Here are five trends to consider when building your influencer marketing strategy in 2022:

1. Use data to fit the right influencers with your brand’s target demographic:

When finding influencers to work with, it’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics, like the number of followers. But a large following doesn’t mean you’re targeting the right audience or driving traffic to your social media or website. So when sourcing influencers, consider the following:

• Fact check an influencer’s audience demographics: This is key to a successful campaign. At Talk Shop, we use a platform that allows us access to advanced audience demographics to ensure the influencer’s network aligns with the brand’s target consumer audience.

• Don’t be afraid of engaging micro-influencers: Working with micro-influencers is becoming increasingly popular because their niche and highly engaged audience enables them to foster a strong community.

2. Diversity and inclusion should always be top of mind:

Influencers and consumers are analyzing branded messages, campaigns and content to make sure everyone is represented. Consumers need to see themselves reflected in partnerships and ads, which can positively affect consumer behaviours.

3: Invest in long-term brand ambassadors rather than one-off campaigns:

Authentic and genuine content should always be a goal when working with influencers as it resonates better with consumers. A great way to do this is to invest in brand ambassadors, resulting in authentic content and building credibility over time. One-off campaigns tend to appear scripted and insincere as the influencer is less likely to post again about the product/brand. Regular, authentic content is needed to engage consumers with your brand and feel the benefits and real use of the product.

4. Leverage influencer content for user-generated content:

User-generated content is content that’s created by anyone but the brand – it can be social media posts, comments or testimonials shared by consumers and influencers. It’s a great way to share valuable content, showcase customer stories and connect with your audience. Boosting the influencer’s content is an effective way to cut through the noise of traditional sponsored and branded content to build trust with consumers. Sharing your influencer-generated content on your website, social media channels or integrating it into your digital campaigns will increase conversions and cultivate a community.

5: TikTok will continue to rise in popularity as it evolves its e-commerce functions:

TikTok has become the social media darling over the last year and a half. As the platform’s user base has grown, they have also evolved their e-commerce and social shopping functions, making it an attractive advertising platform for brands targeting Gen Z or millennials.

TikTok has organically integrated ads into content that users don’t realize they are watching. This sponsored content has enabled brands to tap into trends, allowing them to maximize engagement through entertainment and better connect with consumers. Its evolving e-commerce tools would allow users to go from discovery to action within seconds. When users engage with ads they can browse a brand’s website within the app creating a seamless experience for the consumer allowing them to quickly and easily return to their feed.

Interested in talking shop with us about influencer marketing? Drop us a line by visiting our contact page here.