Influencer Marketing Trends 2018
Marketing has evolved through years and so has Influencer Marketing, and 2018 will set new milestones. In 2017, influencer marketing proved to be the best marketing channel for brands to connect closely with their customers, establish trust and build long lasting relationships. Just like the evolution of every other marketing channel, influencer marketing is getting more sophisticated and data driven while also being a great fit both for companies that are starting or are globally established. Its no more a fun marketing stunt but a result driven strategy integral to a brand’s growth. Current trends reflect that it is one of the most effective methods of advertising available today owing to its low cost, high engagement and improved targeting abilities. Here are some of the top trends we will witness in 2018.
Long Term Integration: Marketeers are always aiming for high ROI on their investments and when it comes to influencer marketing, this means building long lasting relationships with the influencers. This in turn converts to better content for the brand while also increasing engagement and conversion as the influencers start to become true ambassadors. This can also be fruitful in better cost for engaging with influencers as longer contract tend to be more cost friendly.
Personal Brand of Influencers: Influencers will recognize the value of their personal brands. People today consider famous Influencers and bloggers who have high following and who generate quality content being equal to the status of celebrities. Just as celebrities have built their personal brand names over the years, influencers will start understand the power of their audience and how to better utilise it.
Content Freedom: The very idea of influencer marketing means using KOL’s to create original content to promote a brand. But the very idea of this is harmed when brands try to exercise a high level of control on the content which leads to poor performance as the content mostly does not resonate with the influencers audience. As brands start to recognise the importance of giving freedom of content style to influencers, the performance of this channel is all set to go up.
Cross-Channel Approach: Today, users are active across a wide range of social media platforms. In 2018, brands will likely look into promoting their products or services not only on single social media platform but on multiple platforms leading to a more cross channel communication with the influencer’s audience. While images are highly engaging but videos are constantly proving to be more effective both for engagement as well as for leaving a more lasting impression about the brand. A lot more brands will create video content this year.
Stories: We all know how stories took over our lives in an extremely short amount of time and in 2018 stories are going to rule. While a regular post is essential, stories are going to work to reemphasise the experience of a product to their influencer’s audience. Instagram Stories has already more than doubled in the number of users in a really short amount of time.
2018 will belong to those brands who understand making smart use of influencer marketing and those who understand the power of user generated content to attract new customers and reengage existing customers.
One Impression is the fastest growing technology platform helping brands leverage the power of influencers, content creators and celebrities. We work with some of the most iconic brands helping them design successful influencer marketing campaigns at scale. We are on a mission to make influencer marketing easy, affordable and at the same time highly effective.
