Influencer Marketing with Anneke Boeren Influencer marketing is the next big thing. When trusted influencers promote brands or products, it resonates with their audiences. This explains why influencer marketing has risen through the roof in the past few months. Here are some new trends you need to know: (Article by John Hol) 1. Greater influence will be more important than a bigger check. Think about why you partner with an influencer in the first place: because she has something that’s valuable to you. Well, that works both ways. You have to offer her something of value to gain access to her audience. I’ve learned that what’s often most valuable to an influencer isn’t a huge pay check — it’s more influence. An influencer is only as valuable as the influence she has. So if you can build your own internal influence first and bring that to the table, you can offer her something very valuable: the opportunity for her to tap into your networks, grow her influence, and monetize her brand. 2. Micro-influencers will be the new influencers. Eighty-two percent of people are likely to follow a micro-influencer’s recommendation, which proves you don’t need to rely on huge mega-influencers to advocate for your brand. Companies tend to write off micro-influencers and focus too much on seeking out the most influential people in their areas, but that’s not always the best route. In my experience, some of the best influencer marketing strategies include a variety of smaller and lesser-known influencers who don’t let ego get in the way. As long as you work with a variety of people and place an emphasis on brand advocacy, microinfluencers can be extremely valuable. 3. Earned influencer marketing will outpace paid efforts. Very often, influencer marketing is lumped into what most companies would categorize as “paid marketing” because they pay others to advocate for the brand. But with the continued rise of contributors at online publications who are more concerned with content for their audiences than getting paid, I see a new area of influencer marketing emerging. This area will be focused on earned influencer marketing and will grow substantially because we have more options for content distribution than ever. Ten years ago, we may have had only a few watering holes to slake the craving for tech content, such as TechCrunch or Forbes. Now there are thousands of channels for distribution as specific as a tech company CEO’s LinkedIn column, and because of that, we’ll see an increase in earned influencer marketing strategies. 4. Paid influencer marketing will become more authentic. Getting paid to talk about a product’s amazing qualities without also disclosing that the endorsement is an ad won’t fly anymore — as demonstrated by the FTC cracking down on the Kardashians for this earlier in the year. But just because influencers will need to explicitly disclose their paid relationships doesn’t mean they can’t also truly enjoy the product, service, or brand they endorse. It will be vital to find influencers who actually use or like the brand so their endorsements are real and followers continue to trust what they say. Stay away from those who will say or do anything if you pay
them enough money, and seek out the right influencers who can offer authentic, natural endorsements of your brand.