2019 was a big year for influencer marketing. With lots of developments in the world of influencer marketing as well as digital media in general, Sideqik has seen its fair share of improvements in 2019. As we head into 2020, here are a few trends based on what we saw in 2019.
Influencer Marketing Entered Age of Transparency
To put it simply, brands and consumers are overwhelmed by the oversaturation of the influencer marketing industry. While previous iterations of influencer marketing focused on tricking their audiences with sponsorships or keeping them secret, more consumers are requesting influencers that openly disclose the intricacies of their brand partnerships. This turned into a global phenomena, resulting in more authentic and transparent voices amongst the Internet noise. We expect this trend to continue into 2020, with more brands taking proactive stances on both socioeconomic and environmental issues to appeal to wider audiences.
Gen Z and Millennials Changed Brand Expectations
Each generation is marked by differences in purchasing power and spending habits. Millennials are very frugal and focus their spending in splurges–while Gen Z spend their money at calculated intervals for products that they deem have an outstanding purpose or mission. These two age groups determine which brands sink or swim, and brands are taking notice. Our observation is that the most successful brands are the ones that are upfront about their ethics, materials and company goals–relating into more authentic, transparent and eco-conscious relationships from brand to consumer.
TikTok Emerged as a Global Phenomena
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of TikTok. The Chinese-owned company emerged as a global trailblazer, quickly scooping up the demographics of its predecessors Vine and Musical.ly. The undeniable influence of TikTok has drawn creators and consumers–and most recently, brands–to the platform with no signs of stopping. We predict that as TikTok grows, influencers and advertisers will figure out ways to infiltrate the platform with their messaging and marketing. In the next couple of years, expect to see more advertisements and influencer marketing campaigns within 15 seconds.
Authenticity vs. Fraud
In 2019, vanity metrics were the main way of measuring an influencer’s success. Fraud accounts with purchased followers quickly entered the market and into falsified brand partnerships, causing brands to lose thousands of dollars to accounts with little-to-no influence. We witnessed the rise of authenticity as a direct result of the rise of influencer fraud, and as a result are now entering a time where vanity metrics are no longer the sole way to measure influencer success.
Instagram Removed Likes
The biggest news for influencer marketing in 2019 was the announcement that Instagram was removing likes on their platform–banishing the vanity metrics that the industry has grown around. Without likes to display the success of influencers in campaigns, we predict that ROI and other performance metrics will take precedence in brand partnerships. Expect more brands and advertisers to gauge success from influencer campaigns on the total number of sales the influencer gets for the brand instead of the amount of likes they get on a picture. While this shift will scare a lot of the industry, we are far from the end of influencer marketing–Instagram removing likes just forces brands to evolve their strategies even further.
2019 SIDEQIK MILESTONES:
Total Earned Media Value from Campaigns in 2019 – $1,354,891,653.47
In 2019, Sideqik garnered a grand total of $1,354,891,653.47 of Earned Media Value from influencer partnerships in the past year. 9,673 influencers created 215,153 posts, which created 20,800,333,920 impressions, which generated 934,368,381 engagements, which resulted in our grand total EMV.
Total Influencers Used in Campaigns in 2019 – 23,704
In 2019, Sideqik helped brands partner with influencers–23,704 influencers, to be exact–in successful digital marketing and social media campaigns. Our customers were able to search our database of over 20 million influencers to find the right ones.
Total Promotions and Activations in 2019 — 973
In 2019, Sideqik was used to create 567 promotional campaigns, receiving a total of 10,609 actions and a combined total of 34,788,990 individual entries.
2020 PREDICTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS:
Since 2019 was a year of changes for influencer marketing, we expect 2020 to further explore the trajectory this year started. We anticipate more emphasis on transparency and authenticity with influencer marketing campaigns as more brands shift their traditional strategies to include opinionated stances on global and national issues. As the industry continues to change, we expect to see a growing focus on overall business objectives. With more ways to measure influencer marketing than ever, we predict that brands will use a more analytic approach to determine which influencers they want to work with. With more quantifiable data available through influencer tracking softwares, brands will identify their goals with more metrics–providing an effective way to measure the success of their influencer campaigns.
Despite the shifts that took place this year, 2019 was a defining time for influencer marketing–and we’re excited for everything that 2020 will throw at us.
Ready to add influencer marketing to your 2020 marketing strategy? Chat with our demo team about how Sideqik can streamline the process and prove your ROI.
Maria Lewczyk
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