Publicis just dropped $500M on influencers. Here's why your CMO should be freaking out This week’s announcement signals the definite end of the beginning for influencer marketing and solidifies its growing importance in the media mix for brands. Here's what we can expect on the horizon: Market Shift - Social media ad spend is projected to reach $186 billion by 2025. - This total will surpass global linear TV ad spend for the first time Continued Changing Consumer Behavior - The average American spends 4 hours on their mobile devices a day of which 2.5 hours each day is spent on social media. - Those numbers almost double to 4.8 hours for the average American teen - As the investment dollars referenced previously suggest, there's an appreciation by marketers for the value of attention on these platform from a paid perspective but some we struggle to connect the dots on the organic and creator sides of the coin. Authenticity and Trust - We know that consumers value peer recommendations over traditional ads. - We also know that creators develop deep relationships (often parasocial) with their audience offering brands a more authentic and trusted voice to convey a message Data and Targeting - While Google's cookie reversal provides temporary relief, we won't return to the era of free-flowing targeting data any time soon. - Creators who have built audiences around interests and microniches are the new targetable segments. - Though we lack the same reach and frequency controls as in programmatic advertising, the authenticity of the creator's voice compensates for this. Future-Proofing - Traditional channels face challenges like ad-blocking and declining reach and effectiveness. - Investing in influencer marketing positions brands who are leaned in with a sustainable vector for future growth. Investing means more than dropping a couple samples and gift baskets on Youtubers, IG models or Twitch Streamers and hoping for the best It means developing a nuanced understanding of a creators audience and distribution to develop a real and partnership oriented media and communications strategy that helps businesses and organizations achieve their marketing and sales goals. Without endorsing any particular product or platform, these tools exist. Winning tomorrow's customer means embracing these tools today. You can't sell what audiences can't see, and most organizations have barely begun to tap into the creator economy. While brands fight for dwindling attention on traditional channels, creators already command engaged, loyal audiences. This is the creator's advantage.
Reasons for Increasing Social Media Investment
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The biggest opportunity across social media right now is LinkedIn short-form video. LinkedIn hasn't been shy about wanting more people to share video on the platform, either. It's been investing heavily in video-first features: 🎥 A dedicated video tab that allows you to watch videos in an immersive experience. 📲 The "Videos For You" feature, which brings a carousel of recommended videos to your feed. Plus, it’s leveraging its marketing channels and data to encourage people to share video. These efforts are paying off, too: 🎥 Video is LinkedIn's fastest-growing format 🚀 A 34% year-over-year increase in video uploads 📊 Weekly immersive video views are up 6x quarter over quarter This means there's a big opportunity for you... creators, marketers, small businesses, brands, and anyone using LinkedIn to share their voice for economic opportunities. Here's why: 🔍 Low Supply, High Demand: As seen with the early days of Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok, there’s often a gap between people using a new feature or format and those who are consuming it. This is the case with LinkedIn video today. There's a small pool of people sharing videos versus those not, giving those who do share video less competition for attention. 🚀 LinkedIn Is Prioritizing Video: Perhaps the biggest reason... LinkedIn is prioritizing it. In addition to adding more ways for videos to surface compared to other formats, users who share video content are being rewarded. There are a lot of people reporting that they're receiving hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of impressions on their videos. 📊 Broader Video Trends: Video has become one of the key ways we consume content, whether for entertainment, education, or inspiration. Short-form video, in particular, has become the go-to. And it’s not just younger generations—over 75% of U.S. adults spend up to two hours daily watching short-form videos. There are other reasons to invest in LinkedIn video—thinking about my own business, here’s what I see: 💼 Getting Clients: Video is a great way to showcase your insights and expertise. When people can see and hear you, they have a better idea of what it might be like to work with you. 📈 Sponsored Content: Influencer marketing on LinkedIn is growing. Video is one of the most popular formats for sponsored content in general, and with 80% of B2B buyers saying short-form video content from influencers is the most trusted, video is key if you want to attract more brand partners and drive the outcomes they want. 🎤 Speaking Opportunities: Posting “talking head” videos or repurposing past speaking engagements helps demonstrate the value you can bring to events. This makes it easier for event organizers to see how you can communicate your knowledge, experience, etc., and makes you top of mind when it comes to speaking opportunities. How's LinkedIn video been for you?
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Were folks at your Thanksgiving festivities watching TV or scrolling on their phones? According to Ampere Analysis's latest research, and perhaps not too surprisingly, social media has the highest level of engagement amongst internet users globally, just ahead of TV (TV appears to include CTV, streaming and broadcast). One huge implication of this shift is the impact on TV marketing, and where advertisers are choosing to spend their dollars. Social video advertising is already expected to surpass linear TV ad spend for the first time ever in 2024 (according to Variety). With platforms like TikTok providing advertisers with AI-driven video creation tools for building high-quality and engaging content, quickly and easily, the social media ad market is becoming even more compelling. Interestingly, Ampere Media’s research finds relatively low engagement on influencer videos, suggesting advertisers need to remain strategic about how they utilize social media advertising. Accenture US Media practice is busy helping our clients leverage emerging technologies to create increasingly compelling / innovative ad products.
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