TopRank Marketing’s 2016 Influencer Marketing Predictions

This year, headlines throughout the marketing blogosphere proclaimed that influencer marketing is “the next big thing.”

At TopRank Marketing, we have been refining our influencer marketing strategy for nearly a decade. It’s our past, present, and next big thing. When done well, influencer marketing can boost brand credibility, provide valuable exposure for the brand and the influencer and create killer content your audience will love.

Now that influencer marketing has officially arrived, how will it evolve in 2016? We asked our in-house experts, and some of our favorite marketers outside the TopRank Marketing team, for their opinion.Here are the influencer marketing predictions for 2016.

Steve Rayson

Director, BuzzSumo
@steverayson

I think one opportunity is to build relationships with a small group of influencers (6-10) that have relatively few followers but high engagement rates. To do this find well shared content that is highly relevant to your area. Analyze who shared this content and filter those with high retweet rates (on average how many times their tweets are retweeted) but relatively few followers. Develop relationships by answering questions they ask on Twitter, sharing their content, commenting on their blogs, attending their webinars and meeting them in person if you can; and above all, ask how you can help them.

Lee Odden

CEO, TopRank Marketing
@leeodden

As consumers become increasingly numb to formal marketing messages and advertising, their trust in information from peers, social network connections and industry experts has increased.

A few interesting statistics about influencer marketing:

• 84% of B2B buyers start the purchasing process with a referral. (LinkedIn)
• 92% of consumers rely on referrals from people they know above all else (TapInfluence)
• 81% of those surveyed considered influencer engagement to be effective or very effective for meeting their objectives (Augure)
• $6.85 for every $1 spent – This is the average media value earned by brands who implemented influencer marketing. (Burst Media / RhythmOne)

In 2016 I think we’ll see more brands expand their view of how to incorporate influencers as partners in content co-creation vs. simply as another promotion and advertising channel.

We’ll also see higher expectations of influencers themselves. Popularity is not influence and brands that use influencer marketing will expect more than mentions and social shares. Those influencers capable of affecting real business outcomes will become even more in demand and valuable.

To take advantage of the growing value of influencers, sophisticated marketers will begin to better distinguish between different kinds of influencers and the characteristics that make them the best match for marketing programs.

Influencer Marketing software will lead the way towards effectively identifying, qualifying, recruiting, engaging, managing and measuring influencer marketing performance. Companies that achieve higher levels of expertise with this kind of software will achieve a distinct competitive advantage in their respective industries.

Amanda Maksymiw

Senior Content Marketing Manager, Lattice Engines
@amandamaks

Companies just getting into influencer marketing must understand that there isn’t a silver bullet or trick to overnight success. It takes time to build valuable relationships with influencers that produce results. You need to engage on social media, comment on blog posts, leave book reviews, interact in person (if possible), etc. In 2016, companies will realize that it’s the time for a less is more approach. Instead of targeting a list of influencers that is too large to manage and relying on automated tactics, marketers will focus on a smaller group so they can focus on more personalized, less automated outreach to garner big wins.

Susan Misukanis

President, TopRank Marketing
@smisukanis

In 2016, there is a prime opportunity for marketers to take their influencer marketing strategies to the next level. The competitive marketplace will require these marketers to become more strategic and creative in their approach. Instead of simply adding influencers here and there to content assets, it will be essential that they incorporate a campaign driven approach to get true value out of these programs.

Those that are truly innovative, will take a measurable campaign driven approach AND incorporate a layer of storytelling to truly connect their audience to the influencer-based content.

Smart marketers with true content chops will do some math this year:

Amy Higgins

Director of Content Marketing, Deem
@amywhiggins

Many marketers today think of influencer marketing as a campaign, or a one-off. They co-create a series of deliverables with a limited number of influencers designed to bring about a particular result. To me, this is like coloring inside the lines. I predict that beginning in 2016 marketers will learn to color outside the lines of a campaign.

As a marketer, you’d never create a single campaign that focuses on your brand’s voice. Instead, you’ll weave your brand’s  voice into any and all content that you create. By utilising influencers throughout all of your marketing efforts, you can increase your reach and engagement. So then, why do marketers still compartmentalize influencers? By not weaving influencers into all of your marketing and coloring inside the lines of a campaign, you are missing a huge opportunity for your business. In 2016, let’s color outside the lines with influencer marketing!

What Are Your Influencer Marketing Predictions for 2016?

Influencer marketing enjoyed a surge of popularity in 2015, and the best practices are sure to evolve in the coming year. At TopRank, we will continue to explore new tools, platforms and strategies to keep learning and improving.

What are your company’s influencer marketing plans for 2016? Let us know in the comments.

Want to learn more about influencer marketing? Check out our website or contact us directly and let us know how we can help.

Disclosure: Deem is a TopRank Marketing client.

Header image via Shutterstock

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