Influencer marketing is here to stay and grow! It is already the preferred way to nurture a brand for more than 94 percent of digital marketers. Many brands like Fashion Nova have utilized influencer marketing to experience more than eleven times the ROI that traditional marketing can give.
Fashion Nova has shown other brands the way by making optimal use of influencer marketing. The beauty, accessories and apparel business started with a retail store in 2009 but by 2013 became a viral sensation on the internet, thanks to clever use of Instagram. Utilizing celebrities like Cardi B and Kylie Jenner as influencers, the brand experienced a growth of 600 percent in 2017!
Businesses across industries too can benefit from using highly effective influencer marketing platforms like Ifluenz.com to connect with influencers who make all the difference to the brand!
Influencer marketing will be stronger in 2019
The year 2018 has already seen that a majority of marketers plan on boosting influencer marketing budgets in the coming year. Here are some reasons why influencer marketing will continue to grow and emerge stronger this year:
- Growing market:
As per State of Influencer Marketing Report, influencer marketing in 2017 experienced a 198 percent growth. While influencer marketing was worth $2 billion in 2017, it is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2020! Influencer marketing has grown by leaps and bounds to reach $2 billion in 2017 while it was almost non-existent in 2013. Even as more and more CEOs like Fashion Nova’s founder Richard Saghian turn to influencer marketing on social media, this platform is likely to experience exponential growth in the coming years.
- More Millenials:
Statistics show a dramatic rise in both brands and influencers on social media platforms. Millennials are expected to overtake the boomers as the largest generation in the coming years, and this is also the age group with maximum spending power. While currently 70% of this age group is influenced by peer recommendations in social media platforms, the number is clearly set to grow in 2019. An influencer marketing survey conducted by Collective Bias involving 14,000 respondents in the US, reveals this statistic.
A Nielsen’s survey shows that two-thirds of potential buyers trust influencer opinions on such platforms. This is concomitant with a fall in the influence exerted by other media such as television, digital ad, and print. Clearly, influencer marketing will continue to remain the most effective way to grow brands and sales in 2019.
- More tools:
With more sophisticated tools to measure social media metrics becoming available in the coming years, brands will be able to assess their ROI in a better way. Marketers can better focus on engagement metrics including impressions, clicks, likes, reach and comments to optimize ROI. While platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are popular with brands and influencers alike, in 2019 new innovations will expand the reach of brands. Shopify VIP and Amazon Spark are some of the innovations that provide new opportunities for marketing and cross promotion.
- Holistic connections:
The trend is towards developing an “always on” approach to connect with customers online. Fashion Nova is one example of a brand that built strong connections with their target audience with Instagram influencer marketing. By promptly liking, sharing and commenting on every post their customers make on Instagram, the brand stays tuned in to social media conversations of both macro and micro influencers. More and more brands are shifting over from using a “one-off” tactic to build holistic, real relationships with customers and influencer marketing is the best way to engage them on an ongoing basis.