Influencer trends that are dominating this year

Influencer trends come and go, but with influencer marketing set to become a $15 billion industry by 2022, influencers aren’t going anywhere.

In fact, 63% of marketers intend to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2021.

For businesses, during the pandemic when everything slowed down, influencers proved their worth in continuing communications on social media with their target audience.

This innovation is set to continue in 2021, with the best influencers adapting to marketing trends to maintain their authority in their respective field, making them more attractive to work with.

For marketers, these influencer marketing trends can help expand audiences and generate new leads.

Video remains supreme

After TikTok’s meteoric rise (now boasting 800 million users) and the introduction of Instagram Reels, short, digestible videos (before and after, tutorials, fitness, fashion skits) are only set to increase in popularity this year. Video content keeps millennials engaged, with a report finding they spend 33% of their time online watching videos. Utilise influencers to create content on TikTok and Reels that promote your business and give followers the content they want to see.

Diversity and inclusion matters

Brand values are fundamental to consumers, with followers looking at influencers and marketing campaigns and hoping they have the same values and see themselves reflected. It is imperative to work with diverse influencers (age, sex, ethnicity) that not only share the values of your brand. Businesses that demonstrate awareness of social issues and take action will generate goodwill and a deeper connection with their audience.

Deeper brand relationships

It is expected that businesses will hire the same influencers on a three to six-month basis to increase reach and brand loyalty rather than one-off posts. However, this won’t just be content for social media, with influencers now being asked to produce content for websites, emails and advertising. This builds more authentic relationships and provides brands with more content.

Micro-influencers will dominate

While macro-influencers have large followings, it isn’t always the key to success, and in 2021, micro-influencers will be in high demand. Considered to be influencers with less with 10,000 followers, micro-influencers are more effective in helping brands due to their authentic engagement from their dedicated followers, with followers seeing them more as “friends”. For small or local brands, micro-influencers are affordable to work with, not demanding and easily accessible to reach out to.

Go for personalised content

Influencers can leverage the relationship they have with their followers to create content tailored to their needs. Providing quality, valuable content (revealed through Q&As, feedbacks, quizzes) will genuinely benefit the influencer’s audience and build brand loyalty.

Influencers can be strange creatures some times. Fortunately, our Influencer Marketing webinar has you covered!

Guide to working with influencers

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