Mar 18, 2025
7 MIN READ
INFLUENCER MARKETING
INFLUENCER MARKETING
We Asked The Experts: Their Go-To Strategy for 2025
We Asked The Experts: Their Go-To Strategy for 2025
We Asked The Experts: Their Go-To Strategy for 2025
Aishwarya Taskar
Aishwarya Taskar
Aishwarya Taskar
Aishwarya Taskar
Content Marketer @impulze.ai
Blog in Short ⏱️
Blog in Short ⏱️
A quick glance at the highlights—perfect for when you're short on time.
A quick glance at the highlights—perfect for when you're short on time.
We asked industry experts about the top influencer marketing trends for 2025, how they select influencers, key strategies for success, and common mistakes to avoid. Here’s what we found out:
Trends to Watch in 2025: Experts predict a rise in micro-influencers, niche communities, and long-term brand partnerships over one-off deals.
Choosing the Right Influencers: Brands are prioritizing authenticity, engagement, and audience alignment over just follower count.
Strategies That Deliver Results: Giving influencers creative freedom, optimizing based on past performance, and maintaining consistency are key to success.
Mistakes to Avoid in 2025: Brands should focus on engagement over vanity metrics, avoid overspending on the wrong influencers, and diversify across multiple platforms.
In 2024, brands tapped into trends like Brat Summer, being ‘demure’ and the ‘Mob Wife’ aesthetic. Celebrity-backed brands took over aisles, and brands focused more on authentic content and community building. Brands turned fans into content creators, and many worked with micro-influencers.
A new year means fresh social and influencer marketing strategies, and who knows what trends and creators will take off next?
We reached out to experts in influencer marketing to get their take on the biggest trends to watch in 2025, how they choose influencers, strategies that bring results, and mistakes to avoid in 2025.
Here’s what they had to say:
Trends To Watch in 2025
Micro-Influencers and the Growth of Micro-Communities
Micro-influencers will continue to thrive if experts are to be believed. Jeannie Assimos, Head of Content and Communications at mainelove, says she sees many businesses moving towards micro-influencers. In Jeannie's view, “There is definitely a bit of a pushback to the outrageous costs of large influencers. People are thinking twice about paying something like 50k for an Instagram post.”
Alessandro Bogliari, Co-Founder and CEO of The Influencer Marketing Factory thinks the “future is niche. Hyper-focused creators are building tight-knit communities around shared passions, hobbies, and even languages. Engagement is quickly becoming the most important metric for success as the age of generic, mass-appeal content is being replaced with highly targeted, personalized experiences.
Today’s creators are prioritizing loyalty, meaningful interactions, and shared experiences with their audiences. We hear a lot about ‘authenticity,’ but it isn’t just about producing genuine content anymore – it’s about cultivating real connections based on mutual interests, values, and experiences. People are craving more than passive consumption; they’re looking for spaces where they feel heard, appreciated, and part of something bigger.”
Long-Term Partnerships Over Short-Term Ones
Influencer marketing in 2025 will focus on long-term collaborations rather than one-off deals. "In 2025, influencer marketing will be all about long-term partnerships and collaborations that are based on data," said Georgi Todrov, founder of Create & Grow.
Marketers are increasingly recognizing the value of long-term influencer partnerships with influencers. When brands commit to long-term influencer partnerships, they cultivate true brand advocates rather than just temporary spokespersons.
The data is convincing: a 2023 study by Later Media found that brands with influencer partnerships lasting over 12 months experience a 300% increase in engagement compared to short-term collaborations.
Additionally, these enduring relationships help reduce content creation costs by 40-60% in the long run.
Choosing the Right Influencers for Your Campaign
Choosing the right influencers is one of the first steps in getting it right. And different people have different methods for finding and choosing influencers for their campaigns.
Colby Flood, founder of digital marketing agency Brighter Click, starts by ensuring that the influencer’s personality and values align with the brand and then checking for other things.
Katie Stoller, an influencer marketing consultant with several years of experience, taps into her network first and then uses SaaS tools if she needs something super specific.
It’s all about organic credibility, engagement, and community for Brandon Austin, Senior Vice President at Millions.CO. He ensures that he “looks beyond vanity metrics and focuses on factors like audience trust, engagement rate, content authenticity, talent affinity.”
Different marketers have different strategies for choosing the right influencers, whether it’s through personal connections, data tools, or a deep understanding of their target audience. Ultimately, finding influencers who align with the brand’s values and resonate authentically with their audience is the key.
Strategies That Deliver Results
Creative Freedom
Giving influencers creative freedom is important for creating authentic content. "I always give the influencer free rein and do not send them anything scripted. Giving them the freedom to do what they do organically always wins," says Jeannie. Authenticity is crucial: forcing influencers into rigid scripts can make their content feel less genuine to their audience.
