Influencer marketing in 2021 can be both easy and difficult. They each have a reason of their own. Why could it be easy? Because most of the world is still in lockdown and most people are still using the internet and social media as their escape. So brands have a chance of grabbing the attention of their target audience. Why could it be difficult? Because it has gotten more competitive than 2020. 

Yes, it does get challenging after a particular time but this time businesses adapted faster and better. The ongoing digital revolution (yes ongoing because there’s so much more left to explore), has made it possible for everyone to have access to modern technology and platforms. Starting an e-commerce business is not as difficult as it was a few years ago. Pre-established e-commerce websites offer a chance to sellers to sell their products on their platform. And if not that, small businesses are emerging every new day through social media platforms. 

Amidst all of this, the impact of influencer marketing still remains intact. People are still using it and as it seems, people are going to keep using it until there’s a marketing strategy more powerful and efficient than that. But 2021 is the peak of our digital era because what could have taken another half a decade, happened in this one year of pandemic. A lot of businesses suffered, some dissolved but some got back on their feet and influencer marketing played an important role in that. 

So if you are a business trying to get back in the race or you are a small business trying to find your stance, here are top influencer marketing campaign tips for 2021 that you should know of. 

1. Affiliate marketing

How can we not talk about affiliate marketing when we mention influencer marketing. The first thing to clarify here is that it’s not affiliate marketing vs influencer marketing. Because affiliate marketing is a part of influencer marketing. It can be done in collaboration with bloggers, influencers, YouTubers, gamers, vloggers, name any category of creators. With affiliate marketing, you pay only for your final results. And it is easily trackable to know which kind of affiliate marketing strategy to which influencer is giving you the best results. Affiliate marketing campaigns are a huge money-saver that is also result-oriented. 

2. Giveaway

Giveaways have been there since influencer marketing commenced. But now the way they are hosted and the purpose that they are hosted have changed. You must have come across various giveaway contests that ask their followers to tag people in the comment section, follow their page, like their post to win some gifts. That’s it, those are your giveaway contests. But now, it’s not limited to just liking, sharing, tagging, commenting. In 2021, you must opt for a more personalized approach to your contests. You should add variety to your task and your rewards. Use this as an opportunity to create user-generated content for your page and to make your target audience a part of your creativity. 

3. Brand Ambassadors 

Brand ambassador programs are going to be huge in the future of influencer marketing. These programs are a way for brands to create or find influencers within the community of their consumers. These programs are an open call that gives opportunities to budding influencers or just customers who want to be a part of the brand’s products, or campaigns. You can run a brand ambassador to search for influencers or you can run a campaign that is led by a renowned influencer and you can look for micro-influencers or give a chance to your customer to be alongside these big influencers. 

4. Transparency

Transparency might not be a campaign but every campaign must have it. Those days are gone when exaggerated ads with unrealistic standards were popular. Now, people expect inclusivity, practicality, and genuineness over it. This is something that most influencers already maintain in their work and community. Collaborating with such influencers will make it easier for your campaign to be transparent and genuine. Always think about how your campaign can be perceived by people at large. 

5. Micro-influencers

Micro-influencers are always neglected by brands. They tend to go for the big names instead of these micro-influencers who actually have an intact community that is highly active and supportive. Using micro-influencers in your brand campaigns should be your mantra for 2021. This category of influencers accounts for a large portion of the whole influencer community. This means, it can be tough to find one that suits your preference but if you opt for an easy scanning process, it would be a piece of cake to find micro-influencers. WORD Marketplace is an influencer marketing platform that has micro-influencers from different niches, styles, and backgrounds. You can sign up for free and start exploring your choices. You will not save time on a manual search for influencers but you will also achieve assured results and support from the platform. 

6. Videos

The demand for video content is sky-high, both by the consumers and brands. Just pick any influencer of your choice and skim through their comment section. You are bound to find a lot of requests from their followers regarding making some video tutorials, or a house tour, or a shopping haul, and the most popular request these days- make reels! And that brings us to another important point- make reels! Instagram reels have a high reach and a different algorithm altogether. Exploit it as much as you can. But make it tasteful and sensible with respect to your brand. 

7. Multiple social media platforms

If you want to tap onto a different category of audience, or if you think one platform is not enough for you to express your content, then definitely try multiple platforms. It pushes you to experiment with your content and expand your reach. This can be done in two ways. The first being that you yourself start your account on multiple platforms or you can just work with influencers on different platforms. Youtubers these days are one of the most preferred types of influencers by most brands. You too can try your hand at that. 

8. Storytelling

Storytelling is important in today’s advertisement because our influencers have now shaped it that way and we are here for it! Every influencer is a storyteller. They always have something or the other about their lives, be it personal or professional. And making content out of it has become the trend of the century because relatability is at its max through storytelling.

 
Influencer marketing campaigns in 2021 are going to be fierce. With new businesses and influencers emerging, we can expect to see a shift in approach. But these influencer marketing tips will help you stick through this shift. The key is to understand your audience and to always adapt to the changes. Digitization has made changes and their adaption easier than before for businesses. And influencer marketing just made it even better.