Do you remember “Khaby Lame?” The famous influencer on TikTok! Right now, he is the most popular influencer on social media and currently, his net worth is around $5 million! Though his large amount of earnings comes from brand deals, still many more brands are coming to collaborate with him. This is how modern marketing has evolved.
In recent survey shows that (62.6%) 5.07 billion people around the world now use social media. Consumers and business owners mostly rely on it to research, communicate, and get connected. In 2024, influencer marketing looks quite promising, and in the next five or seven years it is going to rule the marketing game. In this article, we’re going to explore the future of influencer marketing, let’s get started:
- Micro-influencers take the spotlight
Big brands are now more eager to collaborate with micro-influencers (10,000-50,000 followers) and nano-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers). Even if any influencer has fewer followers they might have a higher number of sales as they might have a loyal fan base who might actually make a purchase as it feels like they are taking suggestions from one of their trusted friends. Even brands with a minimum budget are getting the highest amount of return on investment (ROI). Audiences often interact more with authentic content rather than super polished content. When companies collaborate with big influencers it costs so much and, in some cases, ROI doesn’t even meet.
- Short videos to dominate as attention span depletes
Videos get more engagement than static images and with decreasing attention span of human beings, short videos play an important role in hooking the target audience.
Though short videos started from TikTok; Instagram reels, FB shorts, YouTube shorts, and Snapchat videos are now popular as well. To promote the products, brands are now very much invested on short videos.
- Virtual Influencers (AI) impact
AI is now the latest buzzword. Through the help of AI now it is possible to create virtual influencers. From automated finding influencers to forecasting future results by using algorithms and machine learning skills so many critical tasks have been solved through new technologies. Through the help of AI, companies can maintain minimal costs as well, though it totally depends on what they actually want.
Is AI going to take a real influencer place? Well, there’s no concrete answer to that, AI is still playing a vital role in most marketing cases. However, real-life human can show emotion and can connect with the audience but when it comes to AI, they can’t exactly do the same.
- Focus on longer relationships
Brands are now focusing on making long-term relationships with influencers to avoid complexity. In most cases, it takes so much time & intricate process to make a final deal with influencers. Though the longer partnership with influencers depends on several factors such as, how creative the influencer is, consistency in publishing the content, brand alignment, how the influencer engages with the audience, and much more.
- Potential challenges
We can see influencer marketing has lots of benefits as well as a few challenges. To navigate these challenges brands and influencers need to work effectively. When an influencer is alleged with false accusations or wrong deeds, it affects the brands as well. Apart from this, some other challenges may arise while doing influencer marketing, such as doubt of authenticity, disclosure of any sensitive information, transparency, fraud, algorithm updates, etc.
In conclusion, the future of influencer marketing on social media is a dynamic landscape. Brands and influencers must embrace authenticity. The journey of marketing promises endless possibilities and boundless creativity as well.