Influencer Marketing Trends

Here at Lionize, we talk a lot about staying ahead of the curve. Not just around our groundbreaking AI-based technology, or our hyper-intelligent search engine that’s primed to find the best influencers, but also (and especially) when it comes to influencer marketing trends.

Marketing is a constantly changing environment and has only gotten more so since the rise of social media platforms in the mid-2000s when creator marketing really took off. It’s no longer realistic for brands, especially in the e-commerce space, to become household names by focusing their efforts on TV, radio, or outdoor media. Instead, they are turning to digital platforms and user-generated content, where “content creators” have emerged as creative powerhouses helping brands drive conversion.

While no one can know what the future fully holds, our team of experts got together to list some of the top trends being seen in the influencer marketing space right now to help inform your 2023 promotional plans. 

Read on to learn about how influencer marketing has become more effective for businesses all over the world in recent years, the top influencer marketing trends happening today, and our take on whether or not influencer marketing is here to stay…

How Effective Is Influencer Marketing In 2023?

In the past couple of decades, rapid changes in technology have created an immeasurable number of possible touchpoints to reach people. With the increasing reliance on smartphones, many brands have turned away from the more traditional forms of advertising, such as television or print ads, because they can be expensive and have limited ways to reach a target audience. 

Influencer marketing, on the other hand, is a more cost-effective option and includes the capability to target a specific audience based on an influencer’s niche or industry, making it an incredibly impressive tool for reaching and engaging potential buyers.

But don’t just take our word for it. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub’s State of Influencer Marketing 2023 Benchmark Report, influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $21.1 billion in 2023. That’s a $5 billion increase from last year, and a whopping $20 billion increase from just 8 years ago, as the chart below shows:

Pictured: The Influencer Marketing Market Size from years 2016–2023 (Source: Influencer Marketing Hub)

Clearly, many businesses are finding success with influencer marketing and continuing to see it as a valuable investment within their larger marketing strategy. In fact, 89% of marketers who currently engage with influencer marketing said that they are planning to increase or maintain their investment in 2023, according to a HubSpot study.

In other influencer marketing news, 63% of companies surveyed by Influencer Marketing Hub indicated that they are feeling the impact of 2023’s macroeconomic circumstances. With a recession looming and prices across verticals continuing to rise, it’s no surprise that businesses are having to make strategic decisions to make cuts to their budget, including laying off workers, especially in the tech space. Only time will tell if these larger economic conditions will have a major effect on the influencer marketing industry. However, as a cost-effective strategy, it’s possible that we’ll see even more marketing teams start to adopt it.

Influencer Marketing Trends

Like most business strategies, influencer marketing has evolved greatly in the past few years to meet changing consumer preferences and fit into the evolving social media landscape. For example, the industry has become more regulated, transparent, and focused on authenticity and engagement, and has expanded to include new types of products and services. 

Let’s discuss a few of the major influencer marketing trends that have emerged over recent years:

1. Ever-Importance of Authenticity and Transparency. Consumers are becoming more skeptical of influencer content. As a response, brands are focusing on emphasizing authenticity and transparency in their influencer campaigns. This includes the disclosure of sponsored content, using real customers as influencers, and promoting realistic content that aligns with an influencer’s personal brand.
2. More Monetization through Social Commerce. Social commerce, or the integration of e-commerce and social media, has become a major pillar of many brands’ digital strategies. Today’s brands are learning to partner with influencers and drive sales through social media platforms incredibly effectively, through influencer-created product lines, affiliate marketing, and even shoppable posts on Instagram and other platforms.
3. More Partnerships with Micro and Nano Influencers. Brands are increasingly turning to micro- and nano-influencers, who have smaller followings than other influencer tiers but highly engaged audiences who are very likely to trust their recommendations. As we’ve discussed before, these influencers can be a creative, cost-effective tool for brands to use to reach niche audiences.
4. Increasing Reliance on Video Content. Video content (particularly vertical and short-form) is becoming increasingly popular on social media platforms, notably rising with the advent of TikTok. Brands will increasingly partner with influencers, who are digital content-creating experts, to engage audiences by creating and sharing engaging video content in the form of TikTok videos, YouTube videos and shorts, and Instagram Reels. 
5. Preference for Long-Term Partnerships. Brands are shifting towards long-term partnerships with influencers rather than one-off posts and campaigns. This allows for deeper collaboration and more authentic content creation and can lead to stronger relationships with the influencer’s audience. Some brands trust their long-term creator partners so much that they’re turning them into full-on Creative Directors!
6. Emphasis on Cause Marketing. Consumers are becoming more socially conscious and brands are thus beginning to focus more on partnering with influencers who align with their values and promote social causes. We expect an increased emphasis in the coming years on environmentalism, diversity and inclusion, and more causes.
7. Prioritization of Engagement over Following. For years, brands have utilized the same few digital marketing KPIs: following, reach, and engagement. While the number of followers an influencer has is undeniably important, more companies are starting to dive deeper into these metrics, and have found that engagement rate is one of the biggest predictors of success for an influencer campaign.

These trends show how the market is reacting to emerging social causes, new social media features and platforms, and changing consumer behaviors and trends. But remember, if there’s one thing we can say for certain about marketing: it is constantly changing. Brands, marketers, and influencers alike will have to stay smart and adaptable when it comes to succeeding within this ever-changing industry. You can read more about recent influencer marketing trends in our 2022 Influencer Marketing Trends Report.

Is Influencer Marketing Here To Stay?

Many consumers wonder, “Is influencer marketing going away?” We’re here to say: it’s here to stay.

Some people, however, think the end is nigh for influencer culture. Since influencer marketing relies so much on the relationship between a creator and their audience, bad partnerships or inauthentic promotions can lead to a lack of trust from consumers and result in a negative impact on a business’s reputation. Influencers need to be careful in order to maintain their authenticity and connection with their audience.

In this Reddit thread, for example, users discuss how influencer Tara Michelle has become out of touch with what and how she chooses to promote, and how it has affected their perception of her. A few things that the users mention include:

• Influencers who are out of touch with their audience or lower-income individuals. 
• Influencers who only work for the paycheck and not really caring about the products they promote.
• Influencers who are wasteful, particularly when it comes to their free PR packages (branded merchandise that brands will give to content creators for free simply because they are influential, which many, unfortunately, let go to waste).
• Word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations from friends having more impact than influencer marketing.

While these are all very legitimate concerns for the influencer marketing space, they are not death knells yet. In fact, we can take them as warning signs for influencers. Just because you’re established in the space doesn’t mean your spot is protected forever, and you’ll have to keep working to maintain relatability and trust with your audience, as well as work with companies that are a good fit for your taste, niche, and personal brand.

Additionally, they’re definitely correct about word-of-mouth marketing being an especially effective marketing method. In fact, this can help explain why smaller influencers, such as micro- and nano-influencers, are gaining popularity: because their sponsored promotions feel more authentic. These influencers are more likely to feel like a friend giving a genuine recommendation, rather than a sellout clearly making a promotional post just for a branded payout. And since they’re smaller creators, they’re more likely to be relatable to a general audience. Brands should be sure to keep these considerations in mind before entering a new creator partnership.

How Lionize Can Help With Your Influencer Marketing 

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there in 2023. Will you use it to expand your reach, enhance your targeting, and effectively engage your audience, or will you get left behind in the 2010s? 

Book a demo call with us today to get your creator marketing strategy started so you, too, can stay ahead of the curve with our influencer search tool.

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