Factors expected to drive influencer marketing in 2022

The impact influencer marketing has had on the top line for today’s brands remains uncontested. Because of how influencer marketing is no longer just a “feel good” marketing exercise but a “must-have” for brands, their influence has percolated from top of the funnel brand awareness to now middle and bottom of the sales funnel. The one thing traditional commerce always lacked was the personal touch of a salesperson – someone that could impact the purchase decision based on sentiment and unadvertised value. Thus, when someone influential with expertise in the product category you’re wanting to make a purchase in pops up on your screen within the scope of the social media platforms you already employ, the advice this person gives seems like a natural extension to a word-of-mouth campaign: real, believable, and authentic. While 2021 saw an exponential rise of influencer marketing, 2022 brings with it a promise for the industry with live and social marketing channels taking shape in India. The way forward in this style of marketing influence, therefore, is to make it more personal for the buyer while facilitating the growth of the influencer marketing industry.

A lot of the various interpretations of social learning theories is yet to be leveraged within the influencer marketing ecosystem in India. We know that one key idea with respect to influencer marketing is reducing the perceived risk in the purchase journey. “Perceived risk”, by definition, is a subjective determination of the expectation of future loss. This is deeply tied to: (a) the apprehension one may face with an influencer pushing an agenda, and (b) the authenticity of the source and the underlying trust attached to the influencer that motivates the purchase decision. In India, most influencer-driven campaigns are perceived no differently than paid endorsements and TVC’s. 2022, therefore, is destined to be about reducing this perceived risk by displaying a consistency of opinions for each influencer: the same opinion about the same product in similar or different content forms across all social media platforms from the same influencer. While this helps with brand visibility across various platforms, it makes the influencer look legitimately in awe or concerned about the product they are promoting.

All that only boils down to the other factor in 2022 that will drive influencer marketing: all social media platforms adopting various influencer marketing models and providing outlets for the same. The thought experiment that the future of influencer marketing solely depends on the antecedents of a prime generation’s consumer habits will yield limited fruit. In contrast, the notion worth exploring is one which encompasses the implementation of common and uncommon influencer marketing strategies beyond the current realms. It seems sound, therefore, for social media platforms to algorithmically promote social commerce live streams and short forms of content with a dedicated “Buy Now” button.

The other thing that the need for authenticity brings with it is long-term partnerships between brands and influencers. The success of influencer marketing is predicated on the admiration or loyalty one may have for an influential person. As consumers enjoy seeing their favorite influencers talk about a particular set of brands, the influencer being retained by the brand seems natural for two reasons: (a) sales take time, and you have to retain the influencer till you move a significant amount of inventory that ensures a free-flow of goods; and (b) the influencer becomes the face of the brand to a large subset of your consumers, thus making his or her presence indispensable to the purchase decision. For brands, it makes so much more sense to go for longer contracts than on-off ones with these influencers.

At the end of the day, all this is about brand reach. And with the influencer marketing wave come two complimenting factors that assist brand reach: micro influencers and UGC’s. As of today, micro influencers are heavily under-utilized for social commerce purposes. But not for long: micro influencers command geographical and linguistic niches that may be untouched by the heavily mainstreamed advertising. Add to that, the rise of UGC’s: user generated content such as reviews, ratings, comments, and likes have been ecommerce calibrators that are now paving their way in the social commerce space to add to the authenticity of the brand. Both these factors improve the reach of brands that would otherwise only rely on tier I and tier II city sales.

And while we talk about what may be new for 2022, why discount the rise of live and social commerce platforms! The likes of Roposo and Trell are gradually becoming household names, bringing in the dawn of live and social commerce with every single large marketplace now venturing into this form of commerce. The convenience of buying while being entertained and the thrill of being entertained while buying is percolating to the creation of fair-trade live commerce marketplaces that invoke direct comparisons and competition between products and brands of the same category. No longer do we need to rely on pictures and 10-second walkaround videos on a traditional ecommerce marketplace: we now have platforms dedicated to catering the personal touch of an influencer to the purchase decision.

While creator economy is the new buzz word, the creators that facilitate content and commerce seem to be overlooked. These marketplaces are the ultimate hype men for artists with PR and Media advisories alongside robust sourcing strategies that bring the best brands and partners to the table. Such marketplaces may also be responsible for licensing, packaging, and selling intellectual properties in a variety of different domains including live commerce. Such communities provide a wide array of relevant influencers to brands, thus rendering the traditional talent supply methods moot. Creators get fantastic opportunities, and brands get the best fit for their products, and naturally, everyone is happy. The reality is that the quality of existing creator marketplaces can surely improve. For them to provide more opportunities to the entire creator ecosystem, one needs to build a trusted destination for creators and brands alike and one of the best ways to increase the trust is by having a platform and enabling it with technology that provides relevant and authentic creators to the advertising and commerce community. Not only does that improve market quality, but it also presents more meaningful associations for the entire ecosystem. The focus of creator marketplaces needs to shift from quantity to quality, thus empowering the talent through the platform more holistically.

The reason some people are called “influencers” is because they can influence people. From diet fads and fashion trends to something as simple as how often one should moisturize, influencers have publicly dispersed their expertise and created investment opportunities for brands that are unquestionably being leveraged. The challenge to be addressed, therefore, is how such leverages can be streamlined. Through creator marketplaces that focus on building a platform that enables creators coupled with brand deals that have greater longevity are key components to the inevitable evolution of influencer marketing.