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8 Influencer Marketing Trends to Look Out For
In this blog post, we share 8 influencer marketing trend surveys to look out for – what major changes do we see in the social platforms and what will be extra important for you who want to work successfully with influencer marketing?
1. Instagram hides likes
Hiding likes is not a new phenomenon on Instagram, but the function was rolled out globally in early 2019 in Canada, to be later tested in the USA, Japan, Brazil and Australia, among others. Now Instagram has started to hide likes as well and some influencers have stated that their followers can no longer see likes on the posts.
Instagram CEO Adam Mousseri has said in a statement that the main reason is that they want to reduce the pressure on the platform and eliminate the competition element that ‘likes’ means – this with regard to the platform’s younger target group. The idea is that users should instead focus on inspiring and interacting with other people rather than competing against each other.
But how does this affect influencers and brands? Read everything you need to know about the update in this blog post!
2. Will Instagram hide followers?
What’s the next step after Instagram has started hiding likes? It is now speculated whether the platform’s next step would be to start hiding the number of followers as well. We hope to hear more about this, but until then – keep your eyes open!
Instead of focusing on likes and number of followers, the trend is towards using Instagram’s explorer view, which may be a direct consequence of the fact that users on social media today are increasingly demanding more individualized and relevant content. Instagram describes the function itself: “In search and explore, you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts that you do not yet follow. You can also see topics that we think the Instagram community appreciates ”. When the focus is no longer on quantitative figures, such as likes and followers, this may be another step towards higher demands on quality content from users.
3. More people understand the value of turning their customers into influencers
Did you know that 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations? Before 2020, we looked forward to more companies understanding the value of turning their customers into influencers. This means letting customers spread the word about your company, so-called “social proof”, to influence future or existing customers.
Making your customers influencers works not only for B2C companies but also B2B! For B2B companies, a social proof could be a case of a completed collaboration or to allow customers to participate in so-called video testimonials. For B2C companies, this can be online reviews or User Generated Content. Before 2020, we also see that more companies are implementing Customer Loyalty Programs – in the end it is always about people to people, regardless of which industry you are active in.
4.… and to turn their employees into influencers!
Turning their employees into influencers in the same way as their customers is also a trend we are seeing becoming increasingly clear for the coming year. According to Nielsen, recommendations we receive from friends and family are the most effective type of marketing. A recommendation from an influencer can in several cases be compared to one from a friend, as many of us follow influencers as closely to life as a close friend.
Your employees are thus very credible influencers for their personal network, and can, like an influencer, give positive results both when it comes to recruiting new employees and also when it comes to employer branding. Does it sound interesting? Read more about how you can use influencer marketing in your recruitment in this blog post!
5. YouTube is getting older and more people are starting to use IGTV
YouTube has long been a channel with a slightly younger audience – but not anymore! Although the user behavior differs to a certain extent, we see that the channel is now starting to rise with age. From the fact that most profiles on Youtube were aimed at a target group in their teens, we now see that profiles appear that have a target group of 30 years and up.
Another channel to keep an eye on for the coming year is Instagram TV, also called IGTV. Will viewers go from YouTube to IGTV in the future?
6. Companies will be faster at catching up on viral trends
Being a company fast on viral trends is something we think we will see more of in the future. An example is Circle K, which came up with a quick answer when the mobile box was named Christmas Gift of the Year 2019 – a picture of a mobile in a sausage box increased commitment by 135%! Another example is when Lego recently winked at Tesla and shared a picture of the Lego version of Tesla’s recently launched car “Cybertruck”. On the post, LEGO increased its commitment by as much as 500%! Our tip is to dare to be innovative, humorous and flexible in your marketing strategy, without putting all internal resources into it.
7. More companies realize the value of using Influencer Generated Content (IGC)
We see that using the content that influencers create during the activation process is an important trend for the future. The main strength of User Generated Content (UGC) is its high credibility and authenticity – it is a person with their own voice who is behind it. When you let an influencer create content for you (influencer generated content = IGC), you can achieve the same effect. We humans find it easier to relate to a message when it comes from a clear person, rather than from a company – it is in our nature. In many cases, the influencers that you choose to collaborate on are also part of your target group for the product or service in question, which gives you content that is created for your target group, by your target group. Good, is not it?
Want to learn more about how your influencer marketing can become a goldmine for content? Check out this blog post!
8. Influencers choose collaborations based on company values
That influencers will become increasingly value-driven in the choice of collaborations is something we have seen already in 2019, and we anticipate that this will increase sharply in the future. Common questions that are relevant for influencers to know more about before they decide to collaborate with a company is, for example, gender equality and climate thinking. Therefore, make sure that you and your company have a clear valuation plan that you can communicate to the profiles you want to collaborate with. This is of course an important aspect to keep in mind, not only when it comes to influencer marketing, but also when looking at your overall business.
