Influencer marketing has become a very popular trend amongst brands seeking to expand their reach, appeal to distinct audiences, increase brand awareness, and maximise conversions. A staggering number of marketers incorporate influencer marketing into their campaigns. None, however, can rest on their laurels, as influencer marketing trends are evolving quickly and beginning to look quite different than they did even two or three years ago.
Consider:
- 92% of consumers trust product recommendations from family, friends, and their preferred influencers[1]
- 74% of people use social media for product discovery/purchase decision-making[2]
- 70% of Gen Z/Gen Alpha trust influencers more than traditional celebrities[3]
- Influencer marketing ROI exceeds that of standard digital marketing by more than 1000%
Consumers are notoriously fickle, and a lot are growing more sceptical of big-name celebrities and mega influencers and questioning how genuine these endorsements are. Many are gravitating towards micro-influencers. Furthermore, AI is predicted to play an increasing role in terms of effective influencer marketing for some brands.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a strategic approach that leverages people with large social media followings to promote brands, products, or services. It includes everything from simple celebrity endorsements to dynamic, complex ongoing partnerships in the long term incorporating ads, social marketing content, and more.
Influencers can be anyone from movie stars to sportspeople, musicians to reality-TV personalities, notable entrepreneurs, industry thought-leaders, or bloggers – anyone who is popular and brings a sense of authority and influence to a specific brand’s target audience.
Partnerships underpin influencer marketing efforts to promote products and also to build relationships that foster brand loyalty and trust. They usually involve:
- Brand ambassadorship – consistent brand promotion over time
- Sponsored posts – content created by influencers for financial compensation
- Affiliate marketing – whereby influencers earn commission on sales their promotional efforts directly generate.
A Very Brief History of Influencer Marketing
Influencers have undoubtedly transformed the landscape for both marketing and advertising. But influencer marketing is not a new concept!
Even ancient civilizations had their version of “influencers”, as the general public based their opinions and consumer behaviours on what royalty, philosophers, military generals, religious figures, poets, and other leaders wore, used, or otherwise recommended by word or action. They leveraged their status and the power and sway they held over the masses to promote goods, services, lifestyle choices, and more. (For example, popular ancient Roman gladiators are known to have endorsed weaponry.)
Modern-style paid celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing were born in the last 150 years. Examples include:
- Pope Leo XIII and Vin Mariani (an alcoholic beverage) in the 1800s
- Mark Twain and pens
- Silent film actor Fatty Arbuckle and Murad Cigarettes in 1905
- Roy Rogers and the Pennsylvania Railroad
- Then-actor Ronald Reagan and Chesterfield Cigarettes
- “Santa Claus” and Marlboro Cigarettes, Coca-Cola
- Muhammad Ali and d-CON Roach Traps
- Michael Jordan and Nike
- Taylor Swift and Coca-Cola
- David Beckham and Adidas
- Charlize Theron and Dior
- George Clooney and Nespresso
Then there are the unpaid “endorsements” whereby celebrities make particular consumer choices or give product or brand call-outs that give brands exposure and make them a lot of money as aspirational fans seek to emulate their “heroes”. Examples of this include Queen Charlotte of England and Wedgewood pottery, Marilyn Monroe and Chanel No.5, Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy, Jane Birkin and Hermes (the “Birkin” bag), and many others.
Social media influencers are central to a lot of modern marketing strategies.
Influencer marketing as it pertains to social platforms started in the early 2000s on YouTube and Facebook, and Instagram after 2010. These were mostly bloggers offering niche content and who had amassed large followings. Brands were captivated by the potential exposure these content creators could provide, and how far their endorsements could reach to engage new, receptive audiences. Bloggers were leveraged by brands to create engaging content and authentic stories that resonated with niche audiences, with the goal of boosting exposure and trust for brands – especially in niches including fashion, beauty, home décor, travel, food, and parenting.
Over time, with more social media users, more brands adopted these strategies, and the influencer marketing landscape diversified across countless niches, with collaborations between brands and influencers becoming more professional, longer-term, and based on ambassadorship as opposed to a one-off endorsement.
While this has been very successful, it has also led to a degree of saturation, audience fatigue, and doubt over the authenticity of some of these endorsements. The result is a shift to micro-influencers.
The Decline of the Mega Influencer … and The Rise of Niche, Trust-Based Micro-Influencers
Compared with the average social media user, who has up to a few hundred followers:
- Mega-Influencers (“celebrities”) have more than 1 million followers
- Macro-Influencers have 100,000 to 1 million followers
- Micro-Influencers: 1,000 to 50,000 followers
- Nano-Influencers have fewer than 1000 followers
A majority of consumers say they depend on influencers for actionable product recommendations. The recent shift from mega influencers to micro social media influencers is being driven by an expanding consumer desire for:
- niche engagement
- authentic connections
- genuine value
- greater content relatability
- greater local influence
For brands, too, benefits are clear, as micro-influencers cost significantly less to engage than macro or mega-influencers.
Micro influencers have smaller followings but their followers tend to be more engaged than those of mega influencers. They bring unique voices and perspectives to the marketing sphere, and when they share their lifestyle tips, personal experiences, testimonials, and genuine recommendations, their followers are more inclined to sit up and take notice than when a celebrity advertises a product or service in what is obviously a paid partnership.
AI Influencers
Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere right now and influencer marketing is no exception. AI algorithms can help brands and marketers identify which influencers will best align with them and their targets, enhancing the discovery and selection of the best-fit influencers through the analysis of engagement metrics, audience demographics, and scrutinization of content quality, consistency, and overall alignment with the brand in question.
Ethical Concerns & Transparency
Certain ethical considerations apply to any influencer marketing. This includes transparency concerns.
The line between paid promotional content and genuine recommendation often becomes blurred. Consumers are more switched on than ever and want to know whether an endorsement is the influencer’s legitimate opinion or a paid ad.
Consumer deception in the form of undisclosed paid endorsements can damage the reputations of both influencer and brand as they encourage followers to make consumer choices based on misleading, manipulative, or otherwise inauthentic information. This is especially important for targeting those consumers who are not blindly brand-driven (and who make purchase decisions solely based on the brand image regardless of the product itself or comparison with valid alternatives).
There is nothing more powerful than a trusted influencer genuinely recommending a product or service based on their own experience, opinion, and preferences.
Disclosure must be clear – even if only via an #AD or #sponsored hashtag in posts.
Should You Rethink Your Influencer Strategy?
In 2025 and into the future, remaining relevant demands more than just partnering with a well-known or trusted influencer. Consumers and social audiences are more savvy and harder to “fool”, and they seek authenticity above all else.
Choosing the right influencer is critical – they and the content they deliver must complement and comply with your brand image and aesthetic, appeal to and captivate your target audience, and successfully the volume of positive leads you require.
Micro-influencers can deliver for brands in terms of:
- enhanced authenticity
- higher engagement rates
- cost-effectiveness
The right influencer marketing strategy for your brand can play a valuable part in driving the perception of your brand and shaping the behaviour of your targets.
Dot-to-Dot Digital can help.
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Click now to speak with a digital consultant – together, we can explore how your brand could benefit from the ideal approach to influencer marketing and much more!
[1] https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-releases/2012/nielsen-global-consumers-trust-in-earned-advertising-grows/?utm_source=aspire.io&utm_medium=site
[2] https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/?utm_source=aspire.io&utm_medium=site
[3] https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/youtube-stars-influence/?utm_source=aspire.io&utm_medium=site
