer marketing agencies are growing
As the businesses are moving towards influencer marketing, new agencies are coming to this field. The influencer marketing agencies are working as a bridge between the influencers and the companies. They connect both of them and also earn something for themselves.
The influencer marketing agencies have contacts with the influencers of different niches and represent them to the businesses. They also help businesses to develop strategies.
6. Availability of more content options
The influencer at first started with writing content of their interests. After the growth of social media platforms, the kinds of content have changed. At first Facebook and Instagram created an interest in sharing photos and YouTube, Facebook Watch, and IGTV created interest in video content.
Influencers are now focussing more on creating video content to promote the brands, and it is a popular way to convey the correct messages to people. However, the podcast is also getting popular these days. Now, the apps like Spotify, Clubhouse, and other podcasting platforms are growing.
Future of Influencer Marketing
The Covid 19 pandemic has played an important role in the rise of influencer marketing. During this time, people have spent a long time on social media and other platforms. It ultimately increased the number of influencers on every platform. With the help of these influencers, many brands are running campaigns for their products and creating brand awareness.
The businesses are developing their in-house influencers department and started working with influencer agencies. Some of the influencers have also developed their own influencer marketing agencies.
According to Business Insider, the influencer marketing industry is going to become $15 Billion in 2022, this means more people are on their way to becoming influencers, and businesses are going to spend more on influencer marketing.
Image Credit: Volodymer Melnyk
