In 2024, influencer marketing continues to be an effective marketing strategy for brands, as well as a lucrative income stream for content creators. And according to research, the industry’s global market size is projected to reach $22.2 billion by 2025 — more than double its value in 2020. That’s great news for creators looking to monetize through brand partnerships.
If you’re a creator wondering what 2024 will bring, and how the latest influencer marketing trends will affect your day-to-day, you’ve come to the right place.
Below, The Leap speaks to industry experts about the biggest influencer marketing trends in 2024. From the surge of interest in AI and its applications, to changes in the overall digital marketing landscape, here are nine trends you need to know.
Top influencer marketing trends in 2024
- AI becomes part of content creation
- In-app shopping takes over
- Creators are diversifying their income
- Short-form video continues to dominate
- Short-form video creators will go into long-form
- Creator-generated content outdoes traditional advertising
- Creators will work as consultants
- Ad dollars stay on Instagram
- Personal brand and impact are more important than follower count
1. AI becomes part of content creation
Is AI (artificial intelligence) going to take over the world? Between ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Synthesia, almost every aspect of the content creation process is being automated and AI-ified.
According to Lia Haberman, adjunct instructor of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at UCLA Extension and writer of creator economy newsletter ICYMI, it’s just the beginning. “AI is absolutely going to dominate the marketing industry this year,” she says. “Whether it’s creators using AI tools to help generate text, or marketers who are using AI to source and vet influencers they want to work with.”
What should creators do?
Haberman’s suggestion? Get in on the ground floor: “I think we’re going to see a huge gulf between the creators who jump on this early to become experts at manipulating AI for their own benefit, and the creators who use AI but don’t tap into its full potential.”
AI isn’t just an influencer marketing trend, but a broader content creation trend to watch. So, start familiarizing yourself with AI tools now. You don’t necessarily have to use them to create all your content. However, you’ll at least want to know what they can do for you. For example, YouTube has been testing several AI-powered features, like a video idea generator that helps you brainstorm content, and a tool that generates instrumental music for YouTube Shorts.
Read: 20+ Best AI Content Creation Tools to up Your Game
2. In-app shopping takes over
There was a time when you’d go on social media purely for entertainment or inspiration. You’d expect a few ads to pop up before you could consume your content, maybe a sponsorship bit from your favorite creator, and that was about it. But things are different today.
Platforms like YouTube and TikTok now have built-in shopping features, which let creators slip links into their content that take viewers to shop a product directly. According to Bradley Hoos, CEO of influencer marketing agency The Outloud Group, this is a big trend to watch in 2024.
“The rise of in-app shopping is a massive trend for influencer marketing in 2024,” he says. “TikTok Shop and YouTube Shopping are basically affiliate models, which make it really easy for creators to monetize their audiences and content by sharing links to the products they are featuring in their content.”
What should creators do?
Trying to sell your own products? Good news: your ability to put products in front of your audience and turn viewers into potential customers is miles ahead of where it was last year. Featuring a product link right in your video makes it a lot easier for a customer to go from content to purchase in just a few taps.
And if you’re making bank on affiliate marketing, you’ll be jumping for joy. Instead of having to sift through multiple affiliate programs offered by different brands, you can now go right to the source and join YouTube and TikTok’s own programs.
Take beauty and lifestyle creator Nis (@itsnisrin) for example. As a TikTok Shop affiliate, she’s brought in over £450,000 GBP (approximately $576,000 USD) in sales value. Considering that commission rates typically range between 5% and 20%, the creator is making some serious dough through the affiliate program.
Read: How To Become a TikTok Shop Affiliate
3. Creators are diversifying their income
One of the best long-term goals for any content creator is diversifying their income to reduce their dependence on any one platform. “There are a lot of changes across platforms, and the ultimate solution for a creator is to have a strong connection with their audience independent of any platform,” Hoos says. “I think we’ll see creators seeking out a platform-agnostic relationship with their audiences.”
For Scott Guthrie, head of the Influencer Marketing Trade Body, this shift isn’t just a gain for creators, but for everyone involved in influencer marketing. “[Creators] are no longer shackled to AdSense, brand sponsorship deals, or flaky payouts from creator funds,” he says. “This is a win for creators, communities, and brands. Creators now have more breathing space in which to choose the best-fit brand with which to strike long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.”
What should creators do?
If you haven’t already been diversifying your income, start now. You can easily build multiple revenue streams, no matter what kind of content you create or what your niche is. Not only will it help your bottom line, but it’ll also allow you to develop stronger partnerships with brands.
Why? You can be more selective when choosing who you’ll work with. “As brands and creators work together based on a shared worldview, values, and behaviors, the resulting content chimes more honestly with target communities,” Guthrie points out.
