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kool99/Getty, Max Mamchurov/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
- Influencer marketing is shifting focus back to high-profile celebrities from micro influencers.
- A recent survey by Linqia indicates a decline in marketing engagements with creators having fewer than 500,000 followers.
- Conversely, deals are increasingly being secured by celebrities and influencers boasting millions of followers.
Not long ago, the trend in influencer marketing was to favor smaller content creators over big-name celebrities. The industry saw a shift from hiring figures like Kim Kardashian to engaging local beauty influencers with modest followings.
Micro influencers—those with audiences typically under 100,000—were believed to connect more authentically with their audience compared to their celebrity counterparts. This perceived authenticity was thought to enhance engagement rates. Additionally, they were more budget-friendly; while a major influencer might charge thousands for a single post, micro influencers could be hired for just a few hundred dollars. Even nano influencers (with fewer than 5,000 followers) often charged as little as $5 per promotional post.
However, the trend towards collaborating with less-known creators appears to be waning.
A recent survey conducted by Linqia among 200 enterprise marketers in the U.S., spanning July through September 2023, revealed that interest in partnering with celebrity and mega influencers has surged between 2023 and 2024. In contrast, enthusiasm for working with those who have fewer than half a million followers has diminished significantly.
The percentage of marketers expressing interest in collaborating with celebrities rose from 30% to 40% between this year and next. For mega influencers (those boasting over one million followers), this figure increased from 48% to an impressive 60%. Conversely, there was a notable decrease among those planning partnerships with macro (100K-1M), micro (10K-100K), and nano (<10K) influencers: work opportunities for micro influencers dropped from 74% last year down to just 62%, while nano influencer collaborations fell from37%to28%
Bethany Everett-Ratcliffe—a micro influencer—shared her experience regarding these changes: she has observed reduced paid partnership offers compared to previous years and noted that brands are increasingly opting for agency representation rather than direct outreach.
Other firms specializing in influencer marketing corroborated this trend toward larger stars over lesser-known creators throughout the current year.
The Shift Towards Prominence
The rising costs associated with hiring less-famous creators is one significant reason behind their declining popularity among marketers. As Keith Bendes—the vice president of strategy at Linqia—noted: “Four creators each having around25kfollowers can end up costing more collectively than one creator who has100kfollowers.” This shift makes it challenging for brands seeking favorable returns on investment when working within tighter budgets.
Bendes also mentioned that many marketers have reported increases of up to20%in fees charged by micro-influencers between2023and2024.
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An oversaturation of content on platforms like TikTok further complicates matters; standing out amidst such noise is becoming increasingly difficult. Brands find it advantageous when they collaborate directly with established personalities who can help them cut through the clutter as organic reach becomes ever more unpredictable across social media channels.
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Linqia’s survey indicated that when asked how they gauge campaign success metrics such as “reach,” measured via views emerged as paramount followed closely by engagement rates alongside conversions.
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This leads brands away from taking risks on smaller-scale partnerships towards focusing instead on “larger-scale collaborations,” which require thorough vetting processes before launching campaigns according Bendes’ insights.
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Big-Swing Bets Pay Off
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“Macro-and-mega-influencers represent some substantial investments brands are willing take lately due largely because these efforts yield significant returns,” said James Nord—the founder & CEO at Fohr—in his comments regarding current trends within this space
Celebrity endorsements remain high priority too evidenced through successful campaigns featuring Sabrina Carpenter’s collaboration alongside Blank Street or Michael Cera’s involvement during Super Bowl promoting CeraVe products
Olivia McNaughten—a senior director at Grin—highlighted how effective these partnerships proved due largely stemming authenticity derived naturally aligning well respective brand identities rather merely transactional nature typical commercials
However not all observers agree entirely Jonathan Chanti chief growth officer talent president Viral Nation remarked seeing emerging patterns where companies reallocating funds previously directed toward mega-influencers (>5M following) now shifting focus mid-tier talents possessing follower counts ranging up-to500k
Opportunities still abound even if certain sponsored-content deals appear diminishing user-generated content affiliate links performance-based strategies continue benefiting smaller audience holders thanks lower barriers entry point involved here
User-generated formats allow creatives produce materials usable directly onto brand channels instead solely relying upon personal platforms making it third most favored method employed according findings shared via Linqia’s research report.
The financial landscape surrounding sponsored-content initiatives remains robust projected reach approximately$8 billionwithin US market alone during upcoming fiscal period based Emarketer forecasts.
In conclusion despite present downturns experienced amongst specific segments within industry dynamics suggest potential resurgence forthcoming particularly given fluctuating nature influenced heavily algorithmic shifts occurring across tech platforms themselves.
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