Influencer marketing platform, Influencer.in, and digital marketing company Social Beat, released a report that showcases emerging trends in the creator economy. The Influencer Marketing Report 2022 report is based on over 500 plus survey responses by Indian content creators, and over 60 marketers. Arushi Gupta, head – Influencer.in, said, short-form videos account for the largest content pie at 33.8%, carousel posts/videos stand at 25.8%, statics is at 24%, and long-form videos is at 15.7%.
The report also shows how both brands and influencers approach collaborations. An interesting insight that emerged was how brands and creators are looking at collaborations. While 58% of brands prefer working with an influencer for an average duration of one month doing short-term promotions, 91% of influencers are looking for a long-term relationship. While brands choose influencers that resonate and amplify the brand’s essence, influencers to are increasingly discerning about the collaborations they do. For established content creators make consistent efforts to build an audience base that trusts them, so they are looking for quality, relevant and meaningful collaborations.
Suneil Chawla, co-founder, Social Beat, further added, “For we foresaw that content across multiple platforms, video content, and storytelling in regional languages will gain traction with growth in devices and Internet access. We were confident that influencers across the spectrum, irrespective of their size, would be in demand from brands based on their style, specialty, and content. While video content is the preferred form of content due to its story-telling potential, the emergence of new social media tools is something to watch out for.”
Here’s a summary of the report:
The influencer marketing industry’s value is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% over the next 5 years to reach Rs 2,200 crore by 2025 from Rs 900 crore in 2021. The projected meteoric rise of the industry can be attributed to the steep growth in the number of creators, and the increasing partnerships between brands and creators, to deliver compelling, relatable story-telling content to the target audience.
Today, 61.2% of all brands recognize the power of influencer marketing to tap into a newer audience pool to boost brand awareness. Larger organizations have recognized influencer marketing as integral to their digital marketing strategies, while smaller organizations recognize its importance, but are yet to invest significant resources into influencer marketing.
According to the report, 50% of marketers stated that they spend up to 10% of their digital marketing budget on influencers annually. While 10% of the respondents dedicate over 40% of their annual digital marketing budget to influencer marketing.
Instagram is most used by content creators, who are leveraging content formats such as reels to expand their reach. Around 36.9% of brands rely on Instagram for their dedicated influencer marketing efforts. YouTube, has 20.6% of brands relying on long-form video content on the platform. Facebook continues to be popular, with 18.7% of brands using it for influencer marketing.
Although many short video platforms such as Josh (1.9%), ShareChat (2.3%), MX Takatak (2.8%) are emerging, they are still way behind Instagram and YouTube.
Snapchat and Moj are becoming popular with content creators with 17.79% of creators on Snapchat, and 8.53% on Moj. Brands leveraging their product or service through influencers on these platforms can help them create brand awareness and engagement, educate users about their product or service, drive incremental revenue via conversions or target a niche audience.