Sofia Kumpumäki
Dec 19, 2018 1:00:00 AM
Influencer marketing started as a small-scale marketing concept using celebrities to promote already established brands to a global phenomenon used by thousands of companies and reaching billions of consumers. The influencer marketing industry has gone through a remarkable development over the last couple of years, and we are going to take a closer look at just how much the industry has grown but more importantly what allowed it to grow so quickly.
If you’re interested in learning more about influencer marketing growth, then the following article is for you!
Where is Influencer Marketing Today?
The influencer marketing industry is de facto a multi-billion dollar industry with the potential of continuing to grow rapidly over the next few years, but where is it today?
In 2018, influencer marketing reached new heights, and instead of being a marketing channel that a few selected brands are using, it has become a global phenomenon and an important part of most marketers strategies.
With the rise of micro-influencers, social media marketing has also become more attainable for brands with smaller marketing budgets which, in turn, has given the industry a massive boost. Not only are micro-influencers cheaper to hire but they have also proven to be more effective at reaching a specific target group. And as micro-influencers become better at what they do, we will soon see social media marketing outperforming all other marketing channels.
In a study performed earlier this year, 39 percent of marketing professionals in the United States said they were planning to increase their influencer marketing budget over the coming 12 months. The same study also found that only 5 percent were planning to lower their budget and 31 percent were planning to keep the budget as is.
Naturally, this indicates that influencer marketing has become more relevant than ever before and that 2018 has proven to be an incredible year for the industry. Moreover, the forecast for 2019 is looking even stronger, and we are expecting to see the industry surge to never before seen heights.
But how did we get here and what was it that pushed this incredible growth before 2018? Let us take a closer look.
Influencer Marketing’s Growth Over the Last Years
Influencer marketing, as your probably already know, was initially created as a way for celebrities to make money from their millions of followers. Brands started to see the potential of using celebrities to promote their products on social media, but at the time, no one could have imagined how massive the industry would become.
It didn’t take long after the first celebrities posted ads on their social media accounts before the trend started spreading and all of a sudden social media marketing was everywhere.
However, at the time, influencer marketing was still only a thing for celebrities with millions of followers, and it would take another few years for the industry to develop into the massive entity it is today.
Influencer marketing didn’t become really interesting until the concept of using smaller influencers was first tested a few years ago. You see, celebrities tend to charge a fortune for social media posts and many times it was more than the average company could afford. So in order to get a piece of the cake, brands started looking for smaller influencers that had a great connection with their followers but a much lower price tag, and micro-influencers were born.
Even though celebrities are still making millions from promoting brand products on their social media platforms, we believe that it’s micro-influencers that are driving the development and we’ll take a look at the reasons why below.
The Reasons Why We’ve Experienced Such Unparalleled Growth
When brands first started using famous people to promote their products, they did so because they could reach out to millions of potential clients in places where it wasn’t expected. But, as mentioned, micro-influencers brought something new to the table which has proven to be more effective than any other marketing strategy before.
And in our opinion, there are three main reasons why influencer marketing managed to become as big as it is.
Micro-Influencers - Consumers Trust Peers More than Brands
The number one reason why micro-influencers have proven to be so efficient compared to larger influencers and other types of marketing has to do with trust. Banner ads and commercials are becoming less and less effective because of the buzz that consumer get exposed by now, they exposes to extrem much ads and is much more critical to it. Todays advertising can feel ingenuine and is not appreciated in the same way as before, they say that be there your customers eye balls are which is one the mobile phone. When we watching TV and it shows commercial are focus goes to the mobile phone and away from the TV screen. by the day because consumers can see through the sales techniques. It feels ingenuine, and consumers don’t like that.
Compare to a celebrity a micro-influencer has a closer and stronger relationship with their followers which gives them a bigger trust then a celebrity. Consumers buys on recommendations and word-of-mouth, a person they follows and look up to they trust a lot more then a TV-commercial that comes direct from the company. Therefore, influencer marketing campaigns with smaller influencers provide better results and higher ROIs for brands.
In 2018, consumers are looking for authenticity, and nothing feels more authentic than a social media influencer with 20,000 followers recommending a product that they really like. It’s as simple as that.
Reach - There Are A Lot More Channels to Use
Another reason why influencer marketing has grown to such epic proportions has to do with reach. Never before has a marketing professional had so many different channels to promote products through.
There is a multitude of social media platforms that can all be used for ads and they all serve different purposes. Are you selling a lifestyle or fashion? Then Instagram is the perfect platform. Would you like to offer consumers reviews and detailed product guides? Then YouTube’s video format offers great solutions. Are you running a political campaign? Then Twitter might be the perfect platform to spread the word.
The list goes on, and as more social media platforms are launched, we are presented with more ways to promote our products. Back in the days, marketing professionals were limited to the existing marketing channels such as TV and radio commercials, magazines, and banners. Today marketing professionals can instead pick and choose the channels that are best fitted for each campaign and reach their potential customers where the customers feel the most comfortable.
More Targeted - It’s Easier than Ever to Reach Your Intended Target Group
Lastly, influencer marketing allows brands to run a more targeted campaign than ever before. With the right research or the help of a solid influencer network like Beatly’s, a brand can quickly locate influencers that operate within their field. Furthermore, this allows brands to promote their products directly to their target group on the social media channels that they prefer.
We all know how important it is for a marketing campaign to reach the intended target group, and never before has it been as easy as it is when using the right influencers.
Generally speaking, influencer marketing is just too effective to be ignored which is also why it will continue to grow for many years to come. As long as brands and marketers can maximize their results and spend their marketing budgets on actually reaching people that want to buy their products, the industry will continue to grow.
Where is the Influencer Marketing Industry Headed?
Considering all of this, there is no longer any doubt that influencer marketing will remain a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. In fact, influencer marketing is no longer a trend but a fixture in the marketing world, and there are very few marketers that aren’t benefiting from influencers or at least are planning on doing so.
However, influencer marketing’s incredible popularity makes it really hard to predict. Over the last couple of years, the influencer marketing growth has exceeded the predictions of many experts, and all indications are showing that will likely happen again during the coming years.
Because of this, it’s hard to determine a number for exactly how much the industry is bound to grow. Some analyst says the industry could grow by upwards of 1 billion dollars a year while others claim that it will grow faster. One number that seems to be popular among experts is that the influencer marketing industry will grow to be worth at least 5 to 10 billion dollars a year by 2020.
We agree that that is a very vague number, but it should be enough to give you an estimate of just how big of an influence this type of marketing will have on our society.
Another thing that most experts agree on is that the industry will continue to develop and become optimized. As the market space grows, the need for practical solutions and services will as well, and this will create a demand for smarter solutions.
Final Thoughts
For every year that passes the influencer marketing industry reaches new heights and 2018 has not been an exception. In addition, all predictions are indicating that 2019 will be an even bigger year for the industry, and some experts are expecting the industry to be worth upwards of 10 billion dollars within the next two years.
It’s not hard to see why that is. Influencer marketing is by far the most effective marketing strategy that has ever been around, and as long as brands can reach their intended target group on channels designed for their products without breaking the bank, the industry will continue to flourish.
Would you like to know more about how you can benefit from the growth of the influencer marketing industry? Don’t hesitate to contact us at team@beatly.com, to see how we can get your next product promoted on the best social media platforms using skilled influencers with experience in your specific industry.
Header by Daan Stevens from Pexels