This is it. It’s that time when every marketer is preparing their next actions for the New Year and one of the most popular searches is: what are the influencer marketing trends for 2024?
We at Territory Influence are immersed in statistics, strategies, measurements, comparisons, and digital experiments every day. We are therefore more than happy to summarize the future influencer marketing trends every marketer needs to know in 2024!
Starting today and in the coming weeks, both here on the blog and our social media, we will be publishing in-depth reports on each of the five 2024 trends.
Let’s start right away with the first one: Brand communities.
Brand communities will be a cornerstone in 2024
There is a shift in perspective that is redefining the world of influencer marketing in recent years. More and more brands are choosing not to tie their image to a few influencers with thousands of followers, but to invest in building communities of thousands of brand lovers.
One figure above all stands out: 89% of consumers trust the opinion of people they know more than advertisements. (Nielsen, 2021)
This shift has been consolidated in 2023 and will become a cornerstone of marketing strategies in 2024. Let’s see why and how a brand can build its community next year.
Why invest in building a strong community?
The symbiotic relationship between influencers and their communities has long been acknowledged. These communities serve as pivotal hubs, offering influencers direct feedback, unwavering support, and substantial purchasing power. As brands delve deeper into this realm, they realize the importance of nurturing and developing their communities.
It’s not just about creating a consumer base; it’s about creating a shared space where like-minded individuals gather to exchange ideas and have direct access to the brand. The vitality of community management and exclusive content cannot be overstated. Through these channels, brand loyalty flourishes, empowering companies to gather first-hand feedback, input, and data directly from their followers.
How is a brand community created?
Consumer communities can either be born spontaneously on dedicated forums or social media. People find common interests around a specific brand and connect to talk about it.
Or, a brand can actively create its community to nurture a sense of belonging among customers. These company-led communities are spaces where brand lovers converge to engage both with each other and with the brand itself. This type of community lives on social media, virtual forums, or live events. In some cases, brands build their white-label platform to launch contests and collect data, reviews, and UGC. These white-label solutions enable brands to access first-party customer data, providing an invaluable resource for personalized marketing strategies and insights. Discover more about white-label communities in our eBook: How to create value with brand communities.
What would happen if social media disappear today? The more data you own, the better you will be able to connect with your consumers and brand lovers.
The evolution of brand communities and influencer marketing
Looking ahead, the development of brand communities will be seamlessly integrated with influencer marketing strategies. How?
Influencers often serve as catalysts for building brand communities. Their authentic engagement, relatability, and content resonate with their audience, fostering a community around shared interests or values. Brands can leverage influencers to drive consumers to join the community.
Communities themselves are now viewed as influential entities for the brand and are being activated accordingly. Brands actively engage with their communities, nurturing their brand profiles across various platforms, thereby leveraging user-generated content (UGC) as an invaluable marketing asset. Let us also remember that community-generated UGC is organic (hence unpaid) unlike Paid UGC, which will be another of the 2024 Trends we discuss in our last eBook.
How to foster strong influencer communities
- Identifying community-building influencers:
Seek influencers who actively engage with their audience and share similar values with your brand. Authenticity is paramount for building trust within communities. - Collaborating on community-centric campaigns:
Partner with influencers to create content that resonates within their community. Embrace Q&A sessions, live broadcasts, and challenges to leverage existing engagement. - Encouraging User-Generated Content:
Encourage the creation of UGC within influencer communities. This sense of involvement fosters stronger connections between the community, influencer, and brand.
Conclusions
As we enter 2024, the fusion of brand communities and influencer marketing offers an unprecedented opportunity for brands. By investing in community-building efforts and forging meaningful connections with influencers, brands can harness the collective power of engaged audiences, driving not just sales but also fostering enduring brand advocacy and loyalty.