Have you been seeing more “influencer” content on Instagram this year? Of course you have. Well, that’s only going to increase, as 88% of influencers and 92% of marketers say they plan to use Instagram for more campaigns compared to last year
Influencer marketing is only going to grow more powerful. By 2020, it’s projected to have a $5-$10 billion share of the advertising market.
And Instagram tops the list of where influencers are interested in spending more time.
Instagram: up
Facebook: steady
Pinterest: steady
Snapchat: down
YouTube: down
Twitter: down
Moreover, marketers and influencers are working together for longer. 51% of marketers are now working with influencers for at least 6 months, while 37% of influencers said they’re beginning to partner with brands for multiple campaigns, rather than one-time engagements.
Read more: 5 social best practice insights from social leaders
So why are things changing?
Well, the state of affairs on the internet changes about every six seconds! Right now, Instagram and blogs are accessible and easy for social influencers and marketers to use and collaborate on, while YouTube and Snapchat have seen decreased interest because of platform-specific challenges.
Video is growing in popularity (and in favourability on social media platform algorithms). But producing high-quality YouTube content requires top-tier production skills and specialised equipment – meanwhile Instagram, especially, is a mobile-first platform and tolerates a little less production value. Snapchat, another mobile-first platform, faces other concerns like difficulty with tracking metrics and little to no support for discovering influencers.
Influencer marketing on Instagram jumped 198% in 2017. Instagram Stories, which show a sequence of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours, and Instagram Stories Highlights appear to be popular among brands and influencers. Instagram Polls also typically achieve high engagement and provide a way for brands to learn their customers’ opinions – right there, at the source, in real time.
Marketers are coming around to the benefits of influencers – even though some brands, like "Unilever", have canned their expensive influencer programs completely.
When done right, marketers and influencers can build a long-term narrative and leverage the influencer as a true brand ambassador. Consumers are smart. Honesty is the best policy, after all.
This story inspiration was originally spotted on socialmediatoday.