There is no doubt that influencer marketing has influenced how social media marketing is done and will continue to do so. Brands now use influencers to reach a new audience and market their products and services. However, with the constantly changing social media landscape, they need to understand and learn how to adapt to the many changes.

From the effects of AI to the in-house influencers and ways in which brands leverage exclusive content, there is a lot that brands can do to keep the trend moving. Fortunately, this article will uncover the top influencer marketing trends that businesses and individuals need to know.

Leveraging Micro and Nano Influencers

Across different platforms, there has been a shift toward using nano and micro-influencers. According to one study, 43% of marketers suggested they were using nano and micro-influencers more in July 2024. Another study suggested that in May 2024, 53.8% of brands used nano influencers.

This can be attributed to the fact that these categories of influencers have a more engaged audience than the mega influencers. A nano influencer has between 1K and 10K followers while the micro influencer has 10k and 100K followers. Brands realize that these influencers have a genuine connection with their niche audience. The results are higher engagement levels than those of mega and macro influencers. Nano and micro influencers can be a good way to use influencer marketing with dropshipping.

Use of AI in Influencer Marketing

Like other areas of the internet, AI also creates and impacts different influencer marketing strategies to increase personalization, efficiency, and content creation. Statistics indicate that 54.8% of marketers consider AI an integral part of influencer marketing, as it improves efficiency. 

Many brands now use AI-generated avatars in their campaigns, while others leverage Symphony AI tools on TikTok. Another area where AI is helping marketers is in content generation. Beyond 2024, brands will continue to use AI-generated content in their campaigns, which will be a sign of the impact of AI on influencer marketing.

Shift in Platform Preferences

Every few years, there has been a shift in the choice of social media platforms for individuals and brands. A few years back, Facebook was the in-thing before Instagram took the focus from the latter. Until now, Instagram remains the top platform for brands, with TikTok following closely. You can read our guide on steps to follow in TikTok influencer marketing.

According to recent data, YouTube is also getting traction, recording a 41.1% increase in usage in June 2024. Across different channels, brands are showing more faith in influencer marketing as they allocate more budgets despite harsh economic uncertainties. 

More Focus on a Long-term Partnership

Businesses now focus on long-term partnerships, emphasizing consistent brand messaging and deepening their influencer relationships. Statistics indicate that 34.6% of marketers prioritize constant communication, with another 15.6% prioritizing exclusive communication. A long-term relationship works better than one-off campaigns to build more sustainable relationships and trust in the audience.

With a long-term partnership, brands can create consistent and cohesive messaging that aligns with their image. This can help them to achieve more unified messaging across different platforms. When influencers work with a brand in the long term, they can get valuable feedback depending on the interactions and experiences of the audience. Brands can then use the feedback to refine their strategies and cater to their target demographic.

Focus on Authentic Influencer Marketing

Many brands now prefer working with influencers who offer authenticity, transparency, and genuineness in the partnership between the influencer and the brand. An authentic influencer focuses on sharing real opinions and experiences instead of just promoting some products and services. They use their platforms to share authentic personal stories with which their audiences resonate. This results in a better connection.

On the other hand, influencers are also choosing to work with brands that share their interests and values. Before they select to promote a product, they ensure it matters to them, increasing their credibility as influencers. This trend has resulted from the evolving influencer marketing landscape where customers seek genuine connections with the people they follow.

According to a Sprout Social report, 35% of Gen Z customers suggest authenticity is the top trait they look at when following an influencer. That's unlike the older generations, such as millennials, who suggest following influencers who align with their values. Gen Z is among the largest internet users, so they can easily detect inauthentic partnerships and endorsements. Instead of showing loyalty to brands, they prefer the personal recommendations of influencers who educate or entertain them.

Emerging Content Trends

In 2024, another rising influencer marketing trend is the popularity of different content formats, such as Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, and Branded hashtag challenges. This is an indication that there is an increased demand for dynamic and short-form content.

Statistics indicate that in July 2024, there was an increase in branded hashtag challenges by 20.7%, while the adoption of TikTok shops also rose by 20.3%. Another study shows that video content remains the most popular type of content. These statistics indicate that brands must continuously refine their strategies and adopt new content formats and technologies while focusing on genuine engagement and tracing results.

Evolution of Purchasing Powers

There was a time when in-person demos and window shopping were big. While social commerce functionality and in-app shopping go nowhere, influencer marketing will change how we shop. According to an influencer marketing report, half of all consumers buy a product once per month due to influencer posts.

By creating different types of videos, such as live reviews, hauls, and GRWM, consumers get better product knowledge while selecting products based on the recommendations of their top influencers. For instance, one of the pioneers of social commerce is Facebook, a great choice for influencer marketing.

Live Shopping

Live shopping involves the use of social media to sell products and services. In 2024, this is one of the influencer marketing trends, and it will continue to grow. Many influencers now go to social media to show off their products and sell stuff to users using live videos and other interactive ways.

