Much has been said about the role influencers play today. In the midst of the pandemic, they became the best channel to connect with audiences in the face of the brake experienced by sectors such as BTL or conventional advertising in general.
In this way, the winning streak of influencer marketing seemed to find a new boom that for several months materialized in rising figures.
Between data and growth
Recent studies indicate that the influencer marketing industry will have a value 10 billion dollars By 2020, this is thanks to 43 percent of marketing teams experimenting with influencer marketing actions to define the real value they bring to their brand.
In the midst of a context in which BTL activities, point-of-sale promotions and spectacular ones, among others, lose ground to the isolation measures imposed by health authorities in different markets around the world, these advantages seem to gain weight. the eyes of the marks.
Faced with the pandemic, brands see influencer marketing actions as an important lifeline that allows them to maintain contact with their audiences even when the norm indicates keeping their distance.
This is revealed by a recent survey signed by BrandMe, which indicates that 87 percent of brands are betting on influencer marketing to deal with the coronavirus.
The end is near?
Although the projections could put a promising scenario on the table, the truth is that understanding influencer marketing only in reference to these figures would be a mistake.
Recent cases throughout the world have made it clear that the credibility and closeness that influencers managed to establish in the beginning is now in doubt before consumers who are more and more adept at understanding what a deception, a paid promotion and an organic recommendation is. .
The search for authenticity by the consumer is what has put marketing around influencers in check for some years. Hearings are more and more punctual in questioning what is actually a real recommendation and what is only made to comply with a commercial agreement.
This is how there has been talk of the death of influencer marketing, a stage that for some would come in just a couple of years.
According to a study signed by WSGN analysts, the end of influencer marketing will come in 2023. This will be the year in which influencers will lose weight and relevance.
The reason behind this fall is the logical and expected change in society, where there will be a greater interest in relating to brands committed to social issues.
In this way, according to the study, brands will be forced to attend the now 4C calls with greater punctuality and efficiency: connection, conservation, communication and community.
With these prelude points, they will set a new standard in online relationships, where there will be greater democratization.
In this way, relationships in social networks will be much more horizontal with which the figure of the influencer-star will lose an important part of its meaning.
Less confidence
The first symptoms of this disease are now beginning to be seen. At least that is what a recent study signed by MarketingWeek shows, which has discovered that consumers seem to have reached the limit when it comes to credibility around influencers.
Three aspects are key in this regard. 64 percent of those surveyed acknowledge that they no longer trust the recommendations that influencers make from their digital properties.
Additionally, 24 percent affirm that they are no longer a source of inspiration, while only 26 percent declare they empathize with them.
Given these figures, the fins around influencer marketing should light up. More so when we recognize that the massive presence of infleuncers as well as the increasing number of trade agreements related to the recommendations seem to be the cause.
For brands that are committed to this branch of marketing, there will be no other way than to reconfigure their strategies, where without a doubt, niche influencers could be the salvation.
This trend was already seen for some years when the figure of the micro-influencer began to gain relevance.
Recognizing some figures in this regard is clear to understand that the pandemic only accelerated a process that was already visible.
A study signed by Markeley points out that, under this context, those influences that have less than a thousand followers achieve an engagement level of 8 percent, a figure that is higher than what the ‘new celebrities’ suppose, who add between a thousand and 10 thousand followers (4 percent) and who have an empathic user base that reaches 10 million (1.7 percent).
According to data from The Startup, micro-influencers achieve 60 percent more engagement, campaigns 6.7 more efficient and profitable, as well as 22 times more conversations than the average consumer.
According to an eMarketer analysis, “people connect with micro-influencers because of their authenticity and honest perspective“, Because they feel that the micro-influencers are “A person like them.”