2024 Influencer and Creator Trends

Influencer & Creator Marketing Continue to Differentiate

In 2024, we are seeing greater acceptance and understanding of influencers and creators as two unique groups and services. For a short time, influencer marketing was an umbrella term and creators were a sub-category, but that’s no longer the case. We’re seeing clients come to us for creator marketing AOR roles - with existing influencer agencies already on their roster. There are similarities, but some significant differences in the talent and how you work with them. Brands are well-served to understand the distinction.

Right now, the young marketplace feels a little random – with miscellaneous gadgets and products mostly featured – but more established brands are starting to take it more seriously and showing up. Many creators have already established their affiliate shops and are endorsing products for commission. Some users are sharing positive stories about their purchases, while others complain that TikTok is pushing so much product it’s negatively impacting their experience.

Having helped several brands launch their creator affiliate programs, our advice for brands is to look past content quality and aesthetic when in-app conversions are the goal. Unlike other TikTok creator activations, your best partners (those that sell) don’t necessarily need to be as creative or entertaining as your typical TikTok creator.

Whether they are invited as guests, tapped as hosts, or involved or featured in some other way, the marriage of Creators and Influencers with experiential will continue to rise as more brands seek to connect in more meaningful ways (i.e. create a moment or memory) and influencers and creators seek to build community.

Deeper Talent Collaborations

We’re seeing a notable increase in deeper collaborations (vs one-offs): think ambassador-style partnerships with multiple commitments over time and greater emphasis on co-creation. Examples:

Ice Spice and Dunkin Munchkins Drink

Hailey Bieber’s Erewhon ‘Skin Glaze’ Smoothie

View/Watch Time will become More Significant

As longer-form video content and storytelling continues to trend, we’ll see more brands and agencies start to emphasise watch time as much as they would standard engagement metrics such as likes and comments. Liking a post with a double tap is easy. Getting someone to watch a video in full, that’s impressive.

In 2023, LinkedIn hit 1 billion members, and more than 17 million of these currently identify as creators. Though content and conversations got a bit more personal, LinkedIn has established itself as the go-to for B2B influencer marketing and is poised to continue growing in 2024. Following are just a few of the features and enhancements we’re most excited about:

Advanced Analytics – LinkedIn now provides creators with access to much more data as it pertains to measurement and performance. This is especially important as brands can better understand the impact and return on their collaborations.

Creator Newsletters – newsletters (in general) are one of the most underutilised and overlooked mediums in influencer marketing and, we expect the LinkedIn integration will shine a light on their value.

Paid Partnership Labels & Search Functions – LinkedIn has made it easier to disclose and identify brand partnerships with new labels and tagging options, which could give creators inspiration for possible partnerships, and provide brands with more confidence about ensuring FTC compliance on the platform.

LinkedIn Live – we’re exploring new ways to leverage LinkedIn Live to bring together the right mix of business owners, thought leaders, marketers and industry experts to help tell the most compelling stories on behalf of our clients.

Brands will (or should) rethink any scaled, unmonitored or ‘low-control’ (limited vetting/approvals) influencer and creator marketing solutions.

Expect Political Views & Coverage

It’s important that influencers and creators stay true to who they are and use their platforms to express themselves and share their perspectives. But what’s acceptable behaviour/content for one brand may not be appropriate for another. As global politics and conflict continue to generate heated opinions, and we enter a presidential election year, vetting and monitoring partners will be more critical than ever.

Creators & AI

Keeping an eye on how your influencer and creator partners leverage AI will become more significant this year. From copyright and IP issues to discouraging creativity and pushing inaccuracy, industry experts and pros will be key in ensuring AI is used ethically and responsibly.