3 Marketing Trends That Will Shape the Influencer Marketing Industry

Influencers are playing an increasingly significant role in consumers’ purchasing decisions, especially among younger people, who consume content on social media, in video games, and online to a much greater extent than other generations. As a result, trends such as authenticity, meta-influence, and Pinterest’s growing sales power are shaping a new direction that will further define influencer marketing. I’ll explain all of this in this post.

As you know, influencer marketing emerged as a social media marketing technique in which a group of people with large social media followings—who are considered experts in specific niches and, precisely because of that, have the ability to influence others—were able to impact the sales of the brands that sponsored them through sponsored content and product mentions.

These influencers are actually the replacements for traditional celebrities who promoted products in the classic commercials from our childhood. In fact, some of the people we would have called back then celebritieshave gone digital, becoming influencers. We can all think of several examples.

With the pandemic, social media use was boosted by the lockdown. During that period, consumers relied much more heavily on this channel to discover new products—and even to purchase them—leading to the emergence of new figures with significant influence over their followers.

Because of this, the world of influencer marketing is currently experiencing a new boom, in which new trends emerging in digital marketing will make this discipline even more important when determining the necessary tactics for any company’s digital strategy.

Let’s take a look at what those trends are.

What Is Shaping Influencer Marketing

Here are the three latest marketing trends that are influencing and impacting influencer marketing.

The Imperative of Authenticity

In the wake of the pandemic, one of the things social media users value most is the authenticity of things and people.

One of the main factors influencing any digital consumer’s purchasing decision—during the consideration phase—is recommendations from other users, particularly those made by people the consumer considers experts in the field, such as influencer.

However, if the consumer sees that the rating It’s not real; it will flee from that brand immediately. As the report on the “ The State of Influencer Marketing 2022” produced by the American platform GRIN, ““For companies to be successful, a content creator must know the brand, use its products, and truly believe in them. Consumers can smell a fake endorsement a mile away. And when they do, they won’t come back.”

Another important factor related to authenticity concerns the use of filters. More and more consumers are expressing their discomfort with the use of filters on social media when they are related to the consumption or discovery of a product.

In fact, the ASA in the United States has banned “deceptive filters“in beauty advertisements, which refer to any filter that enhances or exaggerates the effect of a product or procedure. Similarly, the Conservative Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, Dr. Luke Evans, has proposed the Digitally Altered Body Image Bill, which, if approved, will require influencers to disclose when their face or body has been edited or altered in any way. In this regard, the advertising industry is supporting this movement by refusing to work with influencers who routinely alter their appearance, using technology to detect whether images have been edited.

This quest for authenticity is evident in the platform’s success TikTok (compared to Instagram), where unfiltered, unedited, and often unpolished content ranks among the most popular. Similarly, a new platform is emerging with the promise of allowing users to share content without the ability to apply filters. This platform is BeReal, and it’s taking the U.S. college scene by storm, racking up 8 million downloads so far this year.

The Metaverse and the Rise of Digital Marketing in This New World.

The Metaverse is also influencing other areas of digital marketing, and although it may seem like a passing fad to some, the truth is that major companies are investing heavily in a world that is set to revolutionize the digital landscape.

Brands such as, for example, Gucci, have launched digital items for sale on Roblox, while others, such as Balenciaga, has allowed players of Fortnite buy their own digital outfits within the game. In turn, the metaverse platform Decentraland launched its own fashion week in March, during which several brands created digital fashion that can be purchased and worn as NFTs.

This means that a new landscape is emerging in which brands need to position themselves and build relationships with their target audience, under different rules and codes. Similarly, new competition will emerge for the same influencers, through the creation of new influencers virtual, with avatars that make them look like real people, but managed by the brands themselves. This gives brands greater control over this type of influencer marketing, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunity to have a influencer exclusively, even if they created it themselves.

Take Prada, for example, which relaunched “Candy,” a virtual model, as the face of its new fragrance. Described by Prada as an “invitation to rethink reality,” Candy is Prada’s attempt to connect with a younger generation on platforms such as TikTok and Twitch, as well as becoming an influencer who can easily transition to other digital channels.

Conversely, we may also encounter celebrities e influencers who enter the Metaverse through an avatar, as has been the case with Justin Bieber which partnered with the virtual entertainment company Wave last year for an interactive concert on stage, during which Bieber controlled his digital avatar using a motion-capture suit.

Pinterest’s growing appeal as a creator-driven shopping platform.

Usually, influencers They focus on platforms where their content can easily go viral, such as Instagram or TikTok. Pinterest, on the other hand, is a platform focused on discovery, since users browse for ideas, which makes it very difficult to build an audience. Despite all this, Pinterest’s growing purchasing power could lead to influencers to turn to this platform. In fact, following the release of its tool AR Try On which allows users to “try before you buy”—currently for home and beauty products—sales are skyrocketing on this social network.

But this isn’t the platform’s only move. Given the power of TikTok available for streaming, Pinterest has also launched its own live-streaming sales tool, Pinterest TV. The idea behind this product is that creators with an interest in or experience with a niche category—ranging from knitting to cooking—can interact directly with an audience on Pinterest through interactive live videos, something we haven’t seen on the platform until now.

Another factor is the recent creation of “Takes“which is the way Pinterest has enabled users to respond to a creator’s content. This, along with a monetization program,” Creator Rewards” clearly signals the company’s intention to compete with TikTok and attract the influencer to its platform.

At MioGroup , we create comprehensive social media strategies in which—based on our clients’ interests and goals—we combine “push’ and ‘pull’campaigns, through influencers or paid campaigns and follower engagement. Want to talk?