Influencer marketing is something you must have already heard of if you’re a keen social media user or are linked to the social media industry, especially if you run a business with a presence online! Are you someone who is looking forward to promoting your brand or its product to a wide range of audiences in a creative way? Perfect, influencer marketing might be the most effective strategy for you. To match the recent algorithm of apps and to achieve your aims, you must keep track of the latest trends but make sure they align with your brand image and what you offer.
One question in your mind must be, why keep up with trends? By strategically aligning goals to the trends businesses and brands can manage to attract more audience towards them specifically their ‘target audience’. Not just this, trends are also a clear demonstration of what the users tend to engage and like the most. There are billions of people who use social media regularly so you must know amongst those billions are your competitors as well. Thus, constantly keeping a check on the new trends can help you stand out. In influencer marketing efforts work for sure! If you are a newbie, no need to get disheartened as now you can collaborate with micro-influencers which means it is not heavy on the pocket and the job is being done. All you need to do is research if the influencer engages well with its followers and if his/her content aligns with your business goals.
Taking a quick overview of the upcoming trends in influencer marketing, there has been a great rise in micro-influencers. They’re the ones with fewer followers however, their bond with their followers is what makes brands choose them. Thus, authentic relations with followers are highly important. Moreover, rather than working for hours shooting and editing 1-hour long videos is no more a trend e.g. recently the 1-second reel trend took over social media. If you want your posts and content to get higher engagement make shorter but unique videos. Also, it’ll be even more beneficial if you opt for different platforms rather than just sticking to one. The greater your brand presence on social media, the higher the engagement!
In the following article, you’ll get to read all about how micro-influencers can benefit your business, and why influencer marketing is so important to growth and you will also get to know a few tips that can do wonders for you. Let’s get started!
The Rise of Micro and Nano Influencers
Over the years since influencer marketing has become a thing, it is believed that collaborating with Micro-influencers can prove to be more beneficial. This is due to multiple reasons amongst which the most important one is that a specific audience follows them and as they are still on their journey to grow, they are more likely to have closer and more authentic relations with their followers.
Higher engagement rates mean that the followers of the influencer would be actively engaged with them and rely on them too. Don’t forget, that the credibility and authenticity of not just the content but the relation with followers matter a lot in promotions. Another pro of working with a nano influencer is that it does not cost a kidney. You can set up a reasonable budget and then approach the creator. Thus, if you too are a brand owner looking for cost-friendly yet effective collaborations to grow… it’s high time to look for the right nano-influencer. The pros do not just end here, everyone likes interactive people who are always experimenting with their content. Micro-influencers are not just more likely to be open to work but also tend to experiment with their content to grow on the platform. Thus, if you are on the outlook for creative, highly- engaging content and want to run campaigns that are different from all other brands, a partnership with a micro-influencer is what you need.
Talking about recent successful campaigns that were run by micro-influencers, there are so many of them e.g. all of us know about the growing Airbnb business, right? They collaborated with various nano-influencers to not just post content for promotion but also pay them to interact with people. Rather than going for people with a million followers. They choose influencers with a few thousand authentic followers. This way they successfully promoted travel destinations people would not be able to know about without such partnerships.
If you run a business, the collaboration of Daniel Wellington with micro-influencers is the perfect example for you. They used influencer marketing in a very strategic way to promote their watch brand. Word-of-mouth marketing has also proved to be more successful by micro influencers thus, they sent in free watches as paid collaborations, and through videos, their brand reached a wide array of audiences.
Increased Focus on Authenticity
There has been a great shift in the world of social media as where people started buying fake followers, likes, and comments on their posts now, authenticity is all that they look forward to. It’s not just limited to the followers and engagement now but the content being produced should also be authentic. Authenticity has been a concern which is why choosing the right influencer has become a tough job thus, it is a norm for consumers to repeatedly question the influencers regarding their content and followers. People no longer like overly-edited content, even the audience is more likely to trust raw content.
For organic growth, your aim should be to look for influencers that give honest, unfiltered reviews e.g. by using the products themselves, or relating whatever they promote to their everyday lives rather than faking content for the money. Transparency is another key to growth as it is what indicates how authentic the content is! In addition, every single brand has its aims and goals. While you look for creators to promote your brand, focus on the type of content they create. Is it in accordance with what you offer? Has the previous content of the influencer reached the right audience?
