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And it looks like creators will continue to be a vital resource for brands throughout 2025. Almost 60% of marketers plan to increase their spend on influencer marketing. Equally important, less than 10% intend to cut their influencer marketing budget; surprisingly, 23% of those surveyed earned more than $100,000 from influencer marketing.
What else is in store for influencers in 2025?
Social commerce will become even more entrenched.
In 2023, social commerce—buying and selling products directly via social media platforms—accounted for $571 billion in revenue. By 2028, it’s expected to bring in more than $1 trillion. To put it another way, social commerce is predicted to grow 13.7% a year.
The consistent growth of social commerce makes app deep linking platforms like URLgenius an essential ingredient to creators' strategy. As shoppers become more accustomed to purchasing directly from social media, they’re going to have less patience with being redirected from influencer content to e-commerce landing pages or website logins before finally getting to the product they want. A smooth app-to-app customer journey will not only give an edge to brands and content creators, but also produce measurable increases in sales.
The use of AI will grow.
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Creators aren’t the only ones in the influencer ecosystem leveraging AI. In the coming year, 63% of marketers plan to use the technology to identify influencers to work with, create campaigns or find and distribute relevant content. Another 27% said they might implement AI. That means only 10% of marketers flat-out refused to incorporate the technology!
The increasing use of AI will likely lead to an uptick in virtual, AI-created influencers. Calvin Klein, Prada and Samsung are among the brands that have already tapped global virtual influencer Miquela, and continuing improvements in AI imagery are expected to attract other brands as well. While technological advancements continue to make virtual influencers more appealing to marketers, virtual influencers also offer brands more control over content than human creators. They are also highly unlikely to get entangled in controversies or scandals.
There will be more emphasis on “keeping it real.”
This might seem at odds with the growth of artificial intelligence and virtual assistants. In fact, it’s a reaction to it—one that’s good news for content creators! As AI usage rises, so does consumer mistrust of AI. Not only are 71% of consumers concerned about being able to trust media because of AI, but 83% say marketers should be legally required to label AI-generated content. To that end, influencers might want to focus less on creating picture-perfect content and instead get comfortable showing themselves as flawed and, well, human with unscripted moments and bloopers. As AI gets more entrenched in our everyday lives, people will increasingly turn to influencers for authentic product feedback and reviews.
Marketers and influencers will seek long-term collaborations.
Our survey conducted with impact.com found that marketers prefer long-term ambassadorships with creators in their collaboration efforts. This isn’t surprising considering the level of effort brands put into identifying influencers to work with and onboard.
Long-term partnerships create more authenticity for brands and influencers alike. Consumers are more likely to believe that influencers who maintain a relationship with a brand actually use and trust the brand; a creator who seems to promote a new brand every few weeks could be perceived as little more than a shill, undermining any sense of trust or authority. As noted above, consumers are prioritizing authenticity and trust more than ever.
More brands will discover the benefits of working with nano-influencers.
Small is big in the world of influencer marketing. Forty-four percent of marketers worked primarily with nano-influencers (those with 1,000-10,000 followers) in 2024, up from 39% the previous year, and that trend will continue as brands look for niche experts and unique influencer voices.
Amidst the disruption AI is introducing across the marketing landscape, brands are placing more value on authenticity and trust. While partnering with celebrities boasting millions of followers can raise awareness for brands, it doesn’t provide the same credibility as partnerships with smaller, more “real” influencers; instead, consumers view their content as little more than an ad. Add to that the higher engagement rates nano- and micro-influencers (those with 10,000-100,000 followers) have on channels such as Instagram relative to their counterparts, along with the greater affordability of smaller, niche influencers, it’s easy to see the appeal—and the greater ROI—of working with lesser-known creators.
Want to stay ahead of influencer trends on Amazon, TikTok and more? Contact us to learn how we can help you optimize and grow your influencer marketing strategies.