Is influencer marketing worth the hype?

Influencer marketing has become a major component of the fashion industry since the birth of the Instagram influencer. Since then, influencer marketing has grown to incorporate other social media platforms, including YouTube and TikTok. With the number of people going viral nowadays and the influencer market becoming so saturated, there’s a wonder in 2022 as to whether influencer marketing is worth the hype.

In the marketing world, influencer marketing has become a go-to strategy for brands to reach new audiences and engage customers. A survey by Mediakix found that 71 percent of the market believe the quality of customers and traffic they get from influencer campaigns is better than most sources.

There are advantages to using influencers with an established following. Many consumers start trusting brands because they’ve been endorsed by influencers they follow. In addition, consumers have proven to respond better to authentic recommendations from an influencer, rather than traditional advertising from a brand, because influencers seem more personal.

The right influencers aren’t always easy to find. It can take a company a lot of resources to find the right influencer. Consumers are also becoming skeptical of the authenticity of influencers, especially when it comes to things they are paid to promote. Despite the pros and cons surrounding influencer marketing, the Influencer industry is going stronger than ever.

Lisette Calveiro, an influencer consultant and content creator, told FashionUnited, “I’ve seen brands be more responsive to influencers than ever. As a consultant for influencers, we’ve been able to negotiate higher rates for pay for posts. Brands have more demand for influencers than ever as the industry continues to grow.”

The influencer marketing industry is set to approximately 16.4 billion dollars this year, and more than 75 percent of brand markets intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing for this fiscal year.

Influencer marketing is going stronger than ever

Influencer marketing also makes it easier for brands to stay relevant and visible in front of a target audience. After the COVID-19 lockdowns, as an entire human race, we had to be re-introduced to face-to-face interactions. For a while, they were very rare, but at the end of the day, if there was money spending taking place, companies had to move forward with business as usual.

Although influencer partnerships came to a halt because of COVID-19, since the return of travel and fashion events, they are thriving again. At this point, it might seem like influencer marketing has been in our lives forever, but it is still a relatively new concept. The time of influencer marketing won’t be up anytime soon either.

Instagram alone has over 500 million daily users alone, and TikTok has over 1 billion. Marketingmag found that 68 percent of Instagram users come to the platform to engage with influencers. Despite the trials and tribulations of influencer marketing, 91 percent of brands believe that influencer marketing is effective.

Although influencer marketing has changed, as it isn’t always about just getting the person with the largest platform, the power of influencer marketing isn’t waning. If anything, as evidenced by the front rows of Fashion Month, its power is stronger than ever. It will continue to evolve to new platforms, but the era of the social media influencer will thrive.