The global influencer marketing spending is around $21.1 billion. Emarketer forecasted in 2022 that the influencer marketing spending in the U.S. in 2024 will be $7.14 billion.
Hence I predict 2024 will bring us more connections and collaborations between influencers.
Expect to see more brands and influencers collaborating on long-term projects in 2024, as opposed to one-off sponsored posts. The reason is that sales take time to generate.
It is crucial for brands to understand that they need to continually cultivate their relationship with influencers’ communities to reap the benefits of having a large and engaged online audience.
Collaboration with influencers should not be approached as a fleeting encounter akin to speed dating.
Brands like Ecco Golf face the challenge of striking the right balance between authenticity and perfection. One of the latest trends in influencer marketing is Authentic Influencing.
This trend emphasizes the importance of authenticity, genuineness, and transparency in partnerships between influencers and brands.
If you understand your customers’ expectations, it will be easier to choose the right influencers and content (topic + format).
In the United States, there were about 161.4 million people who watched live videos in 2023. Brands will use short video clips to attract millennials and Generation Z for higher engagement and brand exposure.
My suggestion is to take into account the video content development abilities of the influencers you plan to collaborate with.
Ecco Golf‘s new influencer partner, Erik Anders Lang (Random Golf Club), has a strong following (I am one of them) on
- YouTube (269K followers),
- TikTok (56K followers), and
- Instagram (131K followers) with a total of 456K followers.
Live shopping and social commerce are not just buzzwords but lucrative revenue sources for your brand. Statista found in 2023, social commerce sales in the United States were estimated at nearly 64.8 billion U.S. dollars.
By 2028, social commerce in the US is expected to reach nearly $150 billion due to the increasing influence of social media.
It’s worth considering integrating influencers into your brand’s affiliate marketing programs this year. The lines between affiliates and influencers are blurring as influencer platforms increasingly integrate with eCommerce.
By collaborating with relevant and reputable influencers, brands can improve their reach, build trust with their target audience, and drive conversions.
Based on the influencer marketing and content marketing trends that I talked about above, it is worth checking out the new collaboration between Ecco Golf and Erik Anders Lang from Random Golf Club.
ECCO Golf & Random Golf Club partnership
The collaboration – which is primarily a content-based partnership but will feature a number of on-site activations – marks another significant milestone for ECCO GOLF as the brand continues to press forward in challenging the traditional boundaries of golf culture and aligning with the modern golfer.
Lang, known for his engaging, unorthodox, and thoughtful approach to the game, has become a highly regarded voice in the golf community since he rose to prominence through his innovative YouTube golf series, Adventures in Golf.
The Austin-based creator has since built his following into a media brand and golf community named Random Golf Club, which now stands as a beacon for inclusivity and innovation in the golf space.
Lang and the Random Golf Club brand will be exclusive partners of ECCO GOLF, wearing the brand’s shoes cross-platform.
Summary
I have no doubt in my mind that Erik Anders Lang is a good choice for creating authentic, captivating video content for Ecco Golf. Thus, there is a good chance his content will elevate the brand’s image.
Perhaps it is worth adding that Erik should be encouraged to make the most of the social commerce features of his social media platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram). Furthermore, he should inspire his viewers/followers to interact with his videos.