Should You Be Worried About the Future of Influencer Marketing in 2023?

Should You Be Worried About the Future of Influencer Marketing in 2023?

 

What is influencer marketing and where did it all begin?

Around a decade ago we saw an increase of ‘influencers’ in the form of bloggers and vloggers. YouTube was the go-to video platform that turned regular people into stars such as Zoella, PewDiePie and in more recent years MrBeast. These people took their interests and made content that entertained their viewers and had the ability to earn millions. Who wouldn’t be attracted to this lifestyle?

Brands started to use the success that influencer marketing could have when it came to reaching the audience they wanted to target. As the seed of influencer marketing was planted, the death of general above-the-line marketing started to die off. A billboard advertising a new protein shake may reach a thousand people but they could be a thousand of the wrong people. Ask an Instagram influencer who works closely with the famous gym brand, Gym Shark to advertise the new protein shake and you’re reaching hundreds maybe even thousands of people who would be interested.  

Over time influencers have grown in popularity but how can we define who is an influencer on social media and who isn’t? As defined by MailChimp ‘Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that enables businesses to collaborate with individuals who have a following for increased brand exposure.’ If you can advertise a product or brand you are basically there but it all depends on your following numbers which can depend on how much you get paid or what type of product you’re given or not given! If you’re new to influencer marketing here and thinking you’re thinking of implementing into your strategy. Image 1 is a rough outline of the types of influencers and how much they are roughly paid however this is just an outline and will all depend on the project budget. Here’s a quick breakdown.

Image 1

 If a project is low in budget, brands can ‘gift’ an influencer in hopes they would promote the product or service on their profile. These are usually unpaid ads and is done for brand awareness. If there is some money behind the project then this can lead to paid sponsor content which is a type of partnership between the brand and the influencer. This can include examples of unboxing, themed campaigns and product placements. Despite these two popular ways of campaign categories, there is one more called affiliate influencing which tends to be where a brand gives a special discount code to the influencers which they can then post on their socials for consumers to use. Each time someone uses the code then the influencer will receive a small commission.            

 

The Social Media Marketing shift 

We saw a massive shift in social media in the 2010 decade. Social media was developed from being a platform from sharing with friends to seeing what new products are being launched to now seeing Kim Kardashian in a new bikini every day. The purpose of social media has also changed over time along with this shift.

Originating from entertainment to now educating, influencing, persuading, and supporting and that’s just scratching the surface. From following friends to following presidents. Using Barack Obama as an example who contributed towards the way political content is distributed online after he made his first presidential tweet. If presidents can promote themselves, why can’t anyone else?         

Over the time of this social shift we saw more and more consumers get sucked into this addictive marketing strategy which spurred brands to continue and implement this marketing style into their business however has it been overused? In answer to this question, yes. Why? Because consumers have stopped believing in it. With traditional advertising such as TV adverts, we all knew that these brands hired actors and actresses to say what had been scripted in order to convince us. To these people, this was just a job whereas influencers had a bit of a say on what they were promoting and whether they believed in a product or service. As we’ve come to learn, this hasn’t always been the case.   

 

What is de-influencing?

In marketing new terms and acronyms are always being developed. In recent months we’ve seen an increase in the term ‘de-influencing’. As defined by Sophie Miller, founder of Pretty Little Marketer, de-influencing is a trend where creators hop on camera and ‘de-influence’ you, to buy those overhyped products you’re probably only going to buy because every other TikToker is telling you to do so.’ We saw a quick rise in influencers but could this be the start of an even quicker downfall?

The term ‘de-influencing’ has become popular and most widely used within the beauty industry with many wanna-be beauty influencers rating and stating how a product is overhyped and not really worth it. Despite this currently being used in the beauty industry, it won’t be long till this spreads to other industries. Looking at certain topics such as travelling, events, food, cars and more, we can understand that it is easy enough for this ‘de-influencing’ trend to be engrained in other topic cultures. Here are some examples of de-influencing on TikTok:

Video 1: Beauty Influencer on Everything you Do and Don’t Need 

Video 2: De-Influencing Viral Makeup

Video 3: my bank account hates me, Save yours while you can 

We’ve stated that authenticity will be big for 2023 and it wouldn’t surprise us if this is a trending theme for the next following years. As costs in all aspects of life go up, consumers want to make sure they are getting what they paid for when it comes to a product or service and it is de-influencing that is revealing the truth. 

Conclusion

Despite the constant changes in influencer marketing, here at PinPoint Media, we are fully embracing the strategy and keeping on top of all the changes. You can view one of our favourite influencer case studies which saw us work with Gloucester Rugby Football Club and you can see for yourself why influencer marketing is still very in despite the current trends. If you’re interested in seeing positive results for your brand, get in touch!

Gloucester Football Rugby Club – Case study

 

Written by Emily Parr – Digital Marketing Assistant