As was the trend in 2021, brands and marketers will continue to collaborate more with micro-influencers in 2022, owing to the high engagement rate on their social media posts compared to celebrities and mega influencers. Furthermore, as the engagement rate on Instagram is declining, businesses are looking at influencers who are attracting significant eyeballs very closely. Therefore, according to various influencer marketing experts, there will be a surge in the brand partnerships for nano and micro-influencers in 2022, and brands will be inclined to invest their time and resources with these content creators who guarantee better returns. Moreover, as demand for authentic content is soaring, there will be massive opportunities for the micro-influencers where brands will want to make the face of their campaigns, involve them in the uptake of social commerce strategies, and many more. But as the responsibilities and popularity of the micro-influencers will increase, they will choose the brands they work with cautiously. This blog will look at the various trends at the forefront of the micro-influencer community in the coming time.
Brands will invest more to engage with micro-influencers
The greater demand for authentic content amongst the consumers and the immense urge of brands to reach out to their audiences through seemingly genuine content will ensure that organizations invest more time and resources in tools that can help them identify micro-influencers across various niches. Furthermore, as the demand for micro-influencers is rising across social media platforms, brands will find and engage with hundreds of such content creators to reach a targeted audience base.
Micro-influencers with a robust social focus will boom
During the pandemic, there was an instant rise in the demand for the influencers who excelled in mental health, social justice, environment, fitness, and sustainability. In 2022, as people consume more content on these topics and their popularity is soaring, many experts believe that micro-influencers with expertise in these domains will likely be in more demand. Furthermore, as brands are also looking to portray themselves as sensitive to mental health initiatives or are serious about the environment’s well-being, they will rope in more micro-influencers to tell their story authentically, which will hit the right chord with their audiences.
Also Read: Why brands are betting big on live commerce
Micro-influencers will outpace influencer marketing growth
Many experts feel that while the growth rate of influencer marketing is slowing down a little, the pace at which micro-influencers will grow in 2022 will be much higher. This growth is simple: while being an easy option on the pockets of the brands is positive, the content generated through micro-influencers comes across as more authentic, which will further fuel the massive growth. And on top of that, their engagement rate and the audience’s stickiness on their posts will further fuel the growth of micro-influencers.
More micro-influencers will become brand ambassadors
Brands in the niche spaces like finance, cryptocurrency, health & fitness, and wellness will increasingly start making micro-influencers the face of their brands as they enjoy massive influence over their followers and possess the ability to drive them to purchase from the brand. Although micro-influencers are seen as an excellent fit for smaller brands, larger organizations are gradually looking to leverage these content creators’ benefits.
Micro-influencers will aid social commerce
Social commerce has been seeing an upward growth trajectory as more and more brands are working towards leveraging the medium to reach a wider audience and generate more sales. According to a report, China’s retail social commerce sale is expected to reach over $350 billion in 2021. The second biggest market for social commerce, the United States, will see the numbers touching around $36 billion during the same period. As social commerce grows in popularity across the globe, brands will look to leverage the influence of micro-influencers to their advantage. To begin with, brands operating in the specialized segments targeting very niche consumers will avail the services of micro-influencers more and more to take advantage of their engaged followers and benefit from their domain knowledge.
Micro-influencers will choose brand association wisely
There is no secret that micro-influencers are so much in demand because of the authenticity and simplicity attached to their content, which attracts the audiences. On top of it, the paid posts and pitch-perfect content have hit saturation, and reports suggest that audiences are less invested in those content pieces now. So, to maintain the trust of their followers who have made micro-influencers what they are, most content creators in this space will be mindful of associating with the brands. They will only work with the brands they believe in rather than jumping on any opportunity they get.
The rise of this community of content creators has been phenomenal. Brand marketers are queuing up to them because of the long list of benefits mentioned above in the blog. While initially big brands were availing the services of the top influencers with millions of followers only, most of them have realized that engaging with micro-influencers generates a much better return on investments, and they are much easier to manage. And the time has come to unlock the opportunities waiting for the micro-influencers.