This approach builds trust and allows influencers to create content that resonates with their audience. Two brands that have mastered this strategy are Fenty Beauty and Red Bull.
Fenty Beauty keeps it real by letting influencers share their genuine experiences with no forced promos. They encourage honest reviews, creative tutorials, and fun beauty challenges in their own style. Red Bull does the same by giving athletes and creators full freedom to feature the brand naturally. Whether they’re skydiving, biking, or gaming, there are no scripts, just pure adrenaline-fueled content.
Optimization
Brands that analyze past campaigns and refine their strategies see better results. Alessandro Bogliari highlights the power of the optimization cycle. "Every time a brand re-engages in a new campaign, it's always good to analyze the performance of each influencer to identify those that brought the most (80-20 Pareto Principle) and have them again in the next campaign. Not only because of their performance but also to reiterate the message to the same audience."
Consistency
Consistency is one of the biggest factors in influencer marketing success, and Katie Stoller emphasizes just how important it is for both brands and creators to show up regularly.
Mistakes to Avoid in 2025
Vanity Metrics and Overspending on the Wrong Influencers
A high follower count doesn’t always mean high engagement or conversions.
Focusing too much on vanity metrics is a common pitfall. "Still looking at vanity metrics (e.g., number of followers) and thinking of influencer marketing as programmatic are big mistakes," says Bogliari. Brands should prioritize engagement, conversions, and audience trust over sheer follower count.
Blindly spending big dollars on influencers with large followings is another misstep. "Do not waste big dollars on an influencer just because they have a large following. Dig deeper before you spend the money," according to Assimos.
Measuring success in influencer marketing goes beyond just impressions. Brands need to focus on engagement and conversions to ensure real impact.
Sticking to Only One platform
Finally, not diversifying platforms can limit a campaign’s success. "Ignoring platform diversification and not investing enough in A/B testing when it comes to influencer creatives" are common errors, per Bogliari.
Brands experimenting with different content types and spreading their efforts across multiple platforms will have a competitive edge in 2025.
Wrapping Up
As brands navigate influencer marketing in 2025, the key to success isn’t just following trends; it’s building genuine, lasting relationships. Experts think that long-term partnerships and micro-communities will shape the future.
And the ones that are likely to succeed? Those who blend data with intuition give creators creative freedom and focus on engagement over vanity metrics to create authentic content.
Tools like impulze.ai can help you find the right influencers…the ones that match your target audience and don’t buy followers. You can look for influencers based on filters like location and follower size to find ones that fit your preferences.
With our free plan, you can explore its features risk-free and kickstart your journey to finding the perfect influencers today.
In 2024, brands tapped into trends like Brat Summer, being ‘demure’ and the ‘Mob Wife’ aesthetic. Celebrity-backed brands took over aisles, and brands focused more on authentic content and community building. Brands turned fans into content creators, and many worked with micro-influencers.
A new year means fresh social and influencer marketing strategies, and who knows what trends and creators will take off next?
We reached out to experts in influencer marketing to get their take on the biggest trends to watch in 2025, how they choose influencers, strategies that bring results, and mistakes to avoid in 2025.
Here’s what they had to say:
Trends To Watch in 2025
Micro-Influencers and the Growth of Micro-Communities
Micro-influencers will continue to thrive if experts are to be believed. Jeannie Assimos, Head of Content and Communications at mainelove, says she sees many businesses moving towards micro-influencers. In Jeannie's view, “There is definitely a bit of a pushback to the outrageous costs of large influencers. People are thinking twice about paying something like 50k for an Instagram post.”
Alessandro Bogliari, Co-Founder and CEO of The Influencer Marketing Factory thinks the “future is niche. Hyper-focused creators are building tight-knit communities around shared passions, hobbies, and even languages. Engagement is quickly becoming the most important metric for success as the age of generic, mass-appeal content is being replaced with highly targeted, personalized experiences.
Today’s creators are prioritizing loyalty, meaningful interactions, and shared experiences with their audiences. We hear a lot about ‘authenticity,’ but it isn’t just about producing genuine content anymore – it’s about cultivating real connections based on mutual interests, values, and experiences. People are craving more than passive consumption; they’re looking for spaces where they feel heard, appreciated, and part of something bigger.”
Long-Term Partnerships Over Short-Term Ones
Influencer marketing in 2025 will focus on long-term collaborations rather than one-off deals. "In 2025, influencer marketing will be all about long-term partnerships and collaborations that are based on data," said Georgi Todrov, founder of Create & Grow.
