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Influencer marketing is all the rage these days – and for good reason. It’s a great way to authentically engage with your target audience since influencers are trusted individuals and online friends of sorts. Influencer marketing has become the ultimate form of word-of-mouth marketing and brands that want to thrive should definitely be jumping on this bandwagon!

Before you make the leap into the world of influencer marketing, it’s important to familiarize yourself with current trends associated with this tactic that has gone mainstream. Here are four current trends in influencer marketing worth noting.

1. Fraudulent Followings

Fake followers are on the rise and you need to do some serious investigative work before you commit to a partnership with any influencer. Do some digging into an influencer’s key performance metrics, such as their reach and engagement, and measure that against the number of followers they have. Also, stay on the lookout for any suspicious spikes or drops in their follower count.

Remember, things aren’t always what they seem!

2. Lasting Relationships

You can’t just get by with one-off influencer campaigns anymore. It’s time to make some commitments and build long-term relationships with the influencers you work with. The longer an influencer works with a brand, the more genuine their recommendations feel. The influencer will come across as more authentic, which in turn will increase the likelihood of an audience purchasing your product.

Just like any business relationship, there are major benefits that come from staying on good terms and establishing lasting connections with the people you work with.

3. The Rise Of The Little Guys

Social media influencers with a massive following can often come across as fake and average folk simply can’t relate to their extravagant lifestyles. That’s why brands have turned to using micro-influencers (those with a following ranging from 1,000-100,000) as of late. Micro-influencers are much more relatable and they have an overall better connection to their dedicated following.

Keep in mind that a large number of followers won’t necessarily translate into big bucks for you!

4. Disclosing Deals

#Sponsored is something you’ll notice popping up a lot more on your feed in 2019. Regulatory bodies have been cracking down on influencers that don’t label their sponsored content and they are taking the situation much more seriously nowadays. This year #sponsored posts might finally become the norm.

Authorities have also sent warning letters to marketers when their influencers don’t label branded content, so make sure you pay close attention to what’s being posted!

Influencer marketing has come a long way since it first started and there’s a lot more to it than just posting a picture with a product. At Arnold Street Media, Inc., we’ve mastered the art of influencer marketing and we can help take your brand to the next level by driving your message to a significantly larger market. Contact us today to get top-notch influencer marketing campaigns rolling!