Read: 12 of the Best Ways To Make Money Online as a Creator
4. Short-form video continues to dominate
While TikTok might not be the most downloaded app anymore (it’s surpassed by Instagram), there’s no denying the impact it’s had on social media. Short-form video is on all the major social media platforms now, and the format is raking in billions of views on YouTube alone. According to Hoos, creators specializing in long-form content shouldn’t just take note, but they should also capitalize on this trend.
“While YouTube remains the most popular platform overall in terms of watch time, overall attention spans continue to decline, and platforms are continuing to invest heavily in short-form content,” Hoos says. “Short-form is becoming an important discovery engine for creators of all shapes and sizes, and creators need to lean into new ways to acquire eyeballs to stay on positive growth trajectories.”
On the digital marketing side, this means more brands are using short-form content for advertising, instead of just relying on sponsored spots in longer videos.
What should creators do?
If you’re a YouTuber or a video creator specializing in long-form content, it’s pretty clear: short-form video needs to be part of your strategy.
As Hoos puts it: “Long-form content creators need to balance the creation of short-form and long-form content. With an ongoing emphasis on short-form content, it’s more and more important that creators have a strong presence on short-form platforms, even if their main focus remains long-form content.”
Whether that means you start using YouTube Shorts to grow your subscriber count, or repurpose your content for platforms like TikTok, short-form video should be part of your overall content strategy.
Read: TikTok vs. YouTube Shorts vs. Instagram Reels: Which One Makes You Money?
5. Short-form video creators will go into long-form
The rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts has created a new wave of short-form specialists. Some of today’s top creators, like Charli D’Amelio and Khaby Lame, have leveraged their popularity on TikTok to grow massive careers. But these creators are unlikely to stick exclusively to their short-form platforms in 2024.
Social media strategist Kendall Dickieson predicts, “I expect to see more people launching YouTube channels given their success on short-form [platforms]. With TikTok and Reels always expanding the time limit for videos, it’s showing these platforms are trying to get people to create for longer so they’ll stay on them.”
What should creators do?
Short-form creators will need to adapt, in the same way that long-form specialists have adapted to using short-form in their content strategy. That could mean expanding on your popular short-form content in longer videos, or trying out vlogging, or even producing an entirely new video series. Basically, don’t box yourself in as a short-form creator.
And don’t forget, you could experiment with other formats too. As Dickieson says, “I think this could also be done through writing or listening, so podcasts or even newsletters!”
Producing content in multiple formats will make you a more well-rounded creator. More than that, enabling brands to run cross-channel campaigns with you will be key to building long-term partnerships.
Read: 11 Tips for Getting Your First 1000 YouTube Subscribers
6. Creator-generated content outdoes traditional advertising
While more and more brands are partnering with UGC (user-generated content) creators for their marketing, some businesses are still producing their own advertising campaigns the traditional way. But that may change in 2024.
According to Haberman, influencer marketing is poised to be just about everywhere you look: “Creator-generated content will be everywhere this year. We’re going to see creator content in CTV (connected TV) ads, on social media, in marketing emails, and corporate websites. You name it. Creator content often makes more sense, and is more effective, than business-as-usual content.”
But while we’re still using the term “influencer marketing” to describe this kind of advertising, authenticity will be the focus, meaning we’ll likely see more UGC across social platforms. Many brands are realizing that hiring creators for UGC is a mutually beneficial partnership, and they’ll lean into it more in 2024.
What should creators do?
If you haven’t yet considered UGC as a way to bring in more income, here’s your sign to get started. You get to use the same skill set you’ve been building as a creator, except you’re rewarded for making high-quality content, not how much traction you get on a platform.
In a world where creator monetization programs aren’t always reliable — and don’t always pay out as much as you’d hope — building up UGC as an income stream isn’t a bad idea. You know the ins and outs of appealing to your target audience, and that’s what the influencer marketing industry is all about.
Read: What Is a UGC Creator? (And How To Become One)
7. Creators will work as consultants
If you have a decent social following, you’ve probably worked with brands on sponsored content or other partnerships. Most of the time, influencer marketing is a one-way relationship. A brand reaches out to a creator with a brief, offering a payout to promote their product or service, and the creator decides whether it’s a good fit or fair deal.
Dickieson sees this changing in 2024: “We’re already seeing influencers as social team leads via SET Active and Sam Vicchiollo, but I think more creators will get hired by brands to actually lead the content side, mostly by way of short-form content.”
Brands understand how powerful authenticity can be as a marketing tool, and no one knows how to create authentic-feeling content better than creators. All signs point to brands building long-term influencer partnerships and relying on the expertise of creators.
