Video content creation: The future of influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is big business for savvy brands who know that today’s consumers are not easily swayed by traditional advertising. As people increasingly look to their peers and social networks across the web to help them make purchase decisions, influencer marketing has become a go-to strategy.

• A recent Adweek study found that 75 percent of brands already engage influencers as part of their core advertising strategies.
• From the Kids Diana Show to MrBeast, today’s top video influencers command audiences in the tens of millions as they inform and entertain their fans about products and topics they love.

What is influencer marketing?

Most people today realize that companies are likely saying whatever they think you want to hear in the more traditional advertisements, such as TV, radio and print. Influencer marketing provides a familiar, approachable and trusted voice to give marketing more credibility.

And for small, big, and even individually-owned businesses — it really works.

When influencers make a suggestion, it feels authentic and believable. It’s no wonder why influencer marketing is on pace to become nearly $13.8 billion industry in 2021, up from $9.7 billion last year.

The rise of today’s influencer superstars may seem like a new trend, but it actually began a long, long time ago.

• As far back as the Middle Ages, the ruling class heavily influenced the behavior of their subjects.
• Fast forward to the 1970s, and Quaker Oats banked on the idea of fictional character Mikey liking Life cereal.
• NBA superstar Michael Jordan became a hoops legend in the 1980s and 90s, ultimately spawning legions of Air Jordan sneaker devotees who are thriving to this day.

These “influencers” weren’t branded as such. They didn’t have access to video platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok (can you imagine grown up Mikey posting cereal TikToks today?). But their impact on consumer behavior was just as significant.

Who can become an influencer?

Unlike these past examples, today virtually anybody with a camera and video editing software can become an influencer.

And who wouldn’t want to earn a living making unboxing videos of tech gadgets, sharing beauty habits with nearly 40 million Instagrammers, or dancing “The Renegade” on TikTok? Or better still, earn $1.27 million for a single sponsored Instagram post like Kylie Jenner?

Of course, there’s more to it than equipment. As we’ve highlighted here in greater detail, as the social-media sphere gets more and more crowded, you can’t rely on a fluke viral video on par with the Fleetwood Mac and cranberry juice skateboarder to kick off social media stardom.

A better bet? Pave your way through smart, measured business practices on how to build a social-media influencer empire. Some quick tips:

• Conceptualize your brand and know your niche. A winning (or absurd) personality is a great place to start, but it may not continually amuse a crowd. You need to specialize in something, have a point of view and expertise.
• Know your audience — and create content specifically for their likes and dislikes. If you don’t know how to do that, follow these guidelines on how to find and target your social media audience.
• Understand where your audience is. Is it YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or somewhere else? Perhaps they are on various platforms, and then your content may change for each.
• Creating exciting, marketable content is where the real work begins. Posting quality videos, images and memes regularly and often (think: daily) is key, and it is much easier said than done.
• Don’t forget to use social platform-friendly titles and tags. Learn more about best practices for keywords and other SEO marketing tactics here.

The platforms that have transformed influencer marketing

Social media platforms are a big reason why influencer marketing and video content creation are hugely successful and potentially profitable.

These platforms reach huge audiences and make it easy to share content. Here’s a quick look at the most popular platforms:

• Facebook. The undisputed social media leader in terms of amount of users, Facebook has nearly 3 billion monthly active users worldwide. Our Adobe Spark free video-making tool is a great way to quickly and easily make your video shine here.
• YouTube. With 2.1 billion users worldwide, many people dream of becoming the next big YouTube star, but it can be a challenge to get started. Here’s our recommended plan to get things going.
• Instagram. With one billion monthly active users, “Insta” is one of the most popular social networks for graphics and videos. There are lots of ways to make content for Instagram, including Creative Cloud.
• TikTok. Available in over 150 countries, TikTok is perhaps the fastest growing social network and the primary one used by Gen Z (between six and 24 years old) with over 1 billion users. Creating a TikTok video is actually incredibly easy — all you need is the app on your smartphone and a dose of creativity.
• Twitter. Twitter is particularly popular in the United States, where as of July 2021, the microblogging service reached 73 million users. Making, sharing and watching videos on Twitter is easy with these simple steps.

What influencers mean for brands and businesses

If your business hasn’t already started using video influencers, it’s not too late begin working with them Incorporating video content from influencers is one of the best ways to strengthen your marketing ability and keep up with the times.

As with anything new, there are risks. Between FTC guidelines, poor quality content, and bad fits between influencers and brands, marketers need to be careful when engaging with influencers, agencies, and networks.

Before diving in, ask yourself these questions:

• What are my business goals? This is your North Star and will help you make decisions, from what to post to where to invest.
• Do I really know my audience? Knowing your audience is essential and will help you determine where to post. For instance, if most of your customers are older than 65, Facebook is best.
• What does success look like? The metrics you choose and the benchmarks you set for each will tell you if you’re hitting your goals or if it’s time to pivot.
• Who is my competition? Understanding what your competition is posting — including what works and doesn’t work — can uncover new opportunities to stand out.
• What social media platforms do I want to be on? Do your research to be sure you know the social media platforms you want to spend the most time on.

Also check out our helpful social network guide. It will give you a snapshot of the top platforms and what you are most likely to find there.

Before you go down the route of influencer marketing, dabbling in video yourself might be a good first step. One great way to get started with video is to create a promotional video for your business that advertises products or services.

Whether you are making a professional video to introduce a brand or an explainer video for a specific product, just be sure you connect with, and communicate value to your audience.