What Brands Need to Know About Influencer Marketing in 2020
The new decade is here, and likely so is your 2020 marketing strategy. Where do influencer partnerships fit into your plan?
If you’re still a bit uncomfortable and don’t fully understand the tactic, let’s first step back and introduce the concept. Influencer marketing is the art of connecting brands and the powerful voices of digital content creators to drive authentic conversations around a product message, conclusively driving awareness and engagement. This type of sponsored content can be created by different types of influencers who help a brand reach its target audience.
In December 2019, Find Your Influence (FYI), an influencer marketing solution, surveyed more than 500 social media influencers to understand their views on the evolution of social media platforms in the new decade. Influencers who participated in the survey ranged in follower count from 720 to 9.8 million. The average follower count of the influencers surveyed was 115,092.
The Rise of TikTok and Twitch
Many of us are quite familiar with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and maybe even Snapchat. But how familiar are you with TikTok and Twitch? Brands of all sizes are beginning to test these newer social media platforms within their influencer marketing strategies.
TikTok is a platform where users can upload 15-60 second videos, and is focused on a target audience aged 13-24, with a female bias. Brands can engage TikTok influencers to create sponsored posts similar to the way they do across other social platforms.
Twitch is a livestreaming video service most often used by gamers to livestream their in-game performance. The platform sees an average of 15 million daily active users. Twitch’s core demographic is male (82 percent), of which 55 percent are 18-49 years old.
While still focused primarily on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and blogs, 38 percent of social media influencers surveyed by FYI see TikTok competing with the more established platforms for sponsored content opportunities. On the other hand, Twitch isn’t top of mind today for social media influencers. Only 15 percent of influencers surveyed see Twitch competing with more established platforms for social content opportunities.
Instagram is (Still) King
Nothing was more impactful in the last decade than Instagram. Today, Instagram boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users and is THE platform brands turn to most frequently to launch influencer marketing campaigns.
In the summer of 2018, Instagram announced that it would begin a test, hiding “likes” from users. This beta test had an initial rollout in seven countries, including Australia and Japan. In November 2019, it was rolled out in the United States to a small group of users.
FYI asked a sample of U.S.-based active social media influencers if they're worried about Instagram permanently removing likes. Only 23 percent indicated their concern, while the remaining 77 percent aren't worried. This is likely because “likes” have always been a vanity metric and will not adversely impact the influencer’s engagement rates.
Instagram Stories vs. In-Feed Posts
Instagram offers a variety of ways for users to post content, including in-feed, Instagram Stories and InstagramTV (IGTV).
Because in-feed content doesn’t expire and Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, influencers surveyed by FYI were asked where they invest more time. Fifty-one percent said that they spend more time creating in-feed posts for Instagram than they spend creating Instagram Stories. Twenty-six percent spend a minimum of one more hour creating Instagram Stories than in-feed content.
How much more time do you spend creating Instagram Stories vs. in-feed posts?
- 51% - I spend more time on in-feed posts than Stories
- 26% - 1 hour
- 16% - 2 hours
- 4% - 4 hours
- 2% - 3 hours
Influencer Marketing: The Great Equalizer
Competing with enterprise marketing budgets can be hard. Successful influencer marketing campaigns aren’t limited to the brands with the biggest budgets. Influencer marketing is the great equalizer, allowing smaller brands to compete with bigger brands.
By using the internet’s most powerful voices across the right social platforms to reach a brand’s target audience, spreading the word about a product or service has never been easier.
Tami Nealy is vice president of communications and PR at Find Your Influence (FYI), the leading influencer marketing platform.
Tami Nealy is VP of Communications and PR at Find Your Influence (FYI), the leading influencer marketing platform.
At a young age, Tami Nealy remembers her mom telling her that she talked too much. All of that talking has paid dividends today with nearly two decades of experience working in corporate communications. Tami began her communications career working in professional sports (WNBA, Arena Football League, NASCAR) before transitioning to LifeLock as the organization’s 30th hire. During her nearly seven years leading the corporate communications team at LifeLock, she executed hundreds of interviews as a corporate spokesperson, led a team that secured interviews in all 50 states in a single year, launched a partnership with the FBI’s Law Enforcement Education Development Association and helped lead the company to IPO. Following LifeLock, she pivoted to supporting education technology organizations, telling the story of how SaaS platforms could create efficiencies for learners around the globe. Tami graduated from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan earning a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising/Public Relations. Outside of the office Tami can often be found exploring a new hiking trail or cheering on her teenage son on the baseball diamond.
