Companies' spending on online advertising efforts is continuously and dynamically increasing, in correlation with the rising digital media use pace. Businesses have begun to search for other ways of attracting customers in light of the current market situation. The use of the influencer marketing concept is one of the most critical developments in 21st-century marketing.
Marketing in the modern era is moving to the next level. Major marketers are leaving their traditional ways to pursue influencer marketing — a trend that entices consumers to take action by using creativity and value-driven appeal.
Consumption in new media is steadily increasing. From 2012 to 2018, the average daily rate per person increased from 5 h 37 min to 6 h 45 min. Users from Generation Z use far more new media than their predecessors. In this case, spending on internet sales efforts is increasing steadily and rapidly, as shown, for example, by a gradual rise in spending on internet ads and a decrease in spending on traditional marketing.
This generation entails a radically new marketing strategy from the company, as it has stopped paying attention to many of the previous modes of advertisement. They willingly follow the people they know on social media, and they spend too much time there. As a result, in the modern market environment, where marketing goods, services, or brands has never been more challenging, businesses have started to search for new ways to influence customers.
From 2015 onwards, influencer marketing has been the fastest-growing strategy in consumer engagement, with the number of campaigns and tweets increasing rapidly year after year. This term is described as a "marketing strategy that utilizes excellently online users to manipulate customers' attitudes and choice processes in favor of products or ideas."
Companies view influencers as thought makers who mediate knowledge sharing and make it more accessible to their online followers. In that case, they've evolved into brand ambassadors or spokespersons. Businesses use them to supplement conventional marketing efforts to create a multiplier effect dependent on electronic word of mouth. They play a critical role in developing a ‘digital relationship' with their customers.
The power of digital influencers may be truly significant, as studies conducted by McKinsey & Company in India have shown. According to their findings, 80% of customers would choose a new brand based on a main influencer's recommendation. Simultaneously, they are also becoming a new form of a local partner, known as a local digital influencer, for which it is impossible to foresee businesses expanding into new international markets.
