The Benefits of Virtual Influencer Marketing

Virtual influencer marketing is a new trend in influencer marketing, where digital and computer-generated influencers are used to promote products and services. This type of marketing offers a unique set of benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness, scalability, and personalization.

According to a recent survey reported in Entrepreneur, the market size of virtual influencers is set to grow by at least 25% in 2023 alone. Virtual influencer marketing leverages technology to help brands relate to larger demographics and grab their attention in an exciting way. Follow along as we share the major benefits of virtual influencer marketing. 

Benefits of Virtual Influencer Marketing 

Reach a larger audience

Virtual influencer marketing allows influencers and brands to create content easily with the help of digital characters and computer-generated content. This specific type of content captures the target audience’s attention in a way that normal posts may not. By including virtual influencers in your marketing strategy, you widen the opportunity for reaching a larger audience. 

A recent trend on social media is creators pretending to be NPC, or non-playable characters, from video games, according to Mashable. Audiences appear to be interested in the mannerisms of virtual characters, or even influencers mimicking them.

Cost savings with endless creative opportunities

Another benefit of leveraging virtual influencer marketing is that by enforcing the use of a more digital approach to influencer marketing, a brand can ultimately save money. The use of digital and virtual influencers is not only a quicker creative process but also one that is cost-effective. This specific type of influencer marketing does not require all of the additional costs a typical influencer may have, such as usage rights fees, travel expenses or the use of a brand’s physical products. You won’t have physical, technical or geographical limitations, and you won’t run into scheduling conflicts. 

Increased engagement 

AI, virtual and digital creations are becoming rapidly more popular as major brands and influencers have included them in their marketing campaigns and strategies. Like these influencers and brands, consumers and social media users completely agree and have begun to take an interest in the content. Because virtual influencers are unlike the traditional ones promoting trendy products, users become highly engaged and more interested in your specific brand. Users in the Gen Z and millennial generations are more likely to engage with digital characters and these demographics currently make up 40% of the U.S. population, according to Entrepreneur. 

Brand safety and authenticity

By including virtual influencer marketing in your strategies, your brand has complete control over the content you create. This allows brands to come across authentically and in a way that is accurate and true to their values. There’s also a lower risk for potential influencer scandals that can harm a brand’s reputation.

While there are many benefits to including virtual influencer marketing in your current marketing strategies, the biggest takeaways are that it benefits your brand in a way that strongly resonates with social media users. By incorporating this type of influencer marketing into your content production, you successfully reach larger demographics, enforce a cost-effective method, boost brand awareness and engagement rates, and reach users in a safer manner.

Influencers:

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Marketers:

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