Marketers employ numerous techniques to generate a high ROI on their marketing efforts. Influencer marketing is among the top ways that brands promote their goods and services. When an influencer endorses a product, they are communicating a brand idea to a niche of followers who are more likely to turn into advocates for the cause.

Compared to organic methods of lead generation, influencer marketing offers a certain guarantee for a brand’s penetration in the market. TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram & Twitch influencers are minting more money than ever before, and that’s because influencers have a unique ability to convince people to take action. Influencer marketing investments by brands are expected to touch $15 billion by 2022. If you consider the micro-influencers in the game, that figure is estimated to go even higher.

In this post, we’re decoding the game changes of 2021’s influencer marketing trends. Let’s dive right in.

1. AI-Powered Influencer Identification & Research

Choosing an influencer to endorse your brand requires a lot of research on their niche and followers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a more significant part of influencer marketing by making the job of identifying potential influencers easier. The last thing you want is to pick the wrong influencer that misrepresents your brand to an amassed following of fake followers. AI-enabled software can thus speed up the process of picking the right influencer for your brand, with dedicated insights to work on your branding strategy as well. Powerful algorithms are designed specifically to predict the profitability outcome before engaging in a contractual relationship with influencers. Thereby, brands and businesses can make a more informed decision and ensure that their product endorsement generates a favourable ROI.

2. Engaging Socially Conscious Influencer Ambassadors

Numerous influencers on various platforms come together and collaborate on ideas revolving around a single cause. Projecting a socially conscious image proves to be a valuable asset in the market, nurturing credibility and trust among audiences. Environmental initiatives, artistic expression, gender parity and numerous other angles are explored by influencers looking to make their presence felt. Brands are leveraging this unique potential of influencer marketing, where a brand can tie its objectives to the socially conscious representation of an influencer. For example, an eco-friendly leather manufacturer can promote their product with an influencer who endorses a vegan diet or voices concerns about animal farming. Brands are looking to tie up with influencers who are representing something bigger than themselves.

3. Introducing Brands Through Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers have a significantly smaller number of followers as opposed to influencers with more than 1 million followers. Investing in micro-influencers is a great way for brands to project their product to target specific demographics with high engagement. The biggest advantage of using micro-influencers is that brands gain a deeper look into the trends affecting consumers in a niche market. In fact, small, medium and large businesses are using influencers with less than 10,000 followers to penetrate a specific market of their interest and promote their goods or services. Niche-focused influencer marketing offers a great market share for brands to discover new interests and ways to promote their content. The use of micro-influencers also returns a high ROI, making this method a top choice for brands of all sizes and interests.

4. The Omnichannel Buzz

With the rise of eCommerce, more companies are employing the omnichannel approach, which is highly focused on user experience. In an attempt to offer seamless experiences to prospects and customers, brands employ influencer marketing techniques to create a hype around their goods and services. An example would be the use of influencers in the testimonials section of an eCommerce website, where visitors are driven with information that adds to the market presence of a brand. Influencer marketing is also used through email campaigns to drive leads to a website using a curated message from an influencer or pop icon.

5. Performance-Based Rewards

A new technique slowly making its way into influencer marketing is performance-based compensation. What it does is the monetary value the influencer receives is adjusted according to the results achieved. The influencer’s contract mentions a specific set of outcomes that have to be achieved by the end of a campaign. The brand benefits because resources are utilized based on the campaign results. Companies are beginning to use their own terms for performance-based compensation by signing deals that require market acquisition before they dent their advertising budget. Especially with micro-influencers and upcoming social media pages, this technique has shown to add a lot of flexibility to the influencer marketing landscape.

Throughout the pandemic, the influencer marketing space has gained more popularity. Despite the many ways to advertise a brand online, influencers remain a key focus of the business. With tailored content to match the market demands, more brands are making use of social media and the internet to generate more publicity and widen their reach into consumer markets. The market for content and influencer marketing agencies is only bound to grow.

The author is Shuchi Sethi India Lead - AnyTag, POKKT