The State of Youtube Influencer Marketing in 2020

Influencer marketing has become the driving force of revenue growth among YouTube content creators.

More than 1,300 brands are paying YouTubers to sponsor their products, with some of them spending millions of dollars on their promotions.

With a large percentage of the world's population spending time on YouTube every day, combined with rapidly rising video consumption, it's not surprising that brands are recognizing the unique opportunities of showcasing their products on the platform.

But while the opportunities are there, throwing money at YouTube celebrities does not guarantee results. In fact, many campaigns fail to take off, and brands are forced to look for reasons why their audiences simply aren't responding.

To ensure that you have the best chance of succeeding, it's crucial to follow the best practices of YouTube influencer marketing in 2020, especially considering the effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the industry.

So, let's look at some of the most important things to consider when planning campaigns with YouTube influencers.

Why Hiring YouTube Influencers Makes Sense

Just because YouTube influencer marketing is generating great results for others might not mean that you should be using it as well. And there are some industries that might have a harder time finding their audiences on YouTube.

However, in the vast majority of cases, influencer marketing on YouTube is not only a viable option; it's one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business and products online.

Not too long ago, video wasn't as widely popular among audiences because of accessibility limitations. People just didn't have fast enough internet, especially on mobile devices, and could only watch low-quality videos, which put many people off.

What's more, data plans from just a few years back were very different from what we have now and had slower connections, more restrictions, and data limits that made watching video expensive.

Fast forward to today, and we're seeing rapid growth in internet speeds worldwide. What's more, people can now get unlimited data plans for a much more affordable price, allowing users to watch videos as much as they like.

This shift in accessibility might be the single biggest difference that propelled YouTube influencer marketing to where it is today. You can now reach a global audience in almost any market and be sure that people will watch and respond if you get your message right.

The same accessibility, together with YouTube's compensation plan for its creators, has propelled the platform into its golden age in terms of the variety and quality of the content that's produced.

You can find Youtube celebrities in almost any niche, and will probably have your pick in terms of voice, topics that are covered, and even style when choosing who you want to work with.

And since YouTube wants the videos on the platform to be longer to have more advertising opportunities, that also means that your products can receive better coverage, providing you with the best chance of converting your customers.

Ways You Can Use YouTube Influencer Marketing

One of the biggest advantages that YouTube influencers can offer to businesses is the wide range of different types of promotions that can be put together.

Depending on your goals, your audience, and the types of products you want to sell, you may construct completely different campaigns, even if you were working with the same influencer.

But what ways can you use YouTube Influencer Marketing to grow your business and make more sales?

Let's explore below.

Branding

One of the most popular ways to use YouTube influencers is to increase your brand awareness among the audience that you want to reach. However, while they can be incredibly effective, there are risks involved because of the content-centric way that YouTube typically operates.

What that means is that when subscribers tune in to watch their favorite YouTube influencers, they expect to be entertained and informed, not blatantly sold or promoted to.

But coming up with branding campaigns that don't seem like ads or commercials isn't easy - audiences will spot sales messages from a mile away, and that might have the opposite outcome than what you might hope for, putting them off your brand for good.

However, if you can make your brand message aligned with the influencer's content, you will put yourself in a position to succeed.

Product Sales

When you have a new product or want to introduce an old product to a new audience, YouTube influencers can provide you with massive exposure in the shortest amount of time possible.

Unlike influencers on many other social media platforms, YouTube influencers have the opportunity to greatly expand on your product's qualities, unique features, and why it's the best choice for your target audience.

In fact, many audiences on YouTube are conditioned to expect longer and more informative videos, so influencers can often go into great detail when reviewing the product, maintaining authenticity while simultaneously positioning your product as the great solution that it is.

Sometimes, you might want an entire video dedicated to your product, like an in-depth review or feature. But other times, it might be enough for the influencer to wear or use your products themselves, or even briefly mention them in one of their videos.

Depending on your budget and your goals, you'll need to determine what's the best way to introduce a product so that it generates excitement and, hopefully, leads to a social media buzz that will propel your sales.

Contests

To make your products and brand a more accepted part of the YouTube influencers' content, you may want to sweeten the deal for the viewers by having a giveaway or a contest.

This way, instead of having a simple product review, you'd get people excited and much more focused on the message that's being shared.

And if you incorporate social media elements into the contest and require participants to share a message, that can expose your campaign to a much broader audience, allowing you to get as much value as possible.

Things to Consider With YouTube Influencer Marketing

Now that we've looked at some of the most effective ways you can use YouTube influencers to grow your business online, we must go through some of the considerations that you need to make to maximize your chances of success.

Let's go over them below.

Determine Your Goal and Budget

As mentioned before, all YouTube influencer marketing campaigns should start with an understanding of what you're trying to achieve and how much you can spend to make that happen.

The goal of your campaign will decide what type of influencer you need to pursue, how you'll position your product or brand, and what metrics you will use to measure success. Meanwhile, the budget will help you decide on what types of YouTube influencers you should target.

While large enterprises might be able to afford the most prominent influencers, you might not be in that position. However, there are plenty of micro-influencers with loyal and responsive audiences in almost all niches, so you should have no problem finding someone who's ideal for your current situation.

Find the Right Influencer

When you determine the type of influencer you want to pursue, you will need to find specific candidates that meet your criteria.

Since you already know your budget, that will be one of your primary considerations. But because the specific cost is the result of a negotiation, it makes sense to reach out to multiple potential candidates to gauge how much working with different Youtube content creators might cost.

Another crucial consideration when choosing an influencer is their audience. After all, YouTube influencer marketing is just a way to reach prospective customers, so you need to make sure that the person you're considering has an audience that's poised to be interested in your products.

Finally, make sure that the influencers you choose are aligned with your brand’s voice and values. Many otherwise well-crafted campaigns have gone poorly because there was a disconnect between what the YouTube figure stood for and how the brand needed to be perceived.

The good news is, you can easily find thousands of influencers with Collabstr's influencer marketplace. Simply post what you’re looking for in our marketplace, describe the offer in more detail, and wait for responses from the 10,000+ influencers that use our service.

Make It a Collaborative Process

Many companies that are new to influencer marketing make the mistake of either being too involved or not being involved enough in the way that the branded content is created.

On one hand, you need to make sure that your brand is being represented accordingly and that the influencer understands what you want the video to put forward.

But at the same time, you can't ignore the years of work that the influencer has put into developing their own unique voice, which the audience is now accustomed to. If you stray too far away from that, the viewers will see right through it and will not react favorably.

Get Started With Influencer Marketing Today

YouTube influencer marketing is one of the most promising ways to promote your business and make your brand more visible. As YouTube becomes even more popular, there won't be any more niches that don't have relevant content creators catering to a wide range of audiences, which is why now’s the best time to invest in influencer marketing for best results.

And even though making your messages seem authentic can be a challenge, if you find the right influencer and work to create a consistent message, you will be in an excellent position to achieve outstanding results.