Ways to utilise your influencer strategy to maximum effect in 2023

Video content is king

Video content has been on the list of almost every ‘best practice’ digital and influencer marketing piece for the past several years – and there’s good reason for it. As 5G and fibre increase their foothold, people are consuming more video and audio content daily. This has helped increase the level of influence that content creators have on video-streaming platforms like YouTube, Twitch and TikTok. When drafting an influencer campaign, it’s important to place an emphasis on the creation of video content alongside static assets, because short- and long-form video content is dominating across all industry and influencer levels.

Build a relationship – and build it to last

When it comes to the duration of your influencer campaign, it should be about building a relationship that lasts. According to Nael Schaffer, who was named a Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer for two years in a row, we’re increasingly going to see brands and influencers partnering together for the long-term. Among the many reasons he lists for this, it comes down to the reality that it can take time to make a sale. This means running a long-term campaign with an influencer will likely be more impactful than short marketing campaigns consisting of a couple of posts here and there. 

Micro- and nano-influencers lead on engagement

An influencer marketing benchmark report for 2022 found that while engagement rates in general have dropped across social media channels, this isn’t the case for most nano- and micro-influencers, who continue to show impressive engagement rates that also drive better conversion rates. This makes micro- and nano-influencer campaigns a must for brands and business across all industries, not just because it allows them to stretch their marketing budget a little further, but because it empowers them to tap into established target audiences that are deeply connected to the real human being they’re already following. 

The link between influencer and affiliate marketing

Many marketers consider influencer and affiliate marketing to be separate activities. But both involve an ‘outsider’ advocating for a business or brand, and the products or services it sells. Affiliate marketing is an arrangement in which a business pays a percentage commission to the person or organisation marketing their products or services for the traffic or sales generated from their activity. Understanding this makes it clear how the line between the two has become blurred, making it necessary to move beyond using influencer campaigns to simply raise awareness and enabling influencers to drive sales, from which they’re able to make a small profit as well.