But Dickieson also suggests brands should be watching out for an unforeseen impact this trend might have on them: “If audiences love the creator and are familiar with them already, they may only engage with your brand because of that person. If that creator were to leave, you might not keep that engagement.”
What should creators do?
If leading a team dedicated to creating social content sounds attractive, then make sure you’re building up relevant skills. Sure, you might be an A+ content creator, but what are you like as a leader? Can you crunch through analytics and come up with a marketing strategy to keep the business growing? Can you teach an entire team to create content efficiently? Brands will look to you for your content creation expertise, so it’s best to work on these other skills now.
Even if this isn’t a career path you want to pursue, you might have to expect that more influencer collaborations will rely on your expertise than simply the size of your audience. So even just being able to break down why you do what you do in terms that a marketer can understand for one-off campaigns will likely help you get more brand deals.
8. Ad dollars stay on Instagram
2023 saw a lot of platforms vying for the top spot with creators. TikTok was at the top for a while, being the most downloaded app and influencing other platforms to copy its winning formula. Then, YouTube Shorts started popping off, and it looked like more creators would go for the long-time online video champ over platforms like TikTok and Instagram. But that’s not what’s happening, according to Haberman.
“I thought we’d see a lot of first-time creators skip Instagram and TikTok and go directly to YouTube. But that hasn’t necessarily happened,” she says. “We’re also seeing the bulk of influencer marketing ad dollars stay on Instagram. If Meta wants to win the hearts and minds of creators, they’ll need to encourage creators to bring that candid energy from TikTok to their platform and then reward that content.”
What should creators do?
If you’re not already on Instagram — or you only have small presence there — it might be time to step up your game. You don’t necessarily need to shift your entire strategy to Instagram, but it might be a good idea to at least create consistently on there if you want to capitalize on this influencer marketing trend.
One thing to keep in mind though: Instagram is a bit behind other platforms when it comes to in-app monetization. As Haberman puts it: “[Instagram] need to improve and expand their creator programs. Provide more transparency around verification and who gets into the creator programs that pay seasonal bonuses and ads on Reels.”
She adds, “For the longest time, [Instagram] was the biggest player in the game, but it’s not 2017 and I think they need to do more to show creators they’re committed to their success on the platform.”
Read: How To Get More Followers on Instagram in 10 Steps
9. Personal brand and impact are more important than follower count
One of the first things you’d typically hear about an influencer is how many followers they have. While watching that number go up as you move through your career can be super satisfying, it isn’t necessarily what brands will be looking at in 2024.
“Follower count means nothing and impact means everything,” Haberman says. “We’re going to see brands establish business partnerships with multi-hyphenate mega-creators who are building in the same space.”
That means brands might be looking to partner with big-name creators whose personal brand is stronger than the sum of their followers across different channels.
But those macro-influencers won’t be the only ones benefiting from this influencer marketing trend in 2024. The focus on impact over followers means smaller creators might get a seat at the table.
“I don’t think audience size is going to matter in 2024,” Haberman notes. “That’s good news for nano- and micro-influencers who could land brand deals much more easily. But it could be challenging for mid- to mega-influencers who may find themselves passed over for UGC creators that cost a lot less.”
What should creators do?
While growing your audience is going to help your career, it should come second to figuring out what your personal brand is and going all in on it. Are you a creator educator, sharing your expertise in a specific field? Are you an advocate, trying to change the world? Or are you a daredevil, ready to do anything for views?
Audience size doesn’t matter in 2024. Impact does, and creators of all sizes will benefit. “[Brands] will onboard nano-influencers as they can seamlessly integrate with their marketing efforts,” Haberman says.
In short, brands will be looking to find the right influencers to drive audience engagement instead of just the biggest ones.
Make the most of these influencer marketing trends
In 2024, more brands will be looking to content creators for their social media expertise, and your impact will matter more than your follower count. Now that you know the latest influencer marketing trends, you know what to do. Now go and make 2024 your best year as a creator yet!
Want more tips for making money as a creator? Get our free Short-Form Video Monetization Mini-Report to learn how you can monetize TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.
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Further reading
- How To Become an Influencer: 7 Steps To Making Money on Social Media
- 20+ Best AI Content Creation Tools to up Your Game
- How To Become a TikTok Shop Affiliate
- 12 of the Best Ways To Make Money Online as a Creator
- TikTok vs. YouTube Shorts vs. Instagram Reels: Which One Makes You Money?
- 11 Tips for Getting Your First 1000 YouTube Subscribers
- What Is a UGC Creator? (And How To Become One)
This article was originally published in January 2023, and updated in June 2024 with additional information.
