For influencer marketing to drive sales, trust must translate to real strategies

Influencer marketing this year has seen a surge in industry confidence as some marketers post returns on their investments (ROIs) and influencer-focused companies boost measurement capabilities. The approaching holiday season could provide a key test of whether these developments translate to consumer purchases.

Stability on TikTok — one of the primary platforms for influencer activations — has helped marketers come around to the influencer space, following a well-publicized rocky period in 2020. This year, TikTok has made "enormous improvements" in terms of trustworthiness, per Kantar's Media Reactions 2021 survey. With ad exposure nearly doublingon the platform, in addition to new partnerships aimed at building out its e-commerce abilities, TikTok's evolution is one reason influencers are now marketers' third most trusted media, rising from the 10th spot last year, according to Kantar.

While consumers trust Spotify, Google and Amazon above all other platforms, how they feel about different styles of marketing generally aligns with marketers' attitudes, Kantar found. Both consumers and marketers found TikTok to be the most innovative place for ads, further demonstrating the app's engagement potential.

"Right now, there's much more of the 'How do we use the influencer to drive you?'" said Jed Meyer, senior vice president of media and content domain at Kantar. "Brands want to drive sales, and right now there's more flexibility to do that."