Top 10 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2024 (And Beyond)

The influencer marketing landscape is experiencing a transformative wave, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer expectations, and a greater emphasis on authenticity and sustainability.

Let’s take a look at our predicted influencer marketing trends for 2024 -and beyond!

1. UGC Reigns Supreme

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the biggest emerging influencer marketing trends that’s taking over social media. More businesses will be looking to work with influencers of variously sized followings in order to create organic-looking content for their own brand’s feed.

TikTok has been a huge driving force in this shift away from highly edited, polished content. Social media users are getting smarter when it comes to spotting an ad online, and are 2.4 times more likely to think that UGC is more authentic than branded content. Why? People tend to trust recommendations and experiences shared by influencers and real customers, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates. As such, brands will likely be repurposing their influencer budgets to create more UGC.

2. A Focus on Niche Audiences

Highlighting the importance of quality over quantity, one influencer marketing trend dominating 2024 will include brands shifting their focus toward micro and nano influencers with smaller but highly engaged niche audiences.

Reaching millions of people at once is great, but making a meaningful connection with a few who actually make a purchase is better. By selecting influencers whose followers align with the brand’s target demographic, campaigns can generate more impactful results.

We started to see this in 2023, and fully expect micro influencers to be vital to influencer marketing strategies in 2024.

3. The Return of Long-Form Content

You didn’t see this one coming, did you? After years of online content getting shorter and shorter, long-form content is making a comeback and belongs in every great content strategy.

Why? Because it dives deeper into the details and helps brands establish themselves as credible and reliable. Both influencers and brands will recognize the advantages of leveraging long-form content to connect with their audience in a more meaningful and substantial way.

When we talk about long-form, it isn’t just limited to blogs that span a few pages. Lengthier vlogs will also have a greater pull on their target audience if the focus is put on storytelling. People love a good narrative.

4. Growth in Ad Budgets

Bands are increasingly allocating resources to performance media—a.k.a. boosting influencer posts. This 2024 trend highlights influencer marketing’s strong alignment with performance metrics involving actions like purchases and sign-ups. Boosting influencer posts amplifies their reach beyond an influencer’s existing followers and delivers campaign results faster than relying solely on organic reach.

In 2024, we’ll see brands prioritizing targeted ads that inspire specific user actions, reaching relevant and engaged audiences in order to maximize the potential for conversions.

5. Micro-Moments Taking Centre Stage

Imagine this: a sudden urge to buy, learn, or watch something leads you to your phone. When you search for what you want, the first brand you come across has what you were looking for so you enter the buying journey.

These instances are called “ micro-moments ,” which are instances when consumers turn to their devices for quick answers. When it comes to marketing, these are intent-rich situations wherein decisions and preferences are shaped in an instant.

Influencers continue to drive these moments through product recommendations, reviews, or usage tips. When a viewer is contemplating a purchase or seeking information about a product, stumbling upon an influencer’s review or recommendation can be a micro-moment. The viewer gains insights and can make a swift decision based on the influencer’s experience—and brands will be working hard to leverage them.

6. Subtle Product Placement

Expect product placement to be subtle in 2024. You’re bound to see influencers integrating products more seamlessly into their content, sparking curiosity and encouraging audiences to do research and come to their own decisions.

This comes from the idea that consumers prefer content that informs rather than content that has heavy advertising undertones. Don’t underestimate the art of subtlety and its place in influencer marketing campaigns in 2024.

7. More Long-Term Partnerships

Companies will likely be investing in ambassadorship programs, which involve using your brand messaging, values, and content to build awareness. These long-term partnerships have a variety of benefits for both parties involved. Ultimately, they allow influencers to develop a deeper understanding and genuine affinity for your brand, which results in fostering a stronger sense of trust between the influencer and their audience.

In the next year, we expect influencers and brands are going to be signing deals that take them into 2025 and beyond.

8. What’s Real and What’s (Deep)Fake?

A deepfake is an image, video, or audio recording that’s been digitally altered to replace one person’s likeness with another, typically a public figure. Deepfakes are often extremely misleading and incredibly authentic looking, resulting in the misuse of someone’s image.

We have no doubt that 2024 will be littered with fake celebrity and influencer endorsements. However, AI will be used to detect deep fake content, ensuring that influencer-generated content remains authentic and trustworthy. Brands can use AI-powered tools to verify the authenticity of influencer content before it is shared, protecting their brand reputation.

AI is here to stay, and brands that learn to use it effectively will jump out ahead of the competition—just don’t fake stuff!

9. Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content is only visible for a short amount of time, typically 24 hours. You’ve seen this content on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Its value is in how it reinforces the need for audiences to stay tuned in to what’s happening online.

Utilizing ephemeral content in influencer marketing campaigns is a strategy that works, especially as time-sensitive media puts the spotlight on timely promotions. It creates a need state that incentivizes buying. It can also be utilized in creating authentic BTS content, collaborations and takeovers, event coverage, and contests.

There is a ton of opportunity for this influencer marketing trend in 2024 and beyond!

10. Sustainable and Ethical Influencer Marketing

Sustainable and ethical influencer marketing is a growing trend driven by consumer values, environmental concerns, social responsibility, regulatory compliance, and the need to build trust and authenticity in brand-influencer partnerships. It not only resonates with conscious consumers but also contributes to a more responsible and sustainable future for the industry.

We expect this growing demand for ethical influencer partnerships to become even more true in 2024, as modern consumers—especially younger generations—are increasingly conscious of social and environmental issues.

Prepare for 2024 With The Influence Agency

The landscape of influencer marketing is evolving at a rapid pace, ushering in a new era of trends and strategies as we head into 2024 and beyond. Brands and influencers have an opportunity to collaborate in meaningful ways, creating impactful, purpose-driven content that not only resonates with their audience but also positively influences society as a whole.

2024 is almost upon us-are you ready to harness the power of these influencer marketing trends and take your brand to new heights?

This article was originally published by The Influence Agency. You can read it and all our other content by clicking this link.