The Rise of Influencer Marketing. Is 2022 the year you finally start to use them?

As Social Media continues to dominate the way people communicate, how can brands use it to become more connected with customers? The answer might be find an influencer. As Social Media continues to dominate the way people communicate, how can brands use it to become more connected with customers? The answer might be influencers.

The Rise of the Relationship Builder

Influencer marketing could reach maturity in 2022, thanks to more digital advertising, better regulation, social commerce, and a greater level of consumer engagement.

Thanks to new creator-driven social media apps like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, influencers are in the process of controlling their own content (and their careers), in spite of what their affiliated brands might want.

Some commentators confidently predict a future without traditional platforms (sites and stores), in which audiences will pay influencers directly in their posts. The emerging trend of authentic, long-term creator partnerships will start to dominate the advertising space. One-off posts are just seen as ads now and not influencer marketing.

Reasons Why Influencer Marketing Is so Powerful

When it comes to sales, people only buy products after a recommendation from a trusted source. Whilst friends and family still remain the most important source, celebrities and know influencers are playing their part. In fact, in one study done by Nielsen, 86% of consumers said they trust word-of-mouth recommendations over any other form of advertising. That’s why influencer marketing can be so powerful—social media stars have access to huge audiences because their content is genuinely interesting and entertaining for their fans.

Influence is everywhere. Mostly people think of beauty products or clothing but there are huge number of influencers in Gaming, Live music and traditional retail. Channels like YouTube and Twitch.tv are able to bring special events to millions of people simultaneously.  You can now sell your products live and onscreen during these events, via pioneering platforms like I Like That. Sam and his team have created seamless checkouts over the top of live action channels, which can be anything from live gaming to music to even live conferences!

How to Choose an Influencer

There are a number of influencer agencies, the likes of which include, Shine Talent, Tribe and Captiv8. Their databases consist primarily of Micro-Influencers. Selecting the right influencer is like choosing an employee; you need to ensure you’re looking for someone with a combination of talent, knowledge and experience. For example, if you’re hiring a Personal Trainer there are more important factors than being able to work out – you need someone who can maintain professionalism at all times.

A celebrity can be earning such a high amount that their loyalty and focus can easily waiver unless you are spending more and more to keep their attention. Having an agency manage your brand and product for you, means you can switch direction when needed, allowing for best testing phases when starting in a new market. Spending all of your marketing budget on one post by David Beckham might work, but it probably will not hit your perfect target market. Sales might peak but will also quickly fall away. What can you do next?

Why Should I Start Now and How Much Does it Cost?

There is no doubt that new shopping features on social media platforms have made an impact on the evolution of influencer marketing. I think this trend will continue through 2022/3. Due to Millennial and Gen Z trends, shopping on social media will outpace ecommerce itself to reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, and they will account for 62% of global social commerce spending by 2025 (Accenture).

Post and stories per influencer can cost between $500 – $15000 each time, so although this is not cheap, it is however, very measurable and a good agency can manage your budget as well as any traditional Ad agency. Costs are similar, but reach and ROI are improved

Does it work?

As of 2022, there will be more influencers in more different categories, such as retail brands outside of fashion and beauty who will use social commerce to their advantage. Snug, the sofa-in-a-box brand, is an excellent example. when more than 30,000 users signed up to Snug’s live social event in 2021, its sales increased by 450%. They involved both mainstream and micro-influencers with the aim to create engagement by mixing in entertainment and escapism.

What should I do next?

Devstars are always on hand to guide you through your digital challenges. We have a very good new technical SEO & Audit service, which takes a deep dive into your current site, your customers and offers suggestions for improvements. We are also partners with a wide range of other agencies that offer specialisation where needed, the influencers market is no exception. If you would like us to take a look at your site and get you a nudge in the right direction, then please drop us a line

Hand photo created by master1305