Instagram Influencer Marketing: Where We Are Headed in 2022

Since its launch in October 2010, Instagram has been the most sought after social networking site and application. Users get to follow family, friends, and celebrities they admire. But over time it has developed into more than being just a platform to either like or leave comments beneath your favorite pictures and videos. Brands quickly realized the importance in Instagram, while also seeing the new opportunities in branding and marketing that it has created for them

For most brands, Instagram isn’t just about being seen and active on the world’s most popular platform, it also directly connects them to their various consumers and prospective clients. With such a massive user base, Instagram eventually provided the necessary tools needed to advertise products, goods, and services to users worldwide on its platform.

Growth of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing like any other sector has been subject to various changes and trends — such as the massive movement to mobile and how they would eventually go on to monetize the platform and it’s users.

Other factors like technology and consumer preference also play a huge role in its growth. Influencer marketing and business has grown exponentially and this is no surprise as brands are drawn to techniques that work, and many of them are seeing and reporting huge profits and ROI in the process.

Influencer marketing does work and in fact, yields amazing results when the proper time, work, and effort is put in place. Much like how influencers built up their massive followings and subscribers on YouTube, we are seeing the same with Instagram. However, the way these content creations earn revenue is much different from how users get paid on YouTube. Instead, for influencers on Instagram, it’s all about their reach and the many different types of branding/sponsor deals they can make.

Influencers build their credibility over time to enable them to market with precision. There are various types of influencers but at the moment the social media influencers are making effects worldwide every day. Usually from the comfort of their homes or offices. To become a social media influencer a lot of work would be done to identify your niche. Choose a social media channel like Instagram and then you distribute your content. You will also need to grow your network whilst engaging your followers.

How to Find Success with Influencer Marketing on Instagram

As we all know, there are thousands of ways to advertise and market a brand online. However, the game of influencer marketing and Instagram is a whole different beast of its own.

This process basically involves finding legitimate influencers on Instagram with influencer research tools like SocialBook for the advertisement of products. These influencers are chosen based on audience and reach. Other factors like authenticity, passion, great marketing mind, and persona are also considered. Before employing the services of an Instagram influencer, brands are expected to carry out thorough background checks. This enables them to pick an influencer which would best suit their taste.

Since anyone can create an Instagram account and load up their account with a ton of followers, it’s important to analyze all potential influencers and also knowing who their audience is and what they might best engage with.

Instagram has tools that aid influencers to market various products effectively. Through the use of Instagram sponsored posts an influencer can reach a brands desired target audience or increase their reach overall through the use of a paid ad campaign. This allows organic posts to reach a wider range of audience for a fee. This tool also helps users and brands choose a target audience based on location, age, sex, and interests.

Not only is this is a very impressive form of marketing that allows for effective marketing, it also leads into the power of general advertising on Instagram as well. With Facebook Ads running both Instagram and their Ads platform, you know it’s going to be a top notch advertising solution

With all of this in place, with the right split testing and targeting, many brands and individuals are seeing very good results in terms of sales, reach, growth, and ROI. There are other tools like Famoid and Buzzoid, which helps monitor followers growth, while also allowing for improved reach to more followers — not just on Instagram, but also on other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Another tool is Sprout Social, which is great for understanding the metrics behind engaging posts. There are of course other tools and solutions out there as well, and each are geared towards yielding better results as regards marketing on Instagram. You will also find that many of the tool range in size and efficiency as well. Some will be better for individual use, while others are catered more towards agencies.

Where We Are Headed In 2020

Currently, there are many stories surrounding the drama between Instagram influencers and companies who are using them. Sometimes brands withdraw their contracts from these influencers due to various reasons, such as not seeing a positive ROI, engagement and views are showing up as promised, or simply from shady activies and not getting a full disclosure statement from influencers to their audiences.

Usually, this is as a result of misbehavior on the part of the influencers. It is important to note that the misbehavior of Instagram influencers usually affects these brands negatively. The world is watching and most times everyone usually has something to say. And the brands usually take the blowback of these ignorant acts. Some incur a drastic reduction in sales. Others lose important business partners. This emphasizes the importance of choosing the right Instagram influencer. Thorough background checks and examination of the techniques used is crucial, before proceeding to employ their services.

As we look ahead to the coming months and years of Instagram and it’s dramatic growth to one billion monthly active users, the influencer marketing game really is only just getting started.

With upgrades being made on Instagram it’s hard to say exactly what the future holds for influencer marketing on Instagram. However, there does seem to be an endless supply or users and branding opportunities… so the opportunities for both influencers and brands will likely continue to existing as long as the platform is thriving.

The advent of AR filters for Instagram stories allow influencers and brands to create their own customized filters. Customized filters can only be viewed and unlocked by followers of that particular Instagram influencer. This allows Instagram users and brand influencers to connect on a new and different level. Also, some brands have been able to create interest and stories about their influencers. They do this by taking them on vacations. They are allowed to document this experience, post online and let their audience react. This creates an adventure for followers to connect to. This is a very important tool for influencer marketing on Instagram.

It is quite obvious that influencer marketing on Instagram is very important and will continue to play a big role in the coming years. The hub of influencers, brands and Instagram users has already been established, and word is rapidly spreading about how money much these Instagram users are making. Along with the amount of the influencers available continuing to rise, so will the tools used to improve influencer marketing for brands as well. Come 2020 influencers will control over 90%  of the population of potential customers on Instagram as they already control more than half.

Statistics have shown that a number of items have been purchased right after being promoted by an online influencer. It has been estimated that influencer marketing on Instagram will be a billion dollar industry by 2020. 22% of 18-34-year-olds made a large purchase after the product was endorsed by an online influencer. This is not a surprise as 39% of active Instagram accounts are influencers. These accounts also have over 15,000 active followers which in total indicates a large percentage of the Instagram society. Relevant influencers have the power to pull off a very high number of sales in quite a short period of time.

In short, online users can easily persuade the majority of their audience to make use of a product or service that they recommend. Here are some quick stats to back it up.

1. 70% of millennial consumers are influenced by the recommendations of their peers in buying decisions. A survey conducted by Collective Bias involving 14,000 respondents in the US, reveals this influencer marketing statistic.
2. The same survey reveals that 30% of consumers are more likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity blogger. Consumers can relate more to these influencers and value their opinions more than that of celebrity influencers.

Consequently, there are complications to influencer marketing on Instagram. This greatly affects its growth and development. Some influencers have a negative attitude to work and to its audience. 94% of influencers agree on the importance of authenticity and transparency. These key factors are needed in marketing on Instagram. When an influencer lacks these, it results in an eventual loss of audience and credibility. Also, brands working with such an influencer at the time will be forced to withdraw. Influencers are also worried about the number of fake followers and bots on Instagram. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the right influencer when a handful of them have fake followers.

The Future of Instagram Influencer Marketing and Where We Are Headed

If you are already active on Instagram, you likely already know how active the platform is with influencer marketing and with their paid advertising. Being in the online marketing and advertising space, most of us will see this even more clearly.

Influencer marketing has become a full-time profession. It is expected to evolve and become a bigger industry come 2020, and years beyond. The companies and brands that make moves earlier and lock in some of these smaller influencers now may go on to see a much higher ROI int he months and years to come.

Statistics have shown that influencer marketing on Instagram is on the rise, and if you aren’t currently using it, your competition likely will.