The Five Trends of Influencer Marketing. “Influencer marketing” refers to marketing companies finding KOL, and social media influencers, using celebrities, and enlisting self-media opinion leaders to stimulate consumer purchasing through their influence on the internet. The recently popular “internet celebrity economy” also known as the “influencers economy” mostly belongs to the field of influencer marketing. According to Google Trends, in the past two years, traditional “content marketing” models have gradually been replaced by “influencer marketing”. What are the new trends in influencer marketing for 2017?

Recently, marketing expert Kirsty Sharman published an article on Social Media Today predicting the development trends of influencer marketing in 2017. Social Media Today is an online community that brings together professionals in multiple disciplines such as content marketing, customer experience, and digital strategy. There are now millions of executives from more than a dozen industries here. Here is a summary of the article:

The first trend is that the demand for social media influencers on various platforms will continue to increase. Many brands have noticed that platforms such as YouTube and Instagram have an increasingly strong influence on users, so many brands are actively collaborating with influencers on social platforms. A recent Google study showed that internet celebrities on YouTube have a stronger influence on young people than offline celebrities. The article predicts that in 2017, users will need higher-quality content and richer experiences, and the role of influencers will further increase. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube will continue to have a high demand for “internet celebrities”.

The second trend is that as influencer marketing becomes industrialized, related rules will also change. The article believes that the implementation of rules and regulations is a sign of the industry’s healthy development. This protects the interests of influencers, brand owners, and consumers. Influencers can receive compensation for producing their own content. If the content produced by influencers does indeed influence consumers, then the brand’s products can be promoted. Consumers can also see content that interests them. The article believes that if the entire marketing activity can achieve these three effects, consumers may not even reject this original advertising activity.

The third trend is that influencer marketing will become more specialized, not just “cultural exchange”. “Cultural exchange” refers to brand owners providing free products to influencers at the beginning of marketing to help them receive good reviews on social platforms. If influencers treat these products as their own compensation for a long time, then there is a kind of “cultural exchange” between them and brand owners. The article believes that this ignores the true value of influencers. If you want the industry to further develop, you need to use a standardized payment system to replace this rough exchange method. Standardizing charging standards is the first step in industry specialization. The article predicts that there may even be a price tag offered to influencers in the future.

The fourth trend is that the relationship between the value of a platform and the number of influencers on it will weaken. In the past two years, many people have realized the potential of influencer marketing and have been building social media and live-streaming platforms, recruiting hundreds or thousands of influencers, and thinking that this is enough to build a platform. However, a suitable influencer for a platform is far more valuable than a large group of ordinary influencers. Therefore, the article suggests that if a platform wants to operate in the long term, it should not only discover influencers but also work with them to solve the problems encountered in the marketing process and establish long-term relationships. The value of a platform lies in its ability to help brands and marketers solve problems, not in the number of influencers it has.

The fifth trend is that brands will also have their own influencers on the platform. In the current influencer marketing model, most social media platforms control all the influencers on their platforms. However, in 2017, this model may change. After all, brand owners understand the meaning of their own brands better than anyone else, so many platforms may allow brands to have their own influencers on the platform. The article predicts that platforms that can provide tools for brands and help them establish their own networks will greatly increase in value.

Influencer marketing is the use of celebrities, social media influencers, and self-media opinion leaders to stimulate consumer purchasing through their influence on the internet. The demand for social media influencers on various platforms will continue to increase, and related rules will also change as influencer marketing becomes industrialized. Influencer marketing will become more specialized, and the relationship between the value of a platform and the number of influencers on it will weaken. Brands will also have their own influencers on the platform.