Making sure that you choose the right influencers for the promotion of your brand can keep you stuck for a long as it's not just about the promotions but you also have to spend on it. Thus, rather than making quick decisions, take your time selecting the right influencer. Choose the one that you think will be able to create content that aligns with your brand's goals and values. One major mistake, brands make when they collaborate is that they don’t give creative freedom to the creators. Don’t forget, this is what they’re there for! You can surely give them guidelines, but make sure you do not end up dictating every little detail. This can affect the flow of the content they create and can reduce authenticity. Moreover, make sure to leverage micro-influencers to maximize the output of the collaborations. Another tip is to maintain long-term relations with the influencers you collaborate with as over time they’ll understand your brand values and goals better and can end up with consistent content.
Growth of Short-Form Video Content
Instagram and TikTok- the powerhouse of short-form videos. In the past few years, the top of the list of the most used social media platforms include TikTok and Instagram. This is because of a few features and trends that they introduced including the short-form video content. You still have an option to create long videos (up to 10 minutes on TikTok and 90 seconds on Instagram), however, boring. Arent they? Stick to 10-15-second videos but include unique engaging content, giveaways, polls, and trending music to attract an audience. Brands that are consistent in posting reels are the ones utilizing the true potential of social media! Other platforms including YouTube and Facebook allow you to create short but engaging videos using the features they offer.
Not just for brands, but for influencers as well… short-form video content has proven to be more beneficial for their growth and they tend to reach a wider audience globally. Moreover, they are also a way to convey what you offer in a swift and fun way to the audience. When you create short videos there are a few things to keep in mind e.g. the hook i.e. the starting few seconds of the video should be catchy. One that makes the viewer stay. You can make use of visual, controversial statements, or questions for that. Other than that, keep in mind that you have a few seconds to deliver your message thus, keeping it concise is what we aim for. If you plan to incorporate trending audios and challenges in the video it can further enhance the chances of your reel going viral!
Experiment makes things perfect! So, make sure you utilize the short-form video content to grow and get high engagement from the people in return while keeping these super easy tips in mind.
Integration of Augmented Reality (AR)
Integrating augmented reality in influencer marketing can greatly increase the engagement rate on your content and business profile. This is because it is a unique way to promote your products through which people can virtually try your products e.g if you own a makeup brand, you can use AR to help the buyer choose the perfect lip shade for them! This is a highly personalized experience as the results depend solely on the features and preferences of the individual.
Taking example, one of the most known makeup brands L’Oreal incorporated AR into their website using ModiFace technology. The ModiFace technology enables users to try makeup products virtually using the cameras of their mobiles. No matter what the product is,
everything can be tried on! In addition, take the example of Snapchat, one of the most used social media platforms. They have hundreds of filters that influencers themselves use in their pictures/videos. Using AR in your content also indirectly means collaborating with the apps that offer the features.
There are several applications you use to create filters of your choice that align with your brand identity and can increase your visibility on the social media platform you use. Moreover, augmented reality can also be used to create fun challenges and games e.g. your audience can identify your products in a game. By integrating AR into influencer marketing, brands can leverage cutting-edge technology to create engaging, interactive experiences that captivate audiences and drive meaningful interactions.
Data-Driven Influencer Marketing
When you run a business, you have no choice but to be a wise decision-maker. Analyzing data before you choose the right influencer is a key performance indicator that can give a predictive analysis of the expected purchases, engagement rate, and collaboration success. This can lead to effective decision-making as you’ll end up choosing the influencer that is expected to produce the best possible result for your brand campaign. Moreover, this also allows you to compare the insights of your account before and after the partnership which will eventually help you identify the areas that need to be strengthened and develop more effective strategies too.
For data-driven campaigns that are targeted and measurable, you need to utilize a few tools e.g. social media analytics tools that are available within each social media platform that you use. These tools provide you insights into your content and account e.g. the reach, demographics of your followers, etc. You can also compare the performance of the two posts now! If you want to opt for something different, go for performance-tracking dashboards that allow you to not just run effective campaigns but also give you a detailed review of your progress over time.
Conclusion
There are various ways to advertise and market, however, as it's 2024 which means the power of social media can not be neglected. The key trends to watch include collaborating with micro-influencers, utilizing short videos, focusing on authentic content, and integrating AR. Influencer marketing is one promotion strategy that can totally transform your growth and reach positively.
