The influencer marketing industry continues to enjoy success and investment from marketers worldwide as it is set to grow to 24 billion USD by the end of 2024.
As we approach the second half of 2024, it’s crucial for businesses in Asia Pacific (APAC) to grasp the latest trends shaping the influencer marketing landscape.
The Evolution and Expansion of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has grown exponentially, now rivalling traditional advertising in terms of investment. Recent data highlights that spending on influencer marketing has surpassed traditional advertising, indicating its critical role in modern marketing strategies. In fact, 25% of companies plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2024, reflecting the strategy’s importance.
Diverse Industry Adoption
While influencer marketing initially found its stride in the fashion, lifestyle, and beauty sectors, it has since expanded into diverse industries. Niche sectors like finance, insurance, and home maintenance are harnessing the power of influencers to inject creativity, relatability, and engagement into their marketing strategies. By teaming up with influencers who resonate with their target audiences, these industries attract new customers who might have previously overlooked them, clearly demonstrating the strategy’s potential in various sectors.
Politics: Influencers have become significant in politics, with the Biden White House collaborating with them to mainstream politics and engage young people. Their influencer program also supported a vaccination campaign encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations.
Agricultural Machinery: John Deere has successfully utilised influencers to modernise its image and reach a broader audience. By partnering with farming influencers and agricultural bloggers, John Deere showcases its equipment’s practical benefits and advanced technology, resulting in increased brand awareness, high engagement, and a notable rise in sales inquiries and conversions.
Platform Preferences and Trends
Instagram remains the leading platform for influencer marketing, with 90% of influencers active on the network. However, TikTok is gaining momentum, with 66% of influencers active on the app. Only 4% of influencers consider Twitter or Pinterest for brand partnerships, highlighting a clear preference for more engaging and visual platforms.
Sponsored content peaks around festive holidays, with 6% of influencer posts being sponsored. More prominent influencers (over 100,000 followers) tend to post less sponsored content than smaller influencers (10,000 followers or less), who post 80% more sponsored content. This suggests that larger influencers have a broader reach, but smaller influencers offer more frequent promotional opportunities.