Despite the fact it feels like summer was five minutes ago, 2024 is right around the corner.Â
Conversations on what will be hot or not in the Influencer Marketing space in 2024 are starting to take place, and we want to share some of our thoughts and predictions for the year ahead from an agency perspective.
Our CEO, Jennifer Quigley-Jones knows what’s up when it comes to developments within the industry, and is here to share her thoughts on what to expect from the year ahead…Â
Unpolished content is everything. For years the industry has raved about "authentic" influencers and their relationships with their audiences. However, it wasn't until the explosive growth of TikTok and their "content-first" (rather than "creator-first") algorithm that people realized the true potential of unpolished and authentic content.
This content has altered the way brands advertise. We've seen a seismic shift from adverts that feature polished brand assets, to including UGC and influencer content in ads as standard. Influencers now truly sit at the heart of media plans - not just producing quirky and unexpected content for their own channels, but also for brand channels, OOH, CCTV, and paid media.
Perhaps this desire for unpolished content will set the pace for 2024, too?Â
Despite the vast opportunities for AI, influencers are not yet using it to its full potential for producing content. At Digital Voices, we find AI useful to help make our processes more efficient and proactively spot trends, influencers, and platforms likely to improve campaign performance.
AI can be pretty simple, allowing us to complete everyday tasks more quickly and efficiently. However, Meta’s recent introduction of ‘AI Personas’ shows just how far AI can go. You thought that was Kendal Jenner on your Instagram feed? Think again…Â
There is a huge opportunity to further prove the value of Influencer Marketing with first-party data.Â
Firstly, the data on influencers' audiences will be far stronger than before. The tools and agencies that succeed will need to have tech API integrations to truly seize the opportunity and validate their offerings. This means better opportunities for brands to know exactly who they are reaching. If influencers also use the opportunity to engage more directly with their audiences, they can demonstrate even more value and provide qualitative and quantitative insights to brand partners.
True Influencer Marketing agency partners should be growth partners for brands. Our clients share anonymized first-party data so that we can analyze the true impact of our campaigns and scale where we see success.Â
In 2024, do not only see influencer content as something that lives on a social media platform. It's a full-funnel marketing strategy, and sharing data is crucial for making smart decisions.
I'm excited to see Influencer Marketing challenge the idea of demographic and psychographic customer personas that have been fundamental to marketing strategies for decades.
With the advent of content-first algorithms and first-party data challenges, the crucial power of Influencer Marketing is engaging with niche communities at vast scale. Brands need to think about their customers in terms of interests and communities they engage with, then use influencers to reach them and take part in those conversations. These can be communities based on interests, identities, personal challenges, lifestyle, etc. But if brands get the power of influencers right, they will rapidly build awareness, trust, and drive sales.
To get the full lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not in Influencer Marketing 2024, we will be releasing our annual trends report very very soon. In the meantime, if winning customers in 2024 is your goal, check out our latest report that will explain how to do just that!
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