Influencer Collaborations Increased by 57% in 2020

Influencer marketing is gaining noticeable momentum going into 2021. Klear Research reported that sponsored posts received an average of 7,806 impressions last year, a 57% increase from 2019. By 2022, the influencer marketing industry is predicted to reach $15 Billion.

A New Era of Marketing

Brand discovery has evolved in recent years. It’s no secret that social media content creators have a major effect on the buying behavior of their audiences — 8 out of 10 consumers admitted that they’ve purchased an item because it was mentioned by an influencer. Putting your product or service into the hands of an influencer gets eyes on your brand that you may not have had access to otherwise.

Luckily, influencer marketing isn’t specific to any industry nor exclusive to any platform. Today you can find a number of users with a dedicated following that mirrors your desired target audience on various social platforms.

Business on a Budget

Not every brand has the means to partner with a high-profile influencer — we get it. There’s still an opportunity to find creators in the form of micro-influencers (users with less than 100,000 followers), a perfect and more affordable option for smaller companies. With 81% of active influencers considered micro-influencers, brands still have a large pool of creators to choose from. If your brand has any kind of presence online, it might be worth it to look into an influencer partnership in order to grow your audience base.

Partnering With Your Audience

User-generated content (UGC) is a viable option for businesses that may have a sizable following or an established reputation but don’t have the budget to partner with an influencer. Showcasing photos, videos or testimonials created by your followers is a creative way to boost your current content strategy. Seeing a real person using your product or services can often be more relatable than what your product photography might be able to achieve on its own.

Shake Up Your Strategy

Partnering with influencers (or even utilizing content from your own audience) can be a great way to breathe new life into your current social presence. According to Rakuten, 41% of consumers said they find at least one new brand or product from an influencer weekly — think about the impact that this level of discovery could have for your brand when paired with an intentional, data-driven digital strategy.

Questions on where to start when it comes to identifying influencers or repurposing UGC? Set up a quick chat with a Smirk team member today.