How Professional Influencer Marketing Will Change in 2022

With 40% of people saying that they’ve purchased an item online after seeing an influencer use it, you don’t want to miss out on a money-making opportunity in 2022

The latest in our influencer marketing series brings us to explain how influencer marketing will change in 2022.

This recent trend in marketing has influencers and marketers alike finding new ways to reach audiences and promote products and services. There are five key ways that influencer marketing will be changing according to our partners at HubSpot.

Micro-influencers will have a greater impact.

Micro-influencers may seem like the smallest players in the influencer marketing game, but they pack the biggest punch.

Recent research suggests that micro-influencers may actually produce better results than mega-influencers. That’s because as influencers become more popular, sometimes their engagement goes down.

And according to HubSpot Blog Research, brands are not looking at follower count first when considering influencers. It’s more about the quality of their content and engagement rates. Because of this, micro-influencers will likely have more influence than celebrities in 2022.

Influencer activity will extend beyond Instagram.

A 2021 HubSpot Blog Research survey found that Instagram is the most popular place for influencer marketing. However, it’s surprisingly not the platform that brings in the highest ROI.

Turns out, that’s actually Facebook.

This doesn’t mean that Instagram is fading into the background anytime soon. However, it seems more brands are expanding beyond Instagram and considering how other channels can support their marketing efforts.

In 2022, keep an eye out for influencer marketing on YouTube, Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Pinterest, especially if your audience leans more toward Generation Z.

Employees and customers will become influencers.

We’ve talked about the power of marketing through your customers, but have you considered how powerful your customers could be as influencers? Customers are people who already know about, like, and own your product; this makes for an easy transition from customer advocacy to customer influence.

The same goes for your employees — people who’ve invested time and creativity into growing your business. This factor alone gives your staff genuine credibility.

As people who are already engaged with the development of your product or service, employees can be natural advocates. In 2022, we’ll likely see the rise of these two parties as brand influencers.

Businesses will invest in long-term relationships, not one-off campaigns.

You’ve read about this in our previous articles — it can be tough and expensive to identify and connect with the right influencer. In the past, brands usually hired influencers for one-time campaigns. As we move into 2022, however, we’ll likely see brands building long-term relationships instead.

Not only does this effort save time, energy, and money for marketers, but it also allows the influencer to build trust with and make a greater impact on a brand’s audience.

Long-term relationships with influencers also increase credibility for whatever product or service the influencer is marketing.

Join the Revolution

Utilizing an influencer marketing campaign can effectively generate buzz for your brand or product/service. By working with the right type of influencers, you can easily reach a broader audience and target potential customers. In fact, 40% of people have reported making online purchases after seeing an influencer use a product, making it a highly profitable approach.

To maximize the return on investment, it’s crucial to carefully select content creators that align with your brand and resonate with your targeted audience. By collaborating with influencers, you can leverage their expertise and audience to create compelling content that engages potential customers and drives conversions. Don’t miss out on the benefits that influencer marketing can offer.

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By Leslie Radford