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Written by Hoozu CEO, Natalie Giddings.

Influencer Marketing is not slowing down any time soon. As is its character, it continues to evolve and develop within a broader marketing and social context. I’ve taken a look at what those broader influences are on our industry, and what I expect the impact will be.

The E-Commerce Boom

The pandemic accelerated growth of e-commerce as lockdown hindered physical shopping. 

Consumer behaviour has changed forever. The ecommerce boom has been driven by mcommerce, ‘By Now Pay Later’ options, Direct to Consumer avenues, and a heavy adoption of click & collect services. Shopify has lowered barriers to brands selling online. TikTok users now spend as much time on the platform as YouTube users spend on YouTube. Naturally, Digital Advertising also spiked globally. The Great Realignment, eMarketer (Sep 8, 2022 ‘Who Stands to Win the Battle for Consumers’ Time, Attention, and Money’). Even Amazon was suddenly given a run for its money as traditional retailers were forced to quickly catch-up. 

We are seeing a large uptick in brands reaching out to jump on to these megatrends. Suddenly, Influencer Marketing is not only a more valuable option, it is an essential one. The influencer tactic is shifting from a purely PR, feel-good awareness exercise, toward a controlled, measured, sales-driven, conversion channel. ROI-first programs have become commonplace. 

Relatability Supersedes Ad Targeting

The death of the cookie, and other digital advertising targeting constraints – set to get even more restrictive over the next 18 months – are causing challenges for marketers. As such, brands look to place budgets in more native marketing environments, such as Influencer Marketing. We’ve seen an increase in brands requesting usage rights on Influencer content for paid advertising as they come to appreciate the ability of social Creators to produce large amounts of meaningful, relatable and persuasive content. Influencer Marketing is about more than just gaining reach through followers; it is now also a source of content to fuel brands’ creative pipeline needs.

Netflix vs TikTok

There is an interesting battle emerging between two key video entertainment platforms: Netflix and TikTok. As it stands, Netflix’s viewtime is higher, though stagnant, at 61 mins/day for the average US adult. Meanwhile, TikTok’s view time is lower but rapidly increasing, currently at 47 mins/per day. (The Daily: 2023 social trends, 9th January 2023). On the flip side, ad-spend on TikTok is growing rapidly whilst Netflix continues to struggle. Why? Because marketers are seeing the greater benefit of directing spend at ‘lean-in’, social platforms. Whilst Netflix is something one switches on when needing to switch off and ‘lean-back’ to relax; TikTok engages its viewers on a more interactive level. TikTok offers content created by users for users; it requires physical action and its short-form nature reignites attention every few seconds. By partnering with TikTok creators, brands can reach switched-on audiences within the seamless flow of the app. Naturally ad-spend will be directed more and more in the direction of these ‘lean-in’ mediums.

An Awakened Audience Mean Amateur Hour is Over

Audiences are becoming more clued-in to the best practices of influencers. Followers demand transparency, authenticity and high-value content from the Creators they follow. As we discussed in our previous post about Disclosure Dobbing, Australian audiences are actively calling-out Influencers they follow for not disclosing their ads. Furthermore, in a recession-climate, audiences are more awakened to the power Influencer Marketing can have on them. Therefore, for this tactic to be successful, programs need to be authentic and strategy-driven, and selected talent need to be of the highest quality. A single, product-placement style post from an amateur creator looking to make a small buck, will simply no longer convert.  As Influencer Marketing spend grows, demand on the smaller pool of quality-influencers has begun outstretching supply. The strongest brand-creator partnerships will now be built on the Influencer’s terms; and I am certain this can only be beneficial to the brands as well. 

 

With online retail increasing continually; online-tracking becoming more difficult; attention spans becoming shorter and harder to grab; and audiences becoming more switched-on – high-quality, strategy-led Influencer Marketing will become the key tool in more and more brands’ marketing kits this year. Those who do not engage its power risk being left behind and overlooked by potential customers.

If you’re keen to explore the Influencer Marketing avenue for your brand, but aren’t sure how to navigate its fast-paced, turbulent trajectory, then get in touch. At Hoozu we’re passionate about staying ahead of the trends in Australia’s Influencer Marketing scene.