Recently, LaunchMetrics published its "The State of Influencer Marketing 2020" report that highlights various aspects of influencer marketing from the perspective of luxury, fashion and beauty brands, and some other trends. It also notes the impact of COVID-19 over these markets and the applications and strategies that are working in the best possible way for different brands.
Influencer marketing has been in works for a couple of years, and it usually focuses on the target audience, but brands have always been more focused on sole product promotions.
It has been noted that the majority of consumers of these brands belong to the Generation Z and Millennial group of people.
With time, the demand is increasing worldwide, and brands are coming up with one product after another. The good thing that was noted through this recent report is that this increased demand and supply is now focusing more on transparency, relatability, and responsibility on the brands' part, and influencer marketing is perfectly cashing this out for the betterment of the general public.
Many strategies of influencer marketers and agencies have been studied and the overall result shows that marketing is going to become more personal from now on. The scope of the brand-creator partnership is shifting now towards marketing through storytelling and entertainment. Instead of focusing solely on product promotion, a more engaging and communicative approach is in works for now.
94% of various agencies and brands still find influencer marketing as the most effective means of improving sales. So, this seems to be an unchanging trend for the time being and future also.
However, since the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic has hit the entire world, there has been a slight shift in marketing strategies.
With the increased usage of internet and mobile tech apps, consumers have become more inclined towards more personalized exchange with the brands and creators.
Therefore, brands have also resorted to these apps to reach more people. Instagram is considered as one of the biggest online platforms for brands and content creators to showcase their products and services. The efficacy of marketing increases with Instagram Stories and Highlights features. According to LaunchMetrics, more than 97% of brands use Instagram to create content.
Facebook and Blogs are the second most used channels for content creation, with 60% and 63% usage for this purpose, respectively.
Twitter (44%), Pinterest (40%) and YouTube (37%) are slightly less popular sources, when it comes to creating content.
TikTok is seeing a remarkable and dramatic increase in its usage for entertainment purposes generally, but around 23.2% of creators are using creative ways through TikTok to reach their consumers. By viral challenges and other fun ways, this has been proving to be a great marketing strategy. 42% of brands are planning to use TikTok for their influencer marketing from now on because of $1.1 million in revenue generated through the app in March only.
Europe is the largest hub where almost 51% of brands invest in influencer marketing, but recently, 18.5% of brands have started favoring Asia. This is slightly higher than the US markets, which are at 18%.
Another trend that has been noticed in 2020 is that more than 56% of brands have started using their consumers as their product influencers. These brands use Instagram and other apps for their consumers to leave remarks and reviews in detail about their various products. And in this way, these consumers become their biggest marketers.
This trend infuses transparency and a sense of accountability for the creators, and more relatability for the users.
Due to the closure of the main stores of all brands, and increased demand from the online consumers amid the crisis has hauled down the sponsored content from average influencers by 35% to 6%. The focus of marketing has become more consumer-centric instead of being product-centric, therefore it is expected to see a rise in the trend of influencer marketing to reach the consumers through relevant and reliably honest stories and personally engaging content.
Read next: Instagram’s New Guide Can Help Businesses Make the Most of Covid-19 Crisis
Influencer marketing has been in works for a couple of years, and it usually focuses on the target audience, but brands have always been more focused on sole product promotions.
It has been noted that the majority of consumers of these brands belong to the Generation Z and Millennial group of people.
With time, the demand is increasing worldwide, and brands are coming up with one product after another. The good thing that was noted through this recent report is that this increased demand and supply is now focusing more on transparency, relatability, and responsibility on the brands' part, and influencer marketing is perfectly cashing this out for the betterment of the general public.
Many strategies of influencer marketers and agencies have been studied and the overall result shows that marketing is going to become more personal from now on. The scope of the brand-creator partnership is shifting now towards marketing through storytelling and entertainment. Instead of focusing solely on product promotion, a more engaging and communicative approach is in works for now.
94% of various agencies and brands still find influencer marketing as the most effective means of improving sales. So, this seems to be an unchanging trend for the time being and future also.
However, since the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic has hit the entire world, there has been a slight shift in marketing strategies.
With the increased usage of internet and mobile tech apps, consumers have become more inclined towards more personalized exchange with the brands and creators.
Therefore, brands have also resorted to these apps to reach more people. Instagram is considered as one of the biggest online platforms for brands and content creators to showcase their products and services. The efficacy of marketing increases with Instagram Stories and Highlights features. According to LaunchMetrics, more than 97% of brands use Instagram to create content.
Facebook and Blogs are the second most used channels for content creation, with 60% and 63% usage for this purpose, respectively.
Twitter (44%), Pinterest (40%) and YouTube (37%) are slightly less popular sources, when it comes to creating content.
TikTok is seeing a remarkable and dramatic increase in its usage for entertainment purposes generally, but around 23.2% of creators are using creative ways through TikTok to reach their consumers. By viral challenges and other fun ways, this has been proving to be a great marketing strategy. 42% of brands are planning to use TikTok for their influencer marketing from now on because of $1.1 million in revenue generated through the app in March only.
Europe is the largest hub where almost 51% of brands invest in influencer marketing, but recently, 18.5% of brands have started favoring Asia. This is slightly higher than the US markets, which are at 18%.
Another trend that has been noticed in 2020 is that more than 56% of brands have started using their consumers as their product influencers. These brands use Instagram and other apps for their consumers to leave remarks and reviews in detail about their various products. And in this way, these consumers become their biggest marketers.
This trend infuses transparency and a sense of accountability for the creators, and more relatability for the users.
Due to the closure of the main stores of all brands, and increased demand from the online consumers amid the crisis has hauled down the sponsored content from average influencers by 35% to 6%. The focus of marketing has become more consumer-centric instead of being product-centric, therefore it is expected to see a rise in the trend of influencer marketing to reach the consumers through relevant and reliably honest stories and personally engaging content.
Read next: Instagram’s New Guide Can Help Businesses Make the Most of Covid-19 Crisis
