Now that we have just entered the new year, we wanted to highlight a few trends that have shaped influencer marketing in 2018 and highlight what to expect in 2019.
Live streaming will become essential to viewership:
Instagram introduced IGTV in 2018; a live stream migrated into Instagram stories offering streaming of up to an hour from brands, celebrities and major influencers. A broadcasted TV channel where you have total control of when and how you stream content straight to your audience, ultimately giving power to influencers and brands to take their audience behind the scenes and advertise to the masses at the click of a record button. As Instagram introduces new ways to advertise via the live stream they are setting the trend for something major. Powerful tools that give viewers immediate access to brands and celebrities, it creates a TV channel completely tailored to answer questions, highlight products and advertise to viewers easily.
Also, Instagram’s influencer market is expected to double to $2B in 2019. Time to get your followers up and your brand strategy in place – Instagram is reaching new heights with online advertising.
Micro and Nano Influencers will be in the limelight:
Brands are seeking micro-influencers over celebrities, i.e those with 1K (nano) and 10K to 100k followers. We have found influencers with smaller numbers have higher engagement rates than those with 100k+ followers because they have built a genuine community that cares about what they have to say, and of course, if followers are engaging with content then it means they are more likely to stick around. So major brands are set to chase micro-influencers this year and shine a light on the 'little guys'.
Fake influencers will be booted:
Instagram, influencer agencies and brands actively cracked down on fake influencers in 2018, Instagram specifically banned mass follow apps and like farms globally. Instagram is working hard to stamp out apps that give people the ability to generate mass followings, likes and comments. This means those who fake their engagement rates and impressions will soon find their social media channels a lot quieter than before.
Advertisements will be labelled as advertisements:
The FTC is cracking down on influencers who do not label accurately the fact they are advertising brands and products. More strict regulations will follow into 2019 with guidelines that will keep on top of influencers who advertise without labeling as such; otherwise they could be faced with law suits.
AR technology will become the hottest thing on the market:
With Microsoft investing in new ways to completely change the way we interact with AR technology in gaming, we can be sure that major social media apps such as Snapchat and Instagram will find ways to integrate AR onto their platforms too. Facebook announced that AR technology will be available to brands who advertise on Facebook to use in the next year.
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