Instagram influencer marketing has exploded last year, with more and more brands turning to influencers to present their products in new and exciting ways. Instagram influencers offer brands from the fashion, beauty, food, health and fitness, lifestyle, or photography industries a wonderful avenue for connecting with potential customers in a simple and non-intrusive way.
If you haven’t been using Instagram influencer marketing so far, 2024 is the year to do it.But first, you want to take a look at some of the key influencer trends that are likely to shape Instagram marketing this year.
Keeping up with these trends is a great way to make the most of Instagram influencer marketing this year and rouse potential customers to action.
Without further ado, here are the top trends you simply can’t ignore.
1. More Influencers Will Focus on IGTV
When it comes to video marketing, Instagram may not be the first network that springs to mind. However, video content has gained a strong foothold on the network. Whether it comes as snappy 30-second video posts or 15-second Story videos that tease the viewer’s imagination, Instagram video marketing is becoming a powerful tool in the arsenal of many influencers.
With Instagram’s IGTV app, influencers are more likely to shift their focus from Instagram to IGTV. Influencers can now upload videos up to an hour long and have the opportunity to reach a larger audience.
Now that IGTV is here, Instagram videos have become even more valuable. Instagram’s YouTube-like video network has spread like fire among influencers, More than 1 million Instagram live users stream on IGTV content on the platform per day.
As more influencers begin uploading content on IGTV, it will be interesting to see how this affects the social media landscape.
2. The Rise of Micro Influencers
For startups and new brands, micro influencers are not only easier to reach than celebrities, but often they capture the spirit of the brand better that compare with famous instagram influencers. For the sake of convenience, let’s define micro influencers as influencers who have “only” a few tens of thousands of followers, and who have not reached the heights of popularity in some other career before showing up on Instagram.
Micro influencers with tens of thousands of followers often have more engaged audiences than celebrities. They embody the lifestyle most of their followers aspire to follow, which is not always true for millionaire celebrities.
Brands big and small understand that micro influencers send a more personal and down-to-earth message than celebrities. No surprise then that more and more brands team up with micro influencers to showcase new products or present old best sellers in a new light.
3. Natural Is Good
Some Instagram marketers are spending good money on professional photographers and video production services – no doubt about that. Others spend on makeup, hair stylists, and other props, staging seemingly spontaneous situations for their shots and videos.
But putting these aside, a lot of the influencer marketing in tended to be quite natural and organic. Shiny and perfect Instagram shots are still there. But Instagram influencers who ditch the special effects and make an appearance in their natural surroundings, with their hair a bit untidy and wearing nothing special can be the most persuasive.
For brands, this is a win because they don’t have to worry all that much about content production, or its costs.
4. Talented Influencers Gain Momentum
Brands and followers in 2024 have appreciated influencers who could offer something more than good looks. While looks are important for fashion and beauty influencers, popular Instagrammers with special skills are in demand.
From talented artists and athletes to chefs, photographers, and tricksters, talented influencers bring something special to their posts. They are part of a more general Instagram trend towards simplicity and down-to-earthness. Let’s face it – everyone’s a bit tired of perfect Instagram photos, and brands feel this.
The advantage of talented influencers is that they can promote products in more creative ways, rather than just talk about them, especially now when brands can add shoppable tags to Instagram posts and stories.
5. Brands Establish Long-Term Partnerships with Influencers
If you’ve been following influencers on Instagram, you may have noticed that the same brands kept propping up. From the perspective of influencers, being faithful to a few high-quality brands often makes more sense than switching brands. After all, if something works, why change it?
Some marketing campaigns on Instagram may benefit from including as many influencers as possible. But for most brands, finding one or two influencers and making them their social media representative is a simple recipe for generating lots of shares.
An ongoing influencer marketing campaign pays off in time. It’s a more organic way to team up with an influencer than hunting for influencers before every new major product release. Of course, it’s important to find the right influencer and consider his or her commitment to the platform and how this may affect their long-term success.
Finding the right influencer for your brand on Instagram becomes easier once you identify your ideal target audience. This way, you can find an influencer within your audience.
Final Thoughts
Videos, natural photos, and a preference for talented influencers – this about sums up some of the key Instagram influencer marketing trends in 2024. Factor these in if you plan to use Instagram as a marketing channel this year and you’ll be in sync with some of the most exciting things that are happening on the platform.
Instagram means different things to different people, but in the end, it’s all about the engagement. That’s the common thread that runs through all the trends we’ve covered. It’s the one thing you need to focus on so as not to lose track of all the others.
