Influencer marketing is still a relatively new tool in the marketer’s arsenal. But one thing is clear: it works. We look at what’s driving its popularity, and how to get ROI from your next campaign

In recent times, brands have primarily outsourced their marketing efforts to influencers with large digital followings.

According to recent studies marketers plan to increase their spending on influencer marketing in the years to come.

One reason for this is that brands are getting smarter about how they work with influencers. Many now retain separate agencies for different parts of the process: one for identifying and profiling the right people, a separate one for negotiating and dealing directly with the influencers, and a third to manage day-to-day activity on social media.

When you work with Rumour Mill, we will be able to manage all of this in house.

Many marketers are also becoming more data-driven in their approaches, referring back to KPIs rather than going purely on gut instinct or past experience of similar campaigns.

As a result, influencer marketing is starting to show some very impressive results.

Have a look at some of our very own case studies for example.

The Amount Of Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing is becoming more popular with each passing day. In fact, Many marketers are using influencers in some capacity nowadays and there’s millions of social media personalities who have between 15k-100k followers on Instagram alone!

Influencers are a great tool for getting your message in front of thousands to millions of people. Working with an influencer who has established credibility, can help you reach people that would otherwise never see or hear about what it is you’re selling. A well established following gives weight and validity to everything these individuals say on behalf of brands.

The rise of Micro Influencers

When it comes to marketing, the best returns for your investment can come from smaller influencers with a dedicated following. These people can relate better with the average person in comparison to a big name celebrity.

Which makes them more effective at promoting brands’ products or services compared those larger celebrities simply because their audience feels invested into what these creators say rather than just seeing someone out there without a more grounded day to day life.

Influencer Marketing is Profitable – That’s why it continues to grow

The decline of print media has marketers turning to the internet for advertising. It’s not an easy solution, though, the online world is crowded with other brands vying for attention and well-thought out strategy will cut through all that noise!

With the growth of social media, brands have taken notice and started investing in influencer marketing. This year it is predicted that this industry will be worth £12 Billion, proof enough for any company with ambition to get involved.

What does the future look like for Influencer marketing

Moving forward, with the internet having a huge impact on our lives, brands need to understand and get hold of authenticity in order for them not just be one-off transactions. Personalisation across all platforms can also play an important role when it comes down to cultivating partnerships over time, especially since consumers now have more access than ever before at their fingertips!

Consumers’ desire for customisation and personalisation is driving new approaches, behaviours–notably in the beauty sector. This trend will spread widely across all areas of retailing.

This new generation of consumers is not just coming to expect a click-to buy function from their social media influencers, they’re relying on it.

The rise in transactional relationships with followers and influencers can be attributed at least partly because people have grown more accustomed than ever before – even expecting this type of interaction now!

Even though we highlighted their importance above, expect attention to move beyond today’s widespread obsession with micro/nano influencers.

Understanding will mature to the point that more subtle, soft selling tactics are becoming even more effective, than trying to outright push the product.

As the industry becomes more sophisticated and relationships between brands/influencers evolve into long-term partnerships rather than transactions, influencer campaigns will move upstream in brand strategy – which can only be seen as a good thing overall!

Oliver Lewis from The Fifth highlighted, “It’s very easy to use influencers as advertising to drive sales, but actually, what you really want to do is use it as an advocacy vehicle – and that requires better creative, more consistency and longer-term planning”.