The advanced technology of artificial intelligence has revolutionised influencer marketing, achieving significant success in major marketing campaigns.

By Darine Saleh
According to the Benchmark Report 2023 for Influencer Marketing, the integration of artificial intelligence profoundly affects influencer selection, fraud detection, content creation, and campaign optimisation. It highlights the vast potential of AI, emphasising the need to maintain human expertise in decision-making.

From "Craft" to "Industry": Influencer marketing has evolved from being a craft to becoming an industry, facing diverse challenges and opportunities in 2023. Its future as an industry relies entirely on embracing the concept and tools of artificial intelligence, diversifying income sources, focusing on personal branding, and strategically selecting social media platforms. These aspects empower professional content creators to enhance their skills and succeed in the future.

In this era of artificial intelligence, we observe a significant presence and strong competition from emerging virtual influencers in advertising and marketing campaigns. Among these global influencers are Lu do Magalu, Lil Miquela, Barbie, Guggimon, Any Malu, Anna Cattish, Thalasya, Janky, Noonoouri, bee_nfluencer, Emma (@imma.gram), and Bermuda.

These virtual and influential personas have millions of followers, particularly from the digitally native generations, who are accustomed to using and addictively engaging with technology. Interestingly, these influencers are managed by real individuals, indicating how human innovation has benefited from artificial intelligence.

The most notable impact of artificial intelligence in influencer marketing is its utilisation in marketing strategies. The Benchmark Report 2023 shows that many marketers integrate AI or machine learning into their advertising campaigns.

For instance, the integration of Upfluence and ChatGPT demonstrates the potential of AI in improving influencer marketing efforts. Despite the importance of AI tools, it is essential to remember that human expertise remains crucial in making strategic decisions and achieving creativity in any advertising campaign.

Did you know that a virtual personality like Lil Miquela has carved a niche for herself in the influencer market and even surpassed human influencers regarding follower rates and engagement on various platforms, especially among digitally native consumers?

As per the Benchmark Report 2023, AI-generated influencers have shown their capability to increase interest and enhance promotion by selecting the most suitable products for each influencer.

A nice example of a successful campaign is the collaboration between "Nobody Sausage" and Hugo Boss, where AI-powered influencers like Emma and Nobody Sausage joined famous athletes and models like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber in the #HowDoYouHUGO and #BeYourOwnBoss campaigns for Hugo Boss's Spring/Summer 2022 collection. This showcases the influential power of AI-driven influencers in reaching targeted audiences.

AI-powered tools have played a crucial role in enhancing influencer selection and content creation. These tools leverage social media data to identify influencers compatible with the brand's vision and automatically create content based on subscription rates, follower count, relevance, and credibility.

While some believe that artificial intelligence can work miracles in advertising campaigns and content creation, a significant group remains convinced that AI will never surpass human minds, creativity, emotional connections, and interactions. AI has transformed the content creation industry from being a craft to becoming an industry within the influencer landscape.

However, the journey ahead is still long, and experienced individuals should not give up or shrink from showcasing their skills, developing them, and sharing them, to prevent our minds from becoming programmable machines.

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