Marketers are increasingly recognizing the value of long-term influencer partnerships with influencers. When brands commit to long-term influencer partnerships, they cultivate true brand advocates rather than just temporary spokespersons.
The data is convincing: a 2023 study by Later Media found that brands with influencer partnerships lasting over 12 months experience a 300% increase in engagement compared to short-term collaborations.
Additionally, these enduring relationships help reduce content creation costs by 40-60% in the long run.
Choosing the Right Influencers for Your Campaign
Choosing the right influencers is one of the first steps in getting it right. And different people have different methods for finding and choosing influencers for their campaigns.
Colby Flood, founder of digital marketing agency Brighter Click, starts by ensuring that the influencer’s personality and values align with the brand and then checking for other things.
Katie Stoller, an influencer marketing consultant with several years of experience, taps into her network first and then uses SaaS tools if she needs something super specific.
It’s all about organic credibility, engagement, and community for Brandon Austin, Senior Vice President at Millions.CO. He ensures that he “looks beyond vanity metrics and focuses on factors like audience trust, engagement rate, content authenticity, talent affinity.”
Different marketers have different strategies for choosing the right influencers, whether it’s through personal connections, data tools, or a deep understanding of their target audience. Ultimately, finding influencers who align with the brand’s values and resonate authentically with their audience is the key.
Strategies That Deliver Results
Creative Freedom
Giving influencers creative freedom is important for creating authentic content. "I always give the influencer free rein and do not send them anything scripted. Giving them the freedom to do what they do organically always wins," says Jeannie. Authenticity is crucial: forcing influencers into rigid scripts can make their content feel less genuine to their audience.
This approach builds trust and allows influencers to create content that resonates with their audience. Two brands that have mastered this strategy are Fenty Beauty and Red Bull.
Fenty Beauty keeps it real by letting influencers share their genuine experiences with no forced promos. They encourage honest reviews, creative tutorials, and fun beauty challenges in their own style. Red Bull does the same by giving athletes and creators full freedom to feature the brand naturally. Whether they’re skydiving, biking, or gaming, there are no scripts, just pure adrenaline-fueled content.
Optimization
Brands that analyze past campaigns and refine their strategies see better results. Alessandro Bogliari highlights the power of the optimization cycle. "Every time a brand re-engages in a new campaign, it's always good to analyze the performance of each influencer to identify those that brought the most (80-20 Pareto Principle) and have them again in the next campaign. Not only because of their performance but also to reiterate the message to the same audience."
Consistency
Consistency is one of the biggest factors in influencer marketing success, and Katie Stoller emphasizes just how important it is for both brands and creators to show up regularly.
Mistakes to Avoid in 2025
Vanity Metrics and Overspending on the Wrong Influencers
A high follower count doesn’t always mean high engagement or conversions.
Focusing too much on vanity metrics is a common pitfall. "Still looking at vanity metrics (e.g., number of followers) and thinking of influencer marketing as programmatic are big mistakes," says Bogliari. Brands should prioritize engagement, conversions, and audience trust over sheer follower count.
Blindly spending big dollars on influencers with large followings is another misstep. "Do not waste big dollars on an influencer just because they have a large following. Dig deeper before you spend the money," according to Assimos.
Measuring success in influencer marketing goes beyond just impressions. Brands need to focus on engagement and conversions to ensure real impact.
Sticking to Only One platform
Finally, not diversifying platforms can limit a campaign’s success. "Ignoring platform diversification and not investing enough in A/B testing when it comes to influencer creatives" are common errors, per Bogliari.
Brands experimenting with different content types and spreading their efforts across multiple platforms will have a competitive edge in 2025.
Wrapping Up
As brands navigate influencer marketing in 2025, the key to success isn’t just following trends; it’s building genuine, lasting relationships. Experts think that long-term partnerships and micro-communities will shape the future.
And the ones that are likely to succeed? Those who blend data with intuition give creators creative freedom and focus on engagement over vanity metrics to create authentic content.
Tools like impulze.ai can help you find the right influencers…the ones that match your target audience and don’t buy followers. You can look for influencers based on filters like location and follower size to find ones that fit your preferences.
With our free plan, you can explore its features risk-free and kickstart your journey to finding the perfect influencers today.
Author Bio
Author Bio
Aishwarya Taskar
Aishwarya Taskar
Aishwarya Taskar is a full-time writer. She has studied journalism and marketing. In her free time, she loves watching films and spending time with animals. You can learn more about her here.
Aishwarya Taskar is a full-time writer. She has studied journalism and marketing. In her free time, she loves watching films and spending time with animals. You can learn more about her here.
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May be Later
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May be Later