• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 16, 2016

According to TapInfluence, the annual 2017 “Tap Ten” digital advertising spend will overtake traditional advertising by the end of 2016 with the margin expected to grow in 2017. And, in a recent eMarketer survey, the stats are all pointing towards exponential growth in influencer marketing, says the report. 84% of marketers are expected to take on influencer marketing in the next 12 months.

With extensive experience in the industry, the TapInfluence insights team has identified it’s top trends for the new year with key insights to inform marketers’ 2017 digital marketing strategies. Leading the “Tap Ten” announcement is TapInfluence CEO, Promise Phelon. Over the past year alone, Phelon has seen influencer assignments grow in TapInfluence by almost 90% and expects growth to continue in 2017.  

Phelon says that “   consumers don’t listen to brands because they’re not human… Influencers are real people… that’s why they are able to engage their audiences… he influencer marketing space is so new that marketing executives are still doing many things incorrectly… The TapInfluence 2017 predictions are a guide that will help marketers move the needle and drive sales… ”

Authenticity Will Be Questioned

After decades of use, the veneer on celebrity endorsements will finally crack, says the report, and brands will come to realize that fame does not automatically bring influence. Influencers can deliver high-quality content that is better targeted to specific consumer needs.

Agencies Who Build Practices Around Influencer Marketing Will Win

Agencies that are already investing in influencer marketing as a core competency, and building practices at scale will win business. The focus will rely on data and transparency, says the report, facilitated by influencer marketing automation platforms.

Marketing Tech Will Become Accessible and Further Differentiate Challenger Brands

With limited resources, smaller brands will seek solutions that reduce strain on their human resources without straining their budgets. These brands will turn to platforms with experience, robust technology, and actionable data to create affordable and predictable programs that produce results.

Influencer Marketing Will Penetrate B2B

The B2B and B2C paths to purchase are converging just as consumer’s personal and professional lives become more intertwined.

Brands Will Connect the Dots Between Offline and Online 

Recent data has shown that online influencer content has a powerful and trackable effect, says the report. A 2016 study with Nielsen Catalina Solutions proved that sponsored blogs and social media posts by influencers increased purchases of the advertised product, and prompted a noticeable shift away from competitors’ products

Real Time Social Channels Will Require Brands to Give up Creative Control

Influencers will no longer accept every opportunity that is presented to them. They are becoming selective with partnerships and maintaining authenticity in the content they create for their audience. In 2017, the real-time social platforms will force brands to step out of the creative process in order to take advantage of the quick pace

Audience Will Become More Important Than Influencer

Audience targeting in influencer marketing demonstrates the natural application of traditional marketing strategy to this emerging discipline, says the report. Marketers will need to build campaigns based on an influencer’s audience and performance data.

People Will Call a Timeout on Traditional Social Engagement Metrics

Social media is taking the lead on developing measures that track the types of actions that matter in the digital era. In 2017 marketers will abandon views as an acceptable performance metric, and turn instead to metrics that speak to real engagement with content: likes, shares, comments, and click-throughs.

As top brands and agencies lean in to influencer marketing, they will need confirmation that it’s actually affecting their bottom line, concludes the report. Program performance (using quantitative metrics), as well as sales and revenue lift, will be critical to justify bigger budgets for influencer marketing to CFO’s and Strategic CMO’s.

To view more of TapInfluence’s “Tap Ten” 2017 Predictions, please visit here.