More than 15 billion billion euros, that's what brands expect to invest in the marketing influencer marketing by 2023.
So, if you want to stay one step ahead of the competition, discover the 9 major trends that will shape your influencer strategy in 2022!
1. TikTok will continue to grow
Popular with Generation Z, TikTok now has more than the one-billion mark active users per month, and has crossed the 3 billion downloads in 2021, according to a study by Sensor Tower.
But influencers are kings on this platform! They offer significant visibility to brands seeking a young, trendy audience. If you want to boost your influencer marketing, TikTok it is the social network to include in your strategy.
2. Specialized influencers take center stage
Specialized influencers will help you stand out from the competition in 2022. They have generally built a community around a niche interest. Result: their followers are more engaged, likely to follow their recommendations.
For brands, this means they can invest less money yet achieve an excellent return on investment by targeting a highly specific audience. In addition, niche influencers lend an expert voice to your company.
For the findyou must step off the usual radars and lower certain metrics (notably the number of followers). You will need to look for them on specialized forums, on atypical blogs, and via very targeted hashtags on social networks.
3. Data becomes part of influencer marketing
Gone are the days when brands focused on vanity metrics, such as an influencer's number of followers. Now they rely on deeper data to make decisions.
This change will make platforms influencer marketing even more effective. They will be able to provide brands with information such as:
- The audience's demographic data, to better understand the profile of their community.
- The degree of affinity with the brand.
- The past performance of influencers.
4. Twitch solidifies its position
Twitch is a live streaming platform that is gaining popularity thanks to influencer marketing. It currently has 30 million daily visitors. And, contrary to popular belief, they are not just gamers! Twitch users are interested in other topics like art or cooking.
The main advantage of this platform? The content isn’t filtered, since it’s broadcast live. Twitch offers brands more authenticity and reliability, especially since subscribers can respond to you in real time. The audience is therefore more engaged with you!
In 2022, why not include Twitch influencers in your marketing strategy? You will be able to:
- Ask the influencer to mention your brand at the start of their stream.
- Send products to be unboxed live.
- Provide products to give away to their community.
- Offer streamers products from your brand to use during their videos.
5. Instagram remains essential
To date, Instagram is the most lucrative social network and the most sought-after in influencer marketing. It’s simple: the network keeps growing! Widely popular with younger audiences, the platform has made many tools available to influencers and offer users a condensed version of all their key apps (Stories, IGTV, Instagram Live), etc.
The format IGTV For long videos, it offers more opportunities to influencers and brands. Instagram’s bet to offer its video platform in vertical format has paid off: the tool is growing at high speed in influencer marketing.
6. Social responsibility at the heart of influence
In 2021, many influencers made their voices heard on social issues. This affected how they work with brands and the content they share.
In 2022, influencers will continue to scrutinize the brands they partner with and refuse those that don’t match their values. Their main priorities will be brands that share their ethics, support the same social causes, produce socially conscious products, and pursue inclusion.
This trend will translate into more authentic and socially responsible campaigns. Brands will also take advantage of this unique opportunity to engage with consumers, start constructive conversations, and build trust.
In 2022, select influencers who are engaged in the same causes as your brand and be transparent when contacting them.
7. A more human brand presence
Beyond social responsibility, humanization is at the heart of influencer marketing trends in 2022. Influencers will need to help bring brands closer to consumers by helping them identify with your company's values.
This involves the tone and format of the content shared. They should be interactive and encourage audience engagement. In addition, it is important that influencers respond to questions and comments on sponsored content. Hence the need to work with trusted influencers who are close to their audience.
8. Storytelling to convey messages
Do you like being told stories? Influencers and brands have noticed this, since advertising campaigns based on storytelling generate more ROI. Building a trusting relationship between a brand and an influencer is essential. If the brand tells its story authentically, the influencer will be more inspired to talk about it and to generate emotions.
A good relationship with influencers in a sector helps improve brand awareness and of course increase sales.
Indeed, a sponsored post with high-quality content and a more human approach will have more impact than a simple product test. Content quality becomes essential in 2022.
Thus, a format like the podcast is attracting more and more interest. Even major journalistic names like the New York Times have launched into this audio format. People are looking for intellectualization, which is why shared content aims to be more informative, including on social networks.
9. Transparency in sponsorships
You have probably noticed that many influencers label some of their content as sponsored.
Increasingly, the “sponsored post” label finds its place without harming either the influencer's image or the conversion rate. Brands and influencers have understood the importance of being completely honest and transparent with their audience, which will continue to trust them.
For followers, it doesn't matter that the content is sponsored as long as it is high quality.
Our tip
You know everything about the 2022 influencer marketing trends! Following these best practices will help you stay on top of your strategy next year.
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