We’ve all seen them. Unrealistically attractive “normal people” who build followings on social media platforms, whether through showcases of talent, aspirational lifestyles or intangible charisma. Around 57% of American Gen-Zs claimed to want to be influencers in 2024, which means there’s no shortage of online “creators”. With this in mind, many companies decide to leverage influencer marketing as a form of digital promotion.
What is influencer marketing?
Simply put, influencer marketing is when an influencer partners with a brand or digital marketing company to promote a product or service. This is usually completed through the influencer making a piece of content not unlike their usual output, be it a comedy sketch or recipe, with a product or promotional message integrated in.
But even with more and more people seeking out influencer marketing careers, some wonder if the medium is still relevant. In short, yes it is, but it needs to be approached in the right way. This article will explore the reasons that influencer marketing can still be a valuable form of promotion in 2025, highlighting important elements of pulling it off successfully.
Consumers trust authenticity (so don’t skimp on it)
The best influencer marketing jobs are the ones that barely feel like paid content when completed. Millennials grew up with a mixture of lifeless corporate advertisements or TV spots attempting to be funny in their blatant promotion. Influencer marketing can benefit from showcasing a figure, already trusted by a younger generation, using a product for real. It’s not the same as trying to convince you that Chris Rock really cares about BetMGM – it’s a real person using a product for real.
If you plan on leveraging influencers for your product, try to choose someone who could actually be relevant as it will help sell the crucial authenticity. It’s worth considering micro- and nano-influencer who have smaller, high-engaged followings – especially if you’re attempting to market to a localised community.
Diverse strategic opportunities
Influencers are generally their own bosses, meaning there can be a lot more space for flexibility and variation within a marketing strategy. An influencer marketing campaign isn’t going to bound by the same rules, time constraints and regulations as traditional marketing, meaning there are many different directions it might go in.
- Long-term partnerships. Influencers can easily become long-term brand ambassadors, allowing for better familiarity and association with a brand and its products.
- User-generated content. A campaign might encourage followers to make their own content relevant to the product, which acts as free promotional content for the brand, while also enhancing a sense of community.
- Collaborations. Have you seen how Philadelphia Cheese and New York Bakery have linked up recently? The same approach can be taken with two influencers for marketing materials, capturing multiple audiences at once.
This sort of flexibility wasn’t nearly as easy to capitalise on in the days of traditional marketing.
Great ROI potential
The authentic, buzz creating nature of influencer marketing campaigns can also mean that promotions might get a great ROI on materials produced. The marketing materials in question are generally produced on much smaller budgets than those used by TV studios or other old-fashioned creative houses. People can make effective advertising on their phones in a matter of hours, meaning they’re less likely to require the same sort of payment as the aforementioned production bodies.
With fewer stakeholders to pay, the influencer can still be handsomely compensated for their work from a lower marketing spend by the company in question.
Make sure to choose your influencers wisely
If you’re going to look into working with an influencer marketing agency, make sure to choose your influencers wisely. Someone with fewer followers but a more targeted, engaged audience can be a lot more valuable to you than someone with a massive audience of less interested fans.
Be considerate of authenticity, flexibility and ROI potential and you could be onto something great with influencer marketing.
