Influencer Marketing Predictions For 2023

Influencer marketing could become one of the most powerful marketing tools in 2023. Creator marketing can drive brand growth across the entire purchasing funnel, and many companies have leveraged online and offline influencer strategies over the last several years. Understanding social trends and adjusting influencer marketing strategies will be key to developing successful campaigns and delivering outstanding results for brands in 2023.

So let’s look into my seven predictions for influencer marketing trends that could shape 2023:

1. Shift To Nano- And Micro-Influencers

As consumers seek more relevant and authentic content from other people, marketers may focus on nano- and micro-influencer collaborations. These often-unpaid content creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers often have very engaged audiences. Smaller influencers typically have a greater ability to connect with their community, which can give them significant influencing power. Consumers in general are likely to trust them for their expertise, product reviews and service recommendations. When brands activate them at scale, nano- and micro-influencers can be a great way to target niche audiences, drive awareness and boost sales.

2. Video As The Future Of Content

With social media platforms prioritizing and launching new features such as livestreaming, video could become one of the most dominant content types in 2023. Video content should be fun, engaging and interactive and deliver information in an entertaining way so that it holds the viewer’s attention. With TikTok’s user base projected to grow, marketers should jump on the opportunity to reach younger audiences in particular with short video formats. In addition to professionally produced brand videos, user-generated video content (UGVC) could thrive in 2023.

3. Shift From Vanity Metrics To Quality KPIs

I believe quality metrics (such as engagement, click-through rate and conversions) will gain traction in 2023 at the expense of vanity metrics (such as number of followers or online impressions). Although many marketers have focused on the number of fans and followers as key selection criteria for influencers over the last few years, these factors don’t necessarily determine business results. In 2023, I believe content quality and influencers’ alignment with brand values will take priority, and brands will likely seek influencers who have a strong and engaged community, have knowledge of their industries and create impactful content. Additionally, ROI and brand impact could become important KPIs for measuring influencer campaign performance.

4. The Power Of UGC

User-generated content could continue to gain momentum in 2023, with brands prioritizing UGC to create social proof and boost conversions. UGC can generate positive results if it is authentic, relatable and trustworthy. I believe ratings and reviews, TikTok videos and YouTube tutorials will be among the most popular types of content in 2023. Additionally, brands can explore repurposing UGC as part of their social media strategy. For example, they can feature UGC in offline advertising, on brand websites or in email campaigns.

5. Shift To Longer-Term Influencer Collaborations

Ongoing creator collaboration could gain traction in 2023, and brands could seek to partner with key opinion leaders for longer periods of time. Longer-term influencer collaborations can help brands create more credible content and have a higher brand impact. As creators continue to use their partner’s product or service, they gain a better understanding of the brand. And as they continue talking about their collaboration, they will also gain insights from their communities. Hence, influencers can turn into real brand ambassadors and help companies with relevant insights for new product development or marketing communications.

6. Influencer Compensation Challenges

So far, many content creators have used their number of fans to calculate the fee for promoted content. However, with the shift from vanity metrics to real impressions and engagement, marketers may increasingly demand pay-per-performance models. Creator payment might hence change in 2023 to favor cost per engagement (CPE), cost-per-click (CPC) or affiliate models.

7. Influencers In Full Creative Control

A new trend I expect to see emerge in 2023 is leveraging influencers as storytellers by giving them full creative control for content creation and brand communication. Given their expertise and understanding of social platforms and audiences, professional influencers may be perceived as creative directors and executive producers. Some companies have even started to officially employ star influencers as part of their marketing leadership team; we saw one example of this when Kate Moss became the creative director for Diet Coke.

Summary And Conclusions

With consumers spending so much time on social media, I believe that 2023 will be a great year for influencer marketing despite economic worries. Having a well-defined influencer marketing strategy that leverages all types of content creators with measurable objectives across channels will be key for success. Marketing teams should consider leveraging these seven trends to help them maximize the performance of their creator activities in 2023.