Love Them Or Hate Them, Influencers Are Here to Stay & This Is Why

BuzzMarch 14, 2020

Social media influencers have gotten a bad reputation in the past years because of some people’s negative perception of their job. But despite this, they’ve proven to be quite indispensable in certain aspects of advertising in the digital age. This is further exemplified by the results of a study done by Business Insider Intelligence called ‘Influencer Marketing 2019’.

Seeing the Value

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It’s reported that an estimated 2.65 billion people use some form of social media

Based on the report’s estimates, brands and companies will spend about $15 billion by 2022 on using influencer marketing to promote their products and services. Although brands partnering with influential people isn’t entirely new, the marketing game is constantly evolving and experts predict that soon, influencers will be able to penetrate almost all conceivable niche and sub-niche interests.

Proof of this is the continued success of influencer giants like reality stars Kylie Jenner and her older sister Kim Kardashian, who both have more than 100 million followers on the photo-sharing site Instagram, as well as smaller influencers, who appeal to a more targeted group of people such as gamers and even ‘kidfluencers’.

And as social media becomes more entrenched into the daily lives of people, the roles of influencers are only set to expand more. This, in turn, means that they would also become ‘vital intermediaries’ in connecting consumers with brands in a way that’s authentic and leads to fast returns for the companies.

Main Takeaways

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Instagram and Youtube influencers were some of the most sought-after for promotion by companies

And brands are certainly not unaware of the power that social media influencers have in selling and promoting a brand. The Business Insider report cites well-known companies such as the luxury brand Calvin Klein, food and beverage giant Coca-Cola, the beauty retailer Sephora, and the transnational consumer goods company Unilever.

The report also determined Instagram as the ‘gold standard’ platform which attracts influencers. Not surprisingly, about 79% of the brands studied by Business Insider promoted through the group of influencers who post on the app.

This is followed by the social network Facebook (46%), the video-sharing platform YouTube (36%), the micro-blogging website Twitter (24%), and the employment-oriented service LinkedIn (12%), respectively.

A Few Guidelines

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Working with fewer but authentic influencers is also a good strategy for the long term

The report also provided some helpful guidelines for companies that want to tap the marketing potential of advertising through influencers. They notably divided the group into two main categories: reach and niche.

With the reach group, brands can expect factors like accessibility, engagement, and authenticity to go up when the influencer’s follower count is on the lower side. Meanwhile, brands are recommended to work with niche influencers if they want to appeal to more target audiences.

Before going into a partnership, brands are also advised to ensure that the influencers they choose have an image that fits with their overall image. Another advice is to grow a network of ‘high-quality influencers’ to diversify their reach.