The Opportunity For Brands
Influencer marketing has continued to grow exponentially in the last year. In just two years, this strategy has actually grown four times its size -- making it no longer just an exciting marketing tactic, but an essential marketing tactic for several companies’ marketing budgets.
And, this growth trend shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, especially not in 2019. In this blog, Hollywood Branded explores four (4) influencer marketing trends that brand marketers should pay attention to in 2019.
V.R.E.A.M. (Video Rules Everything Around Me)
From makeup tutorials to product reviews, video will rule the influencer marketing space in 2019. Influencer videos have proven to be very effective in driving sales and increasing brand awareness. According to a report from influicity, video reached an all time high in 2018, peaking at 80% of global online traffic by 2020.
Over the years, video has slowly become the biggest content medium for marketing which is why platforms like Facebook have launched applications like Facebook Watch that allows users to watch shows uploaded directly to its platform. So, expect to see a lot of video content coming from influencers this year!
Authenticity Is More Important Than Ever
After a whirlwind of a year seeing #ad after everything, social users are privy on which influencers have been paid to promote their brand. This increased level of “influencer awareness” can end up hurting brands if they don’t build authentic relationships and campaigns with the influencers that they’re working with.
In simpler terms, consumers can now see through the fluff better than ever and may decide to not do business with your brand due to the obvious solicitation via influencers. To combat this, 2019 will be the year where brands work hard to develop meaningful and authentic relationships so that that same energy can be passed down to the consumer.
Influencers Driving Sales
Let’s be real, there is no better indicator of a successful influencer campaign than sales. The more numbers in that bank account, the more successful the campaign was. With that in mind, 2019 will be the best year yet for brand marketers looking to increase sales via influencers. This is due in large part to some cool new features and platforms that have launched specifically to help influencers drive sales.
For example, in late 2017, Instagram introduced a feature that allows brands to tag items in their photos so that users can go ahead and purchase that product without leaving the app. In addition, new companies like StuffDOT allow users to follow some of their favorite influencers and purchase any of the items that they share. This new trend of “frictionless purchasing” surely will help brands drives sales via influencers in 2018.
The Rise of B2B Influencer Marketing
With a focus on B2B driven channels like LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, B2B influencer marketing will be bigger than ever in 2019. In 2017, micro influencers proved to brand marketers just how effective influencer marketing can be for B2B marketing efforts. From blogs and social media content to video content, if a brand is able to post these on sites that are relevant to their prospective customer, they too will reap the same benefits of an influencer campaign that any B2C company would reap.
In addition, with the rise of sites like BuzzSumo that help brand marketers find key B2B influencers, this segment of influencer marketing will surely take off in 2019. But, be sure to keep in mind that B2B influencers operate the same way that B2C influencers operate. Using them for one-off campaigns will not be as effective as building their expertise and influence into your total marketing strategy.
Let’s Get Started
2019 is going to be a great year for influencer marketing. With all of this new technology, more standardized practices and a heap of influencers hungry to work with brands, brand marketers have a lot to look forward to this year. But, like we always say, influencer marketing is not a one time quick fix. It is a strategy that takes time, diligence and patience but when done correctly, influencer marketing has the potential to yield great returns for any company!
And check out these blogs on influencer marketing that our team wrote to help get you on the right path!
- 3 Brands Show How To Market Mobile Apps Using Influencers
- 3 Examples of Influencer Marketing Gone Wrong
- 4 Reasons To Choose An Influencer Agency Versus Influencer Platform
Here at Hollywood Branded, we’ve perfected influencer marketing to a science. We are more than happy to shed some of our expertise onto you to help you and your team put together an awesome campaign. To learn more, check out our guide to social influencer marketing! Happy New Year and Happy Marketing!
