It seems that power in influencer marketing is shifting away from influencers towards the hands of social media platforms. Brands are willing to spend their money on paid amplification instead of working with creators directly. According to analysts, such a tendency may completely transform the creator economy in just a few years.
Social Media Platforms Start Taking a Larger Part of Creator Budgets
In fact, according to the recent industry predictions, by 2027, brands will allocate as much budget for paid amplification as for direct payments to creators. And by 2028, the number of spent dollars on platforms will exceed the budgets allocated for creators.
The modern situation on social media implies that brands would rather use built-in advertisement tools and boost influencer content in order to ensure that their message will be seen.
Algorithms Make It Harder to Go Viral on Social Networks
As modern recommendation systems are becoming increasingly personalized, the probability of going viral without paid promotions becomes lower and lower. That’s why, nowadays, social media platforms have gained a lot of influence in deciding which post users will actually see.
Brands are starting to invest directly in platform-advertising services instead of promoting influencer channels on their own.
Such tendencies are turning the influencer ecosystem into a fully-fledged platform advertisement toolset.
More Pressure is Putting to Creators
There are several things that make influencers feel the pressure. First of all, it’s performance expectations – the demand for high-quality content, strong engagement rates, conversion, and measurable results of sponsored collaborations.
At the same time, the role of algorithmic recommendations increases as well, and creators start relying on paid promotion systems even more.
Some influencers find themselves forced to seek alternative ways to generate income. These ways include subscriptions on platforms like Substack and Patreon, affiliate programs, merchandise, products, and memberships.
According to the opinions of experts, it will become crucial for creators to build an audience independently from traditional social apps.
AI Is Further Transforming the Creator Ecosystem
Another thing that dramatically influences the way influencer economy functions nowadays is artificial intelligence. Nowadays, social networks are heavily investing into AI-based advertising solutions, recommendation systems, virtual influencers, and creation tools.
Some creators worry that eventually AI-generated content might substitute human influencers.
Recently, it was revealed that creators are concerned about:
- AI-based clones
- AI-powered brand campaigns
- AI integration of shopping functionality using influencer content
- Decreasing pay from platforms’ monetization tools
Despite the mentioned concerns, experts assure that human influencer’s advantage stays in terms of credibility and building authentic relationships with the audience.
The Transformation of Influencer Industry
The modern influencer marketing industry can be described as the shift from creators towards a platform-based approach, from sponsored content to scalable, performance-focused, conversion and commerce-centered campaigns, and from creators towards brands, entrepreneurs, coaches, and media brands.
On the other hand, creators also transform into entrepreneurs, consultants, businesspeople, and media organizations.
With social media platforms expanding their arsenal of AI-powered ad services and systems on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, the battle for control of the creator economy is only expected to become harsher.