In 2024 and onward, influencer marketing is a strategy that brands cannot afford to ignore. In fact, as of February 2024, 26% of companies allocate over 40% of their marketing budget to influencer marketing. Additionally, the market size of influencer marketing is 24 billion USD, a 1400% increase since 2016. All this data just goes to show that this strategy is one of the most popular and important strategies that brands should seriously consider using.
What exactly is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a collaboration between an individual with a large social media presence, also known as an influencer. Brands will associate with influencers to increase their brand awareness and engagement. For an this type of campaign to be successful, brands need to partner with influencers who are connected to a brand’s identity and values. A makeup company will not partner with an influencer specialized in sports, they will collaborate with someone that already incorporates makeup in their content. For a makeup brand, an example would be an influencer posting makeup tutorials on her social media platforms.
What are the benefits of using influencer marketing as a strategy?
The benefits of influencer marketing are clear. As mentioned previously, brands generally collaborate with influencers in an effort to increase the brand’s awareness and engagement. Depending on the number of followers an influencer has, the awareness of a brand collaborating with the influencer can reach new heights that the company has never seen before. Who wouldn’t want their products or services seen by hundreds of thousands, or even millions of potential customers? Also, the consumers reached by an influencer marketing campaign are likely to be interested in the brand since the influencer’s content matches the brand’s identity and values. These quality leads will undoubtedly improve the company’s conversion rate. There is also the possibility of gifting, where the company sends an influencer their products to try out. If an influencer likes the product, they will most likely post about. This is a clear example of organic content, the brand did have to come to an agreement with the influencer for compensation, but still receives the benefits of the organic content (growth, engagement, better conversion rates, etc.).
At the end of the day
Influencer marketing grew exponentially in the past few years and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. If brands decide to ignore this effective and lucrative strategy, it’ll be their loss! Better quality leads, more engagement and your brand awareness having unprecedented growth, these are just the main reasons to invest in a solid influencer marketing campaign. Don’t let this golden opportunity pass!
References
- HypeAuditor. (January 11, 2023). Influencer marketing platform market size worldwide from 2022 to 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 11, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1036560/global-influencer-marketing-platform-market-size/
- Influencer Marketing Hub. (February 1, 2024). Influencer marketing market size worldwide from 2016 to 2024 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 11, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092819/global-influencer-market-size/
- Influencer Marketing Hub. (February 1, 2024). Share of marketing budgets spent on influencer marketing worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 11, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/268641/share-of-marketing-budgets-spent-on-digital-worldwide/
- Mostashari, M. (2024, August 13). Council post: The benefits of digital influencer marketing-and how to get started. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/11/18/the-benefits-of-digital-influencer-marketing-and-how-to-get-started/
- What is influencer marketing? Definition, Guide, & More. Mailchimp. (n.d.). https://mailchimp.com/resources/what-is-influencer-marketing/#:~:text=worth%20looking%20into.-,What%20is%20influencer%20marketing%3F,media%20on%20a%20daily%20basis