Instagram set to beat other social media channels in 2018

About 80% of social media influencers believe Instagram will grow the fastest in 2018, much ahead of Twitter and Facebook, according to India Influence Report 2018-Influencer Insights Edition (IIE).

This trend is believed to be riding on the back of enhanced engagement offered by Instagram, which is resulting in better impact for the brands. With photo and video sharing emerging as the fastest growing form of media, Instagram and YouTube are set to witness massive adoption by the Indian influencers.

The survey, conducted by Zefmo, a leading and rapidly growing influencer marketing platform, indicates that influencers in India seem to have found their voice by sharing about their ideas, hobbies and consumption preferences across social channels. Alongside this trend, brands too have increased their propensity to reach out to influencers to convert them as their advocates. A major portion of the influencers who have decided to pursue this interest are predominantly driven by the urge to make an impact and to be recognised as a thought leader in their respective fields. Thus, influencers are interacting with their set of audience and are striving to make the engagement a lot more interesting through a process of dialogue.

Another major insight of the report is the fact that while the lure for revenue accrual remains a prevalent motive, building an audience base is also an important factor for the influencer community.

The first edition of the India Influence Report 2018, which was released on January 2018, indicated that 92% marketers were expected to launch at least one influencer campaign this year.

While Instagram is expected to clock the most growth, Twitter is expected to grow at 56%, Facebook at 52%, YouTube at 46% and WhatsApp at 32%.

The survey also found that as influencer marketing becomes more specialised by the day, brands are outsourcing and relying more on influencer marketing agencies to engage influencers. About 90% influencers indicated that they have been contacted by either a brand or an agency for collaboration.

“With influencer marketing becoming mainstream, influencers are increasingly relying on influencer marketing agencies to help and guide them in getting connected with brands of their choice and even monetise their areas of interest. This trend will continue to see an uptake in 2018 as well in view of the specialised consulting service that influencer marketing agencies bring to the table,” said Irfan Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Zefmo. “Whether it is beauty vloggers sharing tips on YouTube or brand-based video campaigns, this medium will continue to dominate influencer marketing.”

The other top highlights of the India Influence Report 2018 - Influencer Insights Edition (IIE), include:

Top five ways in which brands reach influencers’ audience:

1.     Product reviews (83%)

2.     Sponsored content (70%)

3.     Contests/giveaways (48%)

4.     Affiliate links (29%)

5.     Ambassadorships (25%)

Measurement of campaign success by influencers:

1.     Engagement-level (79%)

2.     Impression/reach (66%)

3.     Traffic (63%)

4.     Brand mentions (43%)

5.     Re-engagement by brands (39%)

How do influencers get engaged for collaborations:

1.     Through influencer marketing agencies (55%)

2.     Directly by brands (23%)

3.     Via PR agencies (14%)

4.     Engaged by social media agencies (8%)

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