The most popular and powerful marketing strategy for brands and markets these days is influencer marketing. And social media is becoming a crucial way for brands to reach their enthusiastic audience.
An academic study conducted by Shupei Yuan and Chen Lou found that “followers of an influencer view their sponsored posts as a genuine endorsement that leads to message credibility that can positively rub off on an endorsed brand.”
People trust the information shared by influencers and are more likely to buy the product advertised by influencer marketing compared to others. It’s hard to scroll through social media without seeing the promotion thanks to influencer recommendations.
Influencer marketing is a hot topic and major companies are planning to increase their influencer marketing budget. As social media platforms grow, influencer marketing is going to become more popular due to its content as well as transparency in presenting reality. It helps brands build brand awareness and facilitate lead generation, the key is to understand the influencer landscape and the platform to connect with.
Good news
Brands plan to meet their customers where they are, and Metaverse will be the next generation of the Internet that will change the experience of Internet users.
“The influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to nearly $13 billion in 2022 and the Metaverse market will exceed $700 billion by 2024,” according to forecasts.
Data shows that Metaverse is exploding across the internet and becoming a necessity for all brands to reach, engage and nurture their customers.
According to a recent report by Statista, “virtual marketing events are expected to dominate 40% of the global events industry this year.” And due to the great reliance on online platforms, there is an increase in the creation of virtual communities, participation in exhibitions and personalization of virtual places, making social media the most desirable platform for promotion. brands.
There is a lot to do in this world of virtual transactions where more than half of the population spends more than 2.25 hours a day on different platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. The question to think about is customer engagement with brand-associated influencers in the virtual world.
READ MORE: How e-commerce will change in the age of the metaverse
Endless possibilities
Influencer marketing is going to be more effective for brands because their target audience is already planning to be part of this digital “Metaverse” world.
Virtualhumans.org once shared that, “there are already 150 virtual influencers collaborating with brands and engaging with customers daily,” and participating in market campaigns from well-known brands like Prada, Dior, Calvin Klein, and more.
There is a rise in AI influencers or meta-influencers on social media trying to engage customers with deep and valuable content that helps the brand expand its global presence through a metaverse. Many brands have already taken the lead in using the social reach of influencers to grow, such as Coca-Cola and Gucci, which sell their products through NFTs. The main benefit this Metaverse offers influencers is a successful event that is personalized, personalized and appealing to their target audience from the comfort of their home, Travis Scott’s nine-minute concert and Angelababy’s surprise appearance reveal the popularity of this new trend.
According to reports, “it is estimated that by 2022, brands will spend up to $15 million per year on influencer marketing, a portion of which is expected to be spent on virtual influencers.”
And the IZEA Worldwide study expresses promising data that guarantees that influencer marketing will be the most effective strategy. Its data revealed that “70% of influencers believe the Metaverse will replace social media, 56% of social media influencers work in the Metaverse, 60% of them want to be creators in virtual worlds, 72% say that are considering or already making money. in the Metaverse, 49% would like to be paid in Bitcoins if they earned money in the Metaverse, 85% have played virtual world games like Minecraft and Fortnite, 90% of influencers support brand sponsorship in games of the virtual world.
Develop strategies
On the one hand, where brands are planning multiple product launches to attract more and more customers, there is a need to devise strategies to overcome the challenge of fraudulent social media activities or payment issues. An ecosystem that includes influencer hotbeds, crypto room, NFT gallery, and other features will attract longer-term customers. Although the Indian market will have 900 million digital users by 2025, what will be the growth strategies of brands in the Indian market and the future of influencer marketing in the Metaverse is still uncertain.