Influencer marketing really took off in 2022, and we expect this trend to continue in 2023. Why? 89% of marketers currently engaged in influencer marketing will increase or maintain their investment in the next year.
In addition, 17% of marketers plan to invest in it for the first time in the next year.
When marketers partner with influencers and industry leaders in their field, they can expand brand awareness and gain fans from the influencer's own audience.
Can't afford to hire a famous influencer with millions of followers? That's okay. In fact, more than 56% of marketers who invest in influencer marketing work with micro-influencers.
Microinfluencers are social media promoters with fewer followers (typically thousands to tens of thousands of followers). Although they have fewer followers, their posts often have more power due to higher engagement rates.
These influencers have also found a niche in their industry - so they've started to play a bigger role in converting leads, connecting with audiences and raising brand awareness.
Because micro-influencers are still considered "regular" people (as opposed to hard-to-reach celebrities), their audiences are actually more likely to trust their opinions and recommendations.
For example, Rosie, who is known as The Londoner, is a popular travel and lifestyle influencer with over 330,000 loyal followers who interact and engage with her posts. The profile post image below shows that with almost 36,000 likes, Rosie achieves almost 11% engagement.
While it's tempting to look only at the number of followers when determining if an influencer is a good fit for your brand, remember that true influence lives in the engagement (clicks, subscriptions and purchases).