Influencer marketing. It refers to marketing through influencers.
Influencer marketing is relatively new to the scene. Therefore, changes are constantly being made, new trends are coming up with each year.
Today we shall zoom into the topic of the latest changes in influencer marketing. We will elaborate on why you should care about these changes and what are some impacts to both influencers and marketers with such changes.
2019 influencer marketing updates: #1. Regulations and Guidelines
Influencer marketing might be new to some of you. However, this form of marketing has been around for quite a few years.
The expansion of the industry has resulted in new rules and regulations set in place specifically catered to the influencer marketing industry. We will talk about some of them here.
Firstly, we shall talk about the influencer marketing changes with respect to Singapore. In 2016, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) announced that influencers are required to pay taxes for the goods and services received.
Under this new ruling, products or services received have to part of the influencers taxable income. However, there is an exception to such a rule If the goods and services are worth less than $100, and the provision of the good / service is one time off, then these goods can be excluded.
Although this rule has been set for a couple of years, we have nevertheless decided to point it out. This is because this ruling is extremely important (legally enforceable). Therefore, influencers who are new to this industry should take note of it!
Other regulatory measures for the Singapore influencer marketing industry include a set of guidelines by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS). The guidelines cover a few aspects of influencer marketing.
The guidelines include the proper disclosure of branded postings, the avoidance of fake engagement, children friendly social media marketing and more. Although these sets of rules are considered guidelines, it is still strongly encouraged to abide by these guidelines to ensure transparency in your influencer marketing campaign.
The introduction of rules and regulations is not only unique to the Singapore context. Other communities are similarly starting to enforce and introduce rules to protect the rights of consumers, influencers as well as the brands themselves.
For instance, the United Kingdom has come out with an official guide named the ‘influencer guide’. Made by the Advertising Standards Agency, the guide explains what the ‘relevant rules are around social media advertising’.
We should not view this trend of increasing regulations as a hassle. This is because the regulations are to ensure the safety of all stakeholders in the influencer marketing industry. Thus, do try to take into the guidelines provided and abide to the legislation relevant to the influencer marketing industry.
2019 influencer marketing updates: #2. The shift towards relevance
Did you know that 59% of brands are using influencers with 50 to 25,000 followers and 66% are using influencers with 25,001 to 100,000 followers? A Forbes article published recently pointed to the increase in popularity of micro influencers among marketers.
This does not mean that macro influencers are not great for influencer marketing campaigns. (in fact, there are several benefits to working with them). It just means that marketers no longer view the number of followers an influencer has as the most important factor.
Instead, marketers are focusing on the influencer that is most relevant to their brand. This influencer can be a macro or micro influencer. However, what is most important is that the influencer’s image works well with what your brand wishes to convey.
2019 influencer marketing updates: #3. The rise of Tik Tok
Influencer marketing has been popular on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and even YouTube. However, the rising popularity of Tik Tok among influencers should not be neglected.
TikTok currently holds over 1.1 billion installs, as latest (March 2019) figures show. Despite it being relatively new to the scene, Tik Tok has experienced a sharp increase in popularity. The platform received 188 million downloads in the first quarter of this year.
You might have expected this — Tik Tok is popular among the young. 66% of Tik Tok’s users are under 30.
To add on, Tik Tok is rather popular over the globe. There are over 400 million people across USA, India and China that are using the Tik Tok application.
2019 influencer marketing updates: #4. Putting the spotlight back on influencers
Influencers are at the focus of any influencer marketing campaign. It seems like 2019 is the year where marketers are starting to truly understand this.
Some marketers have started awarding more creative control to influencers. For instance, by taking into account the input of influencers and allowing them to craft their own content. There are several benefits to this.
Firstly, content will look more natural if influencers are able to create content that is in line with their usual postings. Secondly, influencers are knowledgeable about what their audiences enjoy. Therefore they are the best people to-go-to when it comes to content creation.
2019 influencer marketing updates: #5. More players in the industry
You might know influencer marketing as the fastest growing marketing industry. Experts have projected that influencer marketing is expected to reach $10 billion by 2022, up from $2 billion in 2017. (Business Insider Intelligence)
To add on, more marketers are experimenting with influencer marketing. A survey (done by the Association of National Advertisers) showed that 75% of marketers use influencer marketing and 43% plan to increase their influencer budgets.
This means that the influencer marketing industry is going to get more competitive. However, this should not deter you. Instead, think of ways to allow your influencer marketing campaigns to stand out!
Conclusion
These are the 5 most noteworthy influencer marketing changes worth pointing out. Whether you are an influencer, a marketer or just someone interested in the industry, it is good to understand the impact these changes can have in the local scene of influencer marketing.
However, do keep in mind that influencer marketing is always evolving. Therefore, new things can happen as the industry matures. Therefore, it is most important to read about the latest updates, trends and new of the influencer marketing industry.
Sources
Forbes.com, /quora, 2019 08 08 how is influencer marketing changing/#578f3d3a4cec
influencermarketinghub,tiktok-marketing-for-beginners-a-marketers-guide-to-advertising-on-tiktok/
www.straitstimes, iras clarifies tax rules for bloggers
Digiday.com marketing treat like real media channel brands changing workinfluencers/
Zdnet.com, /article /influencer marketing spending is on the rise according to new reports/
independent.co.uk,social-media-influencers-adverts-guide-asa-law-instagram-cma-a8559406.html
