Influencer marketing is only going to get bigger and is here to stay. The reason for this is the expansion in creator economy and the introduction of new social media platforms, new types of content, and the continuous increase in ways brands can engage with their potential customers.
According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing was a $16.4 billion industry in 2022. However, it is anticipated that the global influencer marketing platform market size will reach $84.89 billion by 2028. The prediction for 2023 is that marketers will collectively spend over $4.5 billion on influencers.
The rising popularity, demand, and increase in ad spend for influencer marketing calls for keeping an eye on the influencer marketing trends for 2023 so you’re focusing attention and ad dollars on the right things!
The best influencers stay on top of the trends so they can offer brands what they need i.e better reach and engagement translating into more sale. With the social media landscape changing drastically, it’s more important than ever that influencers leverage the latest influencer marketing trends quickly to develop their authority and expertise. Brands will also want to jump on these influencer marketing trends to expand their audience, generate new leads, and earn more revenue.
1- More Emphasis on Following Preferred Creators Across Multiple Platforms
Many digital content creators have a favorite social network, they typically operate across multiple platforms. While this isn’t new, the difference now is that these creators have “super fans” who follow them everywhere they appear in the social media landscape.
Successful creators tend to have large audiences interacting seamlessly across their accounts. They aren’t just Instagrammers or YouTubers, instead, they see themselves as specialist creators, showcasing their work to fans across social media. They will select the best platform for a purpose in mind!
Tip for Advertisers
Look for influencers while that have a decent following on multiple social platforms for different purposes – they are all parts of a whole.
Tip for Influencers
Make a decent presence across social media platforms with a purpose in mind.
2- Influencers will be the Key to Affiliate Programs
Most people view influencer marketing and affiliate marketing as two different activities. In reality, though, they’re related.
Both activities involve an “outsider” (someone not directly linked to the brand or service) promoting and encouraging their followers/fans to buy products or services from someone else. Historically, most affiliates were traditional bloggers or publishers. They would include product demonstrations and detailed reviews on their websites or blogs.
Nowadays, influencers are recommending products to their followers – but typically only those they use or trust themselves. They don’t want to hurt their followers by promoting products they don’t believe in and loose credibility at the same time.
Tip for Advertisers:
Discovering influencers that can be true champions for the products and services you offer. Influencers will often give personal testimonials, demonstrations about your brand. What’s more, they do all of this in an authentic, personal way so it is important that you pick influencers from the niche that your product or service belongs too.
Tip for Influencers:
Decide a niche and become the best possible content creator for that particular niche you can as an influencer. Don’t sign up for collaborations outside your niche just for the sake of making money!
3- Micro and Nano Influencers Will Continue to Excel
Influencers also come in all shapes and sizes, from micro-influencers with just a few thousand followers to celebrity influencers with millions. The influencer marketing benchmark report for 2022 found that engagement rates dropped quite a lot, but wasn’t the case for most micro-influencers. With better engagement, these influencers also have better conversion rates.
Tip for Advertisers:
Hunt for micro influencers too, make them a part of your overall influencer marketing mix. You will be able to stretch ‘influencer marketing budgets’ while still working with influencers that are well-connected to their audiences. For this reason, it is wise to continue to favor engagement rates over follower counts.
Tip for Influencers:
Even if you are a big influencer, try to develop a side hustle in a particular niche (which interests you and is different that your main macro influence).
4- Brands Will Look for Recurring Partnerships Instead of One-Time Projects
Brands and influencers are expected to join together for long-term, ongoing projects rather than scattered sponsored posts. There are various reasons for this shift, but it comes down to this: it takes time to make a sale! Even influencers with the most engaged audiences will have trouble making any real contribution when commissioned for just a single most twice or thrice a year.
Tip for Advertisers:
Run a long-term marketing campaign with a particular influencer many times. Build stronger relationships with influencers, much like the relationships with brand ambassadors.
Tip for Influencers:
Create retainer based packages that you can sell to brands seeking your services that include several sponsored posts over a period of time, or sign up to Tableh for finding the right ad bundle!
5- Performance-based Deals
Advertisers will expect influencers to deliver on their promises, such as a specific number of sales or clicks. Influencers will have to work hard on meeting the expectations of the advertiser/brand they have signed a contract with.
Tip for Advertiser:
Make a performance-based contract, you might want to consider turning it into ongoing royalties instead of giving a single payment.
Tip for Influencer:
Be careful with your contract review before signing to make sure you know what you’re agreeing to before guaranteeing a specific KPI (such as engagement, likes or conversion).
Conclusion:
Influencer marketing is not going anywhere, so, it should come as no surprise that most marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets. The past couple of years were led by unexpected marketing problems that led to out-of-the-box thinking. As we look ahead to influencer marketing trends for 2023, those solutions will be put to the test and one such effective solution for both advertisers and influencers is Tableh.
