Just like other forms of marketing, the social media landscape is changing at a quick pace, and in the last three years; it has been revealed that the number of Google searches on influencer marketing has increased by 1500 per cent.

This also indicates that social media influencing is already becoming an industry of its own with stiff competition among its industry players.

It is said to have made over $10 billion in 2020 globally, so ideally there has been a huge investment in the space.

Musa Kacheche, the president of Rotaract Club of Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), says this industry is dominated by people under or in their late 30s, it’s clear that it  could become a key source of income for youth start-ups.

With the acceleration in the use of digital platforms and emerging new digital trends globally, he believes that we are bound to see more and more investments from youth in this industry.

"And the youth are the future; so ideally, influencer marketing is definitely going to be key for all industries in the marketing arena,” he says.

Kacheche goes on to note that influencer marketing has become popular on social media very quickly. It has even beaten print marketing in terms of popularity on Google Trends, as people with thousands of followers can leverage their audiences and collaborate with brands.

"This is because as modern consumers become more and more averse to traditional advertising, influencer marketing emerges as a promising advertising channel,” he adds.

Enock Momanyi, an entrepreneur and marketer in Kigali, says influencers can deliver multiple benefits to brands in the form of enhanced visibility, engagement, credibility, and revenue.

Also, he says, it is now known that these influencers also turn out to be more cost-effective than paid advertising, trade shows, and exhibitions.

According to different studies, as the influencer industry becomes more regulated and streamlined, more brands are making it the mainstay of their marketing by formulating always-on campaigns.

Momanyi says the influencer marketing industry is new with opportunities for those who are ready to adapt quickly to the evolving industry trends.

Prince Aime Murara, the deputy secretary-general, Education for Nations and Humanitarian Africa (ENHA)-Girubuntu, says through social media influencers, brands can boost their visibility, reputation, and credibility by collaborating with relevant influencers in their niche.

He also believes that these social media influencers can drive sales by writing product reviews, recommending products, and sharing discounts with their fans and followers.

In a nutshell, he says social media influencer marketing is an advertising strategy for brands of all sizes and scopes.

What to look into

Kacheche says social influencers are quite cost-effective compared to traditional advertising, trade fairs, and exhibitions.

However, he is of the view that the real question to companies using social media influencers to market their products and services will be around ROI (Return on investment).

For instance, he notes that this could be on how do they measure it, where do they capture such data, and how can they use such data to make decisions?

Another thing to look at that may come into play, he says, is regulation.

"Like most industries, the influencer market will at some require regulation. One thing about regulation is that it can frustrate innovation and start-ups or it can be a driver of these two,” he says.

However, Nkeeto says finding reliable influencers can be quite a challenge given the number of fake accounts on social media.

For this reason, he advises that there is a need to thoroughly analyse each profile and figure out if it’s genuine or not.

This, according to Nkeeto, can be done by using influencer discovery platforms, as they can make the entire process of finding an influencer simpler.

With the rise of influencer marketing, Nkeeto says, there have been many fake influencers too, as most of them fake partnerships with brands to promote themselves and become real influencers. 

"Analysing influencers to figure out their authenticity is important. Meanwhile, in a time when it can become difficult to trust influencers, employee advocacy will rise,” he says.

It’s also ideal for organisations to encourage their employees to talk about the company’s brand on social media to promote it among their own groups.