Emphatically expanding over the last decade, the influencer bubble shows no signs of abating, with 70% of teen subscribers believing that their favourite youtubers are more relatable than celebrities and 88% of consumers finding online recommendations more trustworthy than traditional promotional methods. The combination of a rise in adblocking (predicted to curtail ad revenue by $12Bn by 2020) and the downturn in millennial trust in traditional advertising methods ensure that there is fertile ground for the medium to grow further.

Influencer marketing is seen as the most cost effective channel by 22% of marketeers, with a 2017 survey showing every dollar of investment returned $7.65 with the heaviest 20% percent of investors reporting at least an equivalent $20 return. The measurements used to track these trends go beyond tallying click-throughs. Purchases, subscriptions and conversions can all be tracked via a wide array of methods. Native social media tracking software, UTMs, branded hashtags, pixel tracking, timed purchases, coupon giveaways and direct links are just some of the tools that can help to illuminate the success or failure of an influencer led campaign.

So, if you have a campaign ready to run how do you identify the right influencer for you? To begin with there are two types, Mega Influencers and Micro Influencers, with both having tradeoffs. Mega influencers are expensive (as they increasingly approach celebrity status), but are experienced with a broader sphere of influence and larger brand recall (although engender less engagement than Micro Influencers). Micro influencers have a much smaller audience, but enjoy greater control over that audience (which tends to be more diverse) allowing for a stronger focus and message recall.

Beyond identifying the category of influencer you decide to engage with, there are an increasing number of tools to help sift through the talent pool to find the most relevant fit. Youtube’s Famebit acts as a talent finder and negotiator for it’s influencer market and there are an increasing number of influencer focussed marketing agencies flooding the booming market.

International brands like Nike, Adidas, Mars and L’Oreal are taking the medium a step further by in-housing their influencers, corralling a stable of hand-picked relatable vloggers with the aim of both having a greater control of content generated and, via consistent regular exposure, crafting a more genuine connection with their intended audience.