Beyond Trends: Navigating Social & Influencer Marketing in 2024

'Beyond Trends: Navigating Social and Influencer Marketing in 2024' hosted by Sphere Digital Recruitment Group 

The panel discussed topics including how to measure the impact of an influencer campaign, why investing in content creators is a non-negotiable and trends to look out for in 2024 and beyond 👀 

The panel featured amazing industry experts:
💥 Adam Clyne, CEO Coolr
💥 Ben Jeffries, CEO Influencer
💥 Imogen Coles, UK Head of Influence, Ogilvy
💥 Tom Sweeney, Global VP Influencer, Brainlabs

Our top 3 takeaways

1. Influencer and influence are not mutually exclusive. If we want to make a real impact with our communications we should be investigating who the real-life influencers are and how to reach them - or thinking about influencers differently and asking ourselves "Who or what influences the influencers?" (reminder - 'influencers' are not always those that have a social media presence). 

2. Think earned first and keep it simple. Question if creative will perform organically first, before putting a media spend behind it - if an idea will work organically and inspire audiences to share and talk about it, it will FLY in paid. So, consider leaning into social listening to gain insights into what real people are talking about in your niche and how taking a creative risk could pay off big time (obviously this depends on the brief). Remember, If an idea or message is not simple enough to understand if it were to be written on the back of a napkin, it's not a good idea - it's all about 'the quick get'. 

3. The way brands think of influencers and creators, and the way creators and influencers think of brands is changing rapidly. The sphere of social and influence has grown up and the market reflects this. Brands should look to partner with creators to create authentic, long-term relationships and this goes both ways. Creators now understand their worth and should be treated as an extension of creative teams to deliver well-rounded campaigns and brands should trust that the creators will know how to make the best content for their audiences... Creating content and coming up with ideas that get reach and engagement is their job so we need to let them do it.