The influencer marketing industry has continued to increase its market size and revenue. According to Oberlo, the whole industry is worth a whopping 16.4 billion dollars.

What an incredible number it is, isn’t it?

Highly qualified marketers know:

Time does not stand still. All of us have to continue to further educate ourselves on the latest influencer marketing trends to stay up to date. Otherwise, your knowledge will become obsolete and you fail to increase your competitiveness.

The consequence is that you lose valuable business opportunities and clients.

This article will focus on likely influencer marketing trends for 2023 which you need to keep on your radar. Then, increasing sales will be a walk in the park for you.

1. Analytics Will Play a Much Larger Role

Most brands have started paying more attention to influencer analytics. In the end, the priority is on results. These matter the most to marketing executives. However, most brands neglected the analytical component in the past.

Without analytics, you cannot improve your future campaign results. Engagement rates, average sales, and total revenue generated per influencer are crucial to evaluate campaigns and their effectiveness.

Otherwise, you cannot respond to questions such as:

  • Which niche do the most successful influencers belong to?
  • Does follower size affect campaign results? Do larger or smaller influencers perform better?
  • What type of cooperation is best suited to our marketing goals?
  • Are there different results depending on the social media platform?

You need to quantify your information to compare influencers’ results. This is not achievable without carefully analyzing which influencer collaborations work.

Brands have recognized how crucial the analytical process is to succeed with influencer campaigns. Hence, in 2023 analytics will become a whole new ball game in influencer marketing.

2. The Beginning of Pure Professionalization

Amateurs were looked at fondly in the beginning of influencer marketing. The whole business was something new and fascinating. Nowadays, companies expect a certain standard when working with influencers.

Excessive prices, unfriendly communication, and influencer fraud will put you on the blacklist and not on the company’s radar.

Ensure that you forge win-win professional relationships. This includes having a media kit ready, sending all the required information, and dealing respectfully with prospective business partners.

3. Influencer Marketing Must Gross All of Its Costs

The time is over when brands could just realize influencer campaigns without having to primarily focus on achieving sales. Influencer marketing has lefts its infancy behind. It is no longer just a PR matter. Brands are focused on the whole media package, including ROI, branding, and reach.

Results matter. Especially now, brands cannot pour money down the drain. Employees must justify expenses in front of their bosses.

Better ensure your influencers deliver the results you promised. Otherwise, a future collaboration will disappear into nirvana.

The all-defining question is:

Does the influencer collaboration fulfill the planned ROI goals?

If this is not the case, you will get in trouble with your boss.

4. Your Professional Network Become Even More Important

Mega influencers are flooded with dozens, even hundreds of collaboration requests. They do not have the time to answer all of them. Either a hired employee replies to your inquiry or you get no answer at all.

In the rarest cases, they reply themselves. Having the right contacts will become even more decisive in 2023. Only then, you can realize high-quality campaigns to reach the pinnacle of influencer marketing success.

Let’s say you are an employee of a major player such as a reputable influencer marketing agency. You probably have to cooperate with other agencies as well.

You will never cover all niches and subjects. Therefore, you have to build yourself a network that will be profitable for both sides long term. Thus, professional relationships are absolutely crucial to persist in the influencer marketing industry for the long haul.

5. Scaling Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Brand managers are not satisfied with realizing one monthly influencer campaign. Many marketers plan to realize campaigns at scale. Dozens if not hundreds of campaigns are their goal. To realize such a number of campaigns, you need to carefully consider how to proceed.

Brands have to think about how to partially automatize research, pitching to, and negotiating with influencers. If they cannot solve automatizing their influencer campaign approach, it will become more difficult to continuously increase sales.

6. Lack of Data

Many social media platforms developed tools to restrict third-party access to users’ data. This trend will continue in the future. Scandals like the Cambridge Analytics gate are deeply embedded in people’s minds. The unrestricted access to millions of Facebook data sets led to massive protests by privacy groups.

In addition, social networks consider establishing their own influencer marketing platforms. It is an enormous market that could be financially interesting for them.

Aside from receiving influencers’ insights, other data will become more and more restrictive. In addition, it becomes more and more challenging to spot fake followers. So, influencer marketing managers might need to rely more on personal recommendations.

7. Use of In-house Talent

Companies will focus on in-house talent when looking for influencers. They will resort to shareholders, employees, and customers for influencer talent. Business leaders already encourage them to develop and use their talents for the company’s benefit.

This is a much cheaper option for companies and can lead to long-term growth.

For instance, many employees share personal insights as well as career- and industry-related advice on their LinkedIn profiles. Some brands have already started to use social media listening tools to identify loyal customers. Brands can entice customers to share UGC (user generated content) by rewarding them with free products and event invitations.

How to Prepare for Influencer Marketing in 2023 – A Conclusion

Influencer managers will face many obstacles in 2023. A careful preparation, though, will enable marketers to achieve their aims in the upcoming year. However, strategic preparations are crucial to achieving your revenue goals.

Brands interested in using influencer marketing are not the only ones facing challenges. Influencers have to adapt their process as well. Companies expect a professional approach from influencers. Otherwise, they will not be considered for future campaigns. Hence, influencers should professionalize their online presence, communication, and the overall realization of influencer campaigns.

Companies take notice of these influencers and will warmly recommend them. This is a win-win situation for every side.

Niklas Hartmann

Niklas Hartmann is a seasoned social media expert with more than 8 years of influencer marketing experience. He is the author of the book “How to Become a Successful Influencer” which was released by German publishing house mitp. He is a sought-after interview partner and guest blogger for websites such as Playboy or Business Insider. He is also the managing director of ReachOn.