A UK-based data tool company, Influencer Intelligence, has undertaken an analysis of how the influencer marketing landscape has evolved in 2018.
The company surveyed 1,173 marketing specialists including in-house brand marketers, agencies, consultants and talent, across a range of industry sectors. In addition, 500 consumers aged 18 to 34 years were surveyed in the UK and the US, to gauge their attitudes and perceptions of digital influencers.
Many of the key findings reveal how influencer marketing has both exploded, while simultaneously come under more scrutiny than ever, with many marketers still expressing concern over fake followers and likes.
The introduction to the research piece calls out many allegations made this year that influencer marketing is plagued with transparency and authenticity issues, but emphasises the importance of not tarnishing the entire industry with the same brush. The data also reveals that many marketers are becoming smarter in the way they work with influencers, which will help to alleviate some of those issues going forward.
Many of the respondents agreed that they expect the influencer marketing industry to expand over the next few years, but that more challenges are ahead. For influencers, "the barriers to entry are becoming higher, which is making it harder for rising talent to break through," the report states.
Here are some of the key findings that look into how and why influencer marketing has evolved over the past year, and where it's likely to be headed between now and 2020.
Attention has shifted to micro-influencers
The report reveals that brands are beginning to focus on the quality of interaction between a talent and their following, along with their audience demographics.
As a consequence, brands are shifting their attention from top-tier talent to those demonstrating a higher levels of quality engagement and, "micro-influencers very often fit the bill," says the report.
56% of marketers questioned said that micro or niche influencers are more cost-effective for them to work with than top tier talent, and 61% say they believe they produce more relatable content.
US consumers particularly value the transparency of this segment of talent (44%).
Authenticity is critical to the future of influencer marketing
90% of marketers say authenticity is critical to the future of influencer marketing. The need for due diligence in selecting an influencer to work with, to ensure they are not only a credible match for the brand and their audience, but also the campaign in question, is also vital.
Consumer attitudes are similar, with 61% expressing a preference for influencers who create authentic, engaging content.
A new pool of talent could be closer to home
A select number of respondents stated that the pressure to demonstrate authenticity will drive brands to make better use of genuine advocates, and this may even extend to employees and customers, just look at Macy's Instagram page.
Also, more marketers are looking to create longer-term, meaningful partnerships with influencers that will yield more organic content. This is considered an improvement on data from a year ago that shows one-off posts were rife.
Proving the ROI of individual influencers is a big challenge
A resounding 84% of marketers agree that being able to demonstrate the ROI of influencer marketing will be critical to its future.
Additionally, proving the ROI of individual influencer collaborations is also cited as the greatest ongoing challenge (alongside identifying the best talent to work with).
Confusion continues to plague disclosure guidelines
The report shows that many brands are aware that consumer trust in influencer content is eroding, and 64% of marketers feel that drastic action to prove transparency is critical.
While the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK (ASA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US set guidelines for influencers, they have begun to take a harder line on individuals who are not properly disclosing their commercial brand relationships.
Industry experts interviewed say there is a strong case for more clearly defined rules that are not so open to interpretation.
‘Fake followers’ ranks as number one concern
Earlier this year, Unilever’s CMO Keith Weed, expressed his concern the current state of influencer marketing, which he argued is plagued with transparency and authenticity issues.
He claimed the industry should take a stand against fake or bought followers and refuse to work with influencers adopting such practices. “We need to take urgent action now to rebuild trust before it’s gone forever,” he said.
It is therefore unsurprising that many of this report's respondents rank ‘fake followers’ as their number one concern with influencer marketing.
Engagement is the number one benchmark for success
85% of marketers said engagement data, such as comments and content shares, is the biggest metric of success for influencer marketing.
"What was once an industry that measured its success according to big follower numbers and volume of ‘likes’, has matured significantly to focus on how audiences are reacting to and interacting with influencer content," says the report.
Investment in influencer marketing remains cautious
Despite the rising costs of influencers, 53% of marketers have less than 10% of their marketing budget to spend on influencers.
The report explains: "Some of the experts interviewed for this report claimed that brands are often restricted by campaign-specific budgets, which makes it difficult for them to secure longer-term budget allocation."
However, 58% of industry marketers surveyed believe that by 2020 influencer marketing will be entirely data-driven, and with this depth of analytics and information marketers will be more easily able to assess what an influencer is worth.
Experts interviewed for the report also spoke of the lack of industry benchmarks currently available, but greater access to data will make these more possible to establish.
The full report can be found at https://influencerintelligence.econsultancy.com/