The digital age has arrived thanks to the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. During lockdown we have seen the rise of several new trends such as work from home, online dating, delivery apps but more importantly we have all seen the rise of social media and creators. The lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic got all our creative juices flowing and gave many people the time, platform and opportunity to expand their social media presence and become creators. During this time, the digital advertising market also grew, more importantly, influencer marketing moved to the center of digital marketing.
The proliferation of social media has made it imperative for brands to have a strong presence online, especially amidst the cutthroat competition in the marketplace and digital world. Because of this, it is also important for brands not only to connect with their target audience through innovative content marketing strategies, but also to strengthen their presence and reputation by attracting a larger customer base, and influencer marketing is the preferred one these days Method. The reason – the increasing consumption of content by people around the world.
The time of brand-oriented marketing is over. It is now time for a more customer-centric approach, even more so as customers have also become wiser and prefer a brand that has a problem-solving approach to marketing their product and/or service. While consumers still trust celebs when promoting a brand, they also know that celebs get paid to say what they say. But when an influencer or creator promotes a brand, they are not just promoting it, they are sharing their customer experience with their followers along with valuable, authentic, and credible information that also makes the brand the followers’ choice. This is also why micro and regional influencers are more trusted by their follower base than large influencers. In fact, the rise of influencer marketing has spawned influencer-owned brands as well. Several influencers have started their own businesses to capitalize on their own popularity and get a steady source of income and growth.
Another thing to note is that with the rise of the influencer marketing industry, social media platforms have also found a way to capitalize on it and increase their income via ad revenue plans. The Evidence in Question – YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels. Both platforms have rolled out ad revenue sharing plans to attract more influencers and developers to their platform.
And we all know that with influencers come their fans and followers, as well as brands.
According to Influencer Marketing Report, the platforms focused on influencer marketing raised over $800 million in 2021 and the influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to about $16.4 billion in 2022. Almost 80% of brands used Instagram for influencer marketing in 2021 and this number is expected to grow in the near future as most brands allocate a dedicated budget to influencer marketing. The main driver of growth in the influencer marketing industry is the connection influencers and creators create with their audience. With the gradual growth, influencers have built a connection with their followers and when they promote a product or service, their fans and followers follow! More importantly, this helps build consumer trust in the brand. Influencer marketing helps brands expand their target audience and reach larger audiences while growing their social media presence, followers, and website traffic while converting leads and increasing sales.
Disclaimer
The views expressed above are the author’s own.
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