It’s a known fact that it’s crucial as a brand to engage with your audience on various platforms. Influencer marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to connect with potential and existing customers. 2018 was a year where influencer marketing became widely used… and 2019 will still have see similar techniques used. However, there are some key trends that will be important for brands that want to achieve success with their influencer marketing. These are our 5 picks marketers won’t want to miss:

  1. Micro- and Nano-influencers

For those who aren’t familiar with these terms, let’s define them quickly. Micro-influencers typically have 5-50K followers whilst Nano-influencers “only” have between 1K to 5K followers. They both have high authenticity and the ability to spread a message to a concentrated audience. Of course, the less followers they have, the narrower the audience. Macro-influencers (+100K followers) may have a lot of influence, but there is usually a lot of competition amongst brands to work with them. This leaves Micro-influencers and Nano-influencers as a beneficial choice for smaller businesses. These influencers share information with their small community about products and they are trusted by their audience whilst creating valuable content for brands.

  1. Longer-term relationships

There are already signs this year that this trend is changing. If brands find influencers that fit their brand and reach their audience, they will now focus on building a more long-term relationship. The longer a brand can work with an influencer, the more trusting the audience becomes and there are benefits for both parties.

If a brand can work with an established influencer for a long period, it will bring continuity. The brand can repost the influencer’s posts and by doing that it will build a strong relationship, and as the audience sees the product on the influencer’s page repeatedly, they will automatically build a positive association between the influencer and the brand.

From the influencer’s perspective, it will get easier for them to familiarise and support the products the longer they work with a brand. It will add authenticity to the influencer’s personal brand too, if they continue to post content of the products and show interest in the brand. It demonstrates that they clearly aren’t just posting to earn some quick cash, they are more genuinely invested in the brand.

  1. The number of influencers will increase

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat… You know them all. Social networks are growing and that simply means that there are more people active on those platforms. This results in a bigger audience for brands, but it also means that more people are creating branded content. Today, everyone can become a blogger or influencer as there are typically low start-up costs associated with it. You might think that it can drown the market, but as influencers nowadays can more or less choose which brands they want to work with, it might be a good thing for brands.

  1. IGTV is getting popular

You might have heard of it, but never tried it. This is the new big thing. IGTV (Instagram TV) was introduced in 2018 as their version of ‘YouTube’. Videos on social media are getting more popular than ever and IGTV gives both influencers and brands the opportunity to share long-form content videos on Instagram. However, their thinking is that most people hold their phone vertically, and therefore it is only possible to upload vertical videos, and this might be an issue as you can’t upload a horizontal video on Facebook or YouTube and then upload it on IGTV afterwards. That being said, it is a great opportunity for Instagram users who post short videos to their Instagram Stories to upload a longer form video with more detail.

  1. The demand of authentic content and the fight against fake followers

People follow influencers and connect with them due to their personality and behaviour as they deliver authentic and honest content.

This is exactly what brands are looking for. They are looking for influencers that have the same values as the brand so there is a real connection. In the end, this gives the brand value and authenticity. In 2019, marketing campaigns will be focusing on this area and brands are looking for an engaged audience and this starts with authenticity.

Fake followers were a big topic in 2018 and it will only become even bigger in 2019, with many platforms and tools launching to combat this issue and help verify influencers and hold them accountable.

Intern Jonas