Customers are also warming to live shopping with companies like Facebook, Google, and TikTok. Social media sites are also adding the feature to enhance it further. For instance, Instagram now has a live shopping feature that enables users to buy products and services right inside the live videos. 

This is a great feature as it makes users feel like they are doing live shopping. That means in the coming year or years, we will see more use of these live shopping features. Therefore, you will see more of these types of partnerships in the coming years.

Increase in Employee-generated Content

Another key trend in influencer marketing involves companies requiring their employees to create and share content about a brand. One of the benefits of employee-generated content is an increase in authenticity for products considered trustworthy by consumers. With employees sharing insights, perspectives, and experiences about a company and its products or services, this helps to add some level of authenticity that cannot be achieved using traditional marketing.

Employee-generated content also helps to add diversity to brand messaging. Such diversity helps businesses to connect with bigger audiences and show their commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Such content helps provide personality and a human face to the brand. The result is that it becomes more approachable and relatable. Therefore, when done strategically and as per the brand’s objectives and values, employee-generated content can be a great tool for communication, marketing, and brand building.

The Rise of CIOs (Chief Influencer Officer)

Another trend that shows an increase in the popularity of influencer marketing is the rise of CIOs. These are usually strategic leaders who define and implement different influencer marketing strategies. These officers are usually hired based on their deeper understanding of the influencer marketing landscape. They have a wide range of roles, such as:

• Identifying the best influencers.
• Negotiating the right partnerships with influencers.
• Ensuring an influencer marketing campaign aligns with the brand’s image and bigger marketing initiatives.
• Determining how effective their campaigns are.
• Collaboration with marketing departments to integrate influencer marketing.

When companies create dedicated posts for influencer marketers, they can easily tap into the potential of influencer collaborations, create more authentic connections, and increase business growth in the increasing social-media and digital-driven world.

Use of Influencers in Affiliate Marketing

For a long time, affiliate marketing and influencer marketing have been seen as two anonymous marketing methods that operate independently of one another. However, these are interrelated as they both involve a third party promoting a company’s products.

We are seeing a rise in influencer marketing platforms such as Refersion, a platform for both. This indicates that the line between influencers and affiliates is becoming thinner, and influencer platforms are integrating more with eCommerce. That also means the role of influencer marketers is also becoming greater. Rather than awareness, they are now also driving sales. 

On the other hand, affiliate marketing was previously dominated by publishers and bloggers who created content such as product reviews, walkthroughs, and demonstrations. They sometimes advertise several products from different companies to increase their revenues.

One of the shifts in influencer marketing involves influencers recommending the products they use or trust to followers. To avoid compromising the trust of their followers, they only recommend the products they believe in. The influencers can make or unbox videos showing how the product works and include a call-to-action. They take their followers from awareness to purchasing personally and authentically throughout the sales journey.

Brands are starting to realize that influencers are affiliates they can use to their advantage. Using the affiliate marketing model motivates influencers to work harder since they are paid according to the results they drive. This is also beneficial to brands as they only pay for the results. Therefore, affiliate marketing is one of the ways in which influencers make money.

The Rise in Popularity of Shorter Videos

In the past, TikTok was the king of short videos. Today, other apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have implemented the idea of bringing the likes of reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat Spotlights. This has also transformed how influencer marketing is done, with influencers now collaborating with brands to make quick and easy-to-watch videos. The goal is to deliver information in small pieces, capturing the viewer’s attention.

The Need for Better Representation and Diversity

Nowadays, brands prioritize top influencers who are diverse and from a wide range of cultures, backgrounds, and identities. Content creators, consumers, and influencers also note how brands approach representation and diversity. Gen Zs particularly consider diversity and representation when making a buying decision. A Deloitte report indicates that respondents aged 18 to 25 looked at the representation when purchasing.

Communities also watch brands' voices in celebrations such as cultural heritage. Brands also need to consider including small communities in their celebrations. They should, therefore, collaborate with influencers who resonate with their diverse target audience.

Influencer Marketing Challenges

Many brands confess their top challenge is identifying the top influencer to work with. On top of that, they also find it hard to measure their ROI when adapting to platform changes. According to one study, 21.9% of marketers confessed that they tend to monitor social media sentiments. This is an indication that brands are focusing on real-time and qualitative metrics.

A Focus on Multiplatform Creators

While many influencers have one platform where they are popular, most operate across multiple platforms. Brands realize that instead of finding creatives for each platform, they can work with one influencer across multiple platforms. For instance, some influencers may have a large following on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Brands with such creators can increase their visibility across different platforms.

Final Thoughts

In a highly competitive world of influencer marketing, brands must stay ahead. By understanding the latest influencer marketing trends and shifts in influencer marketing campaigns, brands can understand how to make the most out of it and get a good ROI on their marketing budget. We recommend you read our guide on how to become an influencer on TikTok.