Influencer Marketing Trends 2018

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Last year, influencer marketing began to gain considerable relevance among experts and was highlighted in the main national marketing forums.


Just to give you an idea, between 2015 and 2017, the term “Influencer Marketing” increased approximately 500% in Google’s organic search volume.

This is largely due to several articles and publications that portrayed the channel as the “next wave” of digital marketing, driven by the North American and European markets.

However, like any emerging market seeking to gain confidence and reach maturity, overcoming the barriers of lack of regulations, clear standards and absence of good practices are the main challenges.

On the other hand, the fact is that influencer marketing is whatsapp mexico already a reality and is on the agenda for most companies this year. Not considering this in your marketing strategy may no longer be a competitive advantage.

Check out the main trends for influencer marketing this year:

Influencer Marketing 01. More investment in the sector
The growth of actions on social networks with influencers became the big star of the digital advertising market in 2017. According to an estimate by MediaKix , in 2018 the influencer market on Instagram will move 1 billion dollars, with investments expected to double in 2019.

Another relevant piece of information is in the Linqia report , which shows that 4 out of 10 marketing professionals plan to increase investments in influencers in 2018.

This increase in budgets suggests that brands are understanding the value of influencer marketing not only for increasing brand awareness, but also for incorporating it into other strategies such as: launching new products, generating leads, increasing engagement, etc.

Influencer Marketing 02. Greater attention to campaign metrics
With the increase in investments in the sector, measuring and justifying investments ends up being a challenge for many brands that still have doubts about the true return on work with influencers.

According to a report by Linqia , the priority for 78% of professionals working with influencer marketing is campaign measurement and clarity about ROI.

This happens mainly because most of the influencer marketing tools available on the market focus on the initial work process, which is the research and identification of influencers, while a minimal portion is concerned with the performance and measurement stages of campaigns.

The expectation with the maturation of the market, and the needs of marketing professionals to justify investments, is the emergence of adequate tools to measure the success of the campaign and the individual performance of influencers.

Influencer Marketing 03. Instagram as the main platform for influencer marketing
With several social platforms as options, the bet that should dominate Brazilian advertising budgets in 2018 is Instagram

The photo-based social network has grown exponentially in recent years worldwide. According to the latest report released by Instagram itself , the network surpassed the 800 million user mark last year. Brazil represents the second largest market, with more than 50 million registered users.

This phenomenon has increasingly motivated companies and brands to invest in advertisements and campaigns on the platform, which has been introducing constant new features, such as the inclusion of Stories and live broadcasts.

An interesting fact is that, after the introduction of “stories” on Instagram, Snapchat’s growth dropped by 83%, and Instagram gained even more notoriety and prominence, especially among Millennials.

From a brand perspective, a huge field of possibilities has opened up to explore this functionality, whether to convey a message with greater relevance or even to engage and relate to your audience in a more intimate way.

For content creators, features like this allow them to develop even more solid communication, bringing relevance to partner brands and developing a relationship of trust with their audience.

Influencer Marketing 04. Integration with other marketing strategies
We know that content plays an important role in the consumer's purchasing journey. Integrating work with influencers with other marketing strategies means building even more relevant touchpoints for the brand along this path of interaction with the customer.

According to Forrester , the average consumer engages with 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchase. A Nielsen study reveals that 92% of consumers trust recommendations made by individuals more than by brands.

Therefore, working with influencers can be essential during the purchasing journey, whether in the consideration stage – through educational content, reviews, tutorials – or in the purchase stage – incorporating discount coupons, affiliate links or even exclusive access.

Ultimately, the market has realized that influencer marketing achieves better results when aligned with other strategies throughout the consumer journey.

Influencer Marketing 05. Relationship-oriented partnership
In a retrospective analysis, we see influencer marketing being widely disseminated by what we call “one shot campaign”, that is, the interaction between brand and influencer is for quick objectives and specific campaigns.

We attribute this phenomenon largely to a transactional relationship based on media purchasing, where the brand sees the influencer merely as a space for dissemination and not as a person who expresses opinions and interacts with their audience, generating influence and causing variable perceptions.

Throughout 2017, however, we saw brands and influencers build genuine relationships, where there is mutual respect, trust and cooperation. This type of partnership – relationship-oriented – is becoming very important, as it contributes to more organic content sharing – with influencers generally representing brands they believe in and promoting products/services that are part of their daily lives.

Building a network of influencers that you can continually activate is a valuable tool for brands in 2018. Remember, influence is something you earn, not something you buy. By building relationships with people your customers trust, your brand will gain lasting influence.