CorporateInfluencersReachbirdReachbird, the influencer marketing agency acquired by adesso last year, has surveyed experts for the fourth time in a row and compiled the most important trends for the new year.

Advertising companies, agencies, scientists and influencers report from their perspective in the Influencer Marketing Trend Report 2022. In addition to future forecasts and recommendations, the report offers practical insights for marketers.

The report highlights that Influencer Marketing not only takes place on Instagram but on the booming platform TikTok, and that LinkedIn and podcasts will be in focus in 2022 too. No one will be able to avoid short videos and live formats this year across all platforms. Furthermore, influencer relations will gain in importance as influencers are becoming increasingly independent of short-term cooperation and will advertise their own products and brands more intensively. This trend, in which influencers become entrepreneurs themselves and compete with established companies points out the creator economy.

Overall, the trends for 2022 focus on the three topics of corporate influencers, live formats and influencer podcasts and provides useful insights into current and future developments as well as practical suggestions for your own influencer marketing strategy.

The Top 10 influencer marketing trends are:

  1. Influencer relations are becoming increasingly important - increase in long-term campaigns
    Developments in recent years have shown that influencers are becoming increasingly critical when choosing their cooperation partners. Therefore, brands should focus on building relationships with influencers who identify themselves with the brand and strive for long-term cooperation.
  2. Additional sources of income through influencer podcasts and exclusive platform deals
    Through an exclusive deal with Spotify, the two influencers Julien Bam and Rezo managed to create with their “hobbylos” podcast an additional source of income that ensures more loyalty to the community and promotes their visibility and reach. It can be expected that there will be more exclusive influencer podcasts in 2022.
  3. Independence through own influencer brands and investor activities
    In recent years, it has been repeatedly observed that influencers have successfully set up their own brands or have become investors. Influencers will continue to make themselves less and less dependent on one-time collaborations in the future.
  4. Corporate influencers and employer branding
    Influencer marketing can do more than just sell. Hence, in the future, influencers will be used more in the B2B area and for employer branding.
  5. Qualitative evaluation of influencer marketing campaigns is gaining in importance
    Quantitative goals are easier to measure than the quality of content, engagement, and conversions. Especially when it comes to comparing campaigns, the focus will be more on the subjective perception of the communities in 2022.
  6. Short video content is becoming important – TikTok as a shooting star
    Short videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels continue to enjoy increasing popularity and overtake the traditional picture posts. Social media users increasingly demand higher standards regarding content and put the TikTok platform, in particular, centerstage since it stands for short videos like no other social media platform, meaning it will benefit from this trend in 2022.
  7. Best ager influencers gain prestige and reach
    Due to the ongoing corona situation, many activities have shifted to the digital space, meaning more new target groups are opening up for digital advertisers, especially the 50+ age group known as the “best agers”. To reach them efficiently, best ager influencers are increasingly being used, who are loyal and authentic cooperation partners thanks to their many years of consumer experience.
  8. Increasing transparency in pricing policy
    Revenue-based variables for influencer fees will gain in importance in the new year to ensure value for money in influencer marketing. In general, transparency regarding the price policy in influencer marketing is a positive trend that should be promoted conjointly.
  9. Live formats will be an essential part of content production in the future
    Like a personal exchange, products can be brought closer to the customer in a live format. Influencers are that way more approachable for their communities and there is the advantage that e-commerce can be combined with entertainment. Live shopping will therefore increasingly come to the fore in 2022.
  10. Influencers as representation of political interests
    Ever since YouTuber Rezo's famous video hit the media in 2019, more and more influencers have dared to express their political interests. In the future, they will increasingly take part in political discourse and express their opinions on social media.


For the managing director of Reachbird, Usama Abu-Pascha, who also heads the digital marketing business at adesso, the forecast trends should be a clear signal for the consulting industry: "In the coming year, we are preparing for the fact that more companies, especially from the B2B sector, are focusing on influencer marketing. Data-based and KPI-driven influencer campaigns, in particular, offer companies quick and valuable insights into what makes their market ‘tick’. Social commerce also offers a lot of new potential here. With sophisticated mechanisms and long-term relationships, influencer marketing becomes a clear competitive advantage for these companies.” (Source: adesso)

By MediaBUZZ