Influencers: The New Marketing Trend in 2021

In the past 12 months of 2020, there has been a 325% increase in Google searches for “influencer marketing”. This shows the shift from old traditional methods to online influencer based marketing in 2021. According to a survey conducted online, around 92% of brands will turn to online influencer marketing campaigns in 2021. But why is influencer marketing a promising way of branding in the post-pandemic world?

RISE IN SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

At the start of 2020, there were just 3.48 billion social media users, which rapidly increased to 3.78 billion users by the end of 2020. It is expected that by the year 2025 there will be more than 4.5 billion social media users available online. This gives an amazing opportunity for brands to invest in social media marketing with help of influencers to strengthen their brand image and increase sales. Thus it is the fastest growing online consumer acquisition method.

HIGH NUMBER OF CONTENT AND ENGAGEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Users post a gigantic number of 4.2 billion posts every day on just Instagram, which is a huge growth compared to the previous years. After Instagram was bought by Facebook it has seen a 600% rise in users. Instagram engagement rates have become more than twitter engagement in 2020. 79% of brands prefer Instagram for Influencer marketing, followed by 46% preferring Facebook and 36% preferring YouTube. The rising content updates and content engagement in terms of shares and likes show a promising future for brands.

The number of brand-sponsored influencer posts has also been rising exponentially. The posts have almost doubled by the end of 2020 and will increase more folds in 2021.

INFLUENCER MARKETING SPREADS WORDS AT A RAPID RATE

When you hire an Influencer online, you get to reach out to their already developed follower circle easily for your brand image. Their word of mouth travels faster than any other source of marketing. According to a study for every 1$ spent on Influencer marketing the company has had 7.65$ returns which is very cost-effective. People also tend to believe more in user experience and reviews more than advertisements created by brands to amp up their image.

MICRO INFLUENCERS ARE ON RISE

Micro-influencers are those social media users who are not influencers but have more than average social media followers. With micro-influencers, one doesn’t have to spend much and can use more creative methods of marketing. For example, if a micro-influencer buys your product, give them a discount for advertising it and generating more sales through their contacts. This works like network marketing on social media digitally.

From just being an option for brands, in 2021 more brands are switching to Influencer marketing for their core sales. Social Sanskaari has well-trained experts to guide you to get high conversion rates using Influencer Marketing for your brand. They also provide other social media marketing solutions apart from just influencers to help your brand grow stronger.

Branding & Advertising in 2021

As the global pandemic swept many off their feet it opened up many avenues for a business to grow creatively like never before. New transformational digital ideas have emerged, eliminating the old traditional methods. The world is in such a state of continuously evolving, it is difficult to pinpoint some specific trends. Yet below are five of the most promising trends to emerge in 2021.

1. INFLUENCER MARKETING: Ad blockers have been in widespread use and by 2021 27% of the online audience is expected to use ad blockers. Young audiences also have stopped responding to display advertisements and shifting their focus on influencers. 2020 has seen a rise in social media users, and that provides a virgin market for sponsored content and influencer advertising. Micro-influencers will also rise in 2021on social media handles such as Instagram and Facebook.

2. BRANDS THAT SERVE THE SOCIETY: People have become more passionate about the environment and social causes during the global pandemic. The online force is fuelled by Gen Z, who will be the potential consumers in the future. Around 81% of consumers strongly feel that the brands should contribute to the environment and take meaningful stands on social issues.

3. CREATIVE DIGITAL SOLUTIONS: In 2021 we are recovering from a falling economy and evolving into a new economy. The online contents have to be creative to catch the consumer’s attention and stay there. Interactive Contents like quizzes, contests, polls, will be more valuable than just display advertisements. Games and virtual reality fueled advertising will also see a rise in the near future, where consumers can enjoy the benefits in one single click.

4. DIGITALIZATION and PHYSICAL PRESENCE WILL GO HAND IN HAND: As the pandemic came in, most brands switched to digital portals to reach out to their consumers. Even though Digital shopping is easy, people still will prefer to physically engage in services and products. In 2021, there will be a blend of both the digital marketing and physical presence of brands. Live streaming shopping events, virtual reality-based marketing merged with a creative interactive option on retail stores will be emerging.

5. BRAND TO BRAND COLLABORATIONS: Unexpected partnerships gain social media attention, and also cut down on celebrity endorsement fees. 2021 is bound to see more partnerships between brands using very few budgets. This helps share the consumer pool each brand has created and reach out to more potential customers. It not also shares the data pool, but also shares the creative marketing strategies. The thing that will catch attention is that consumers will get the benefits of both of their brands of choice in one service or product.

In such times, one can consult professional marketing service experts to strengthen their branding and advertising game in 2021. Social Sanskaari provides the digital solution to all your online marketing needs to keep you a step ahead of other brands.