What influencer marketing will look like in 2019

This article originally ran in 2019 and is part of our annual countdown of the most-viewed stories from PR Daily.

In 2018, influencer marketing was more prominent than ever.

As a result, it was also at the mercy of high level of scrutiny and at times, controversy. The “newness” of influencer marketing means there were mistakes made and important details overlooked, but 2018 has taught marketers and PR pros a lot about the do’s and don’ts.

As we step into 2019, brands and agencies working with influencers as a part of their marketing strategy need to focus on the following trends if they want to succeed in this constantly changing sector:

1. Instagram will be the focus.

With the recent drama surrounding Facebook’s PR controversy and Google and YouTube’s privacy issues, Instagram is likely take the lead when it comes to influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing is a growing branch on online marketing and Instagram will be its main medium. CreatorIQ, a data company tracking campaigns, estimated that campaigns using influencer marketing has doubled in just one year, and this growth was most prominent on Instagram.  Instagram was the source of 93 percent of influencer marketing campaigns in 2018. Facebook and YouTube roughly tied for second position, according to CreatorIQ.