Influencer marketing had a big year in 2017, with a few standout trends leading to big returns: Instagram Stories became an unexpected secret weapon for many retailers and eCommerce brands, and micro-influencers proved they’re here to stay. More importantly, brands began to embrace a relationship-focused approach to influencer marketing, focusing on long-term results over one-off campaigns. Although many marketers are still just scratching the surface of influencer marketing, we predict another big year for the strategy. Here’s some insight into what we learned over the last year from managing dozens of influencer collaborations, and what we expect will be the most impactful trends for the new year:

Micro-Influencers Will Prove Their Value

Micro-influencers, a leading breakout term of 2017 according to Google Trends, dominated the influencer marketing conversation this year, with more than 600 articles now on Business 2 Community alone. More impressive than the hype, however, have been the results. Niche bloggers are living up to the fanfare. Multiple brands have shown smaller influencers to have higher engagement rates and stronger influence over their followers, which can make reaching the right ones invaluable.

We expect to see a trend in the next year toward brands utilizing multiple influencers for a single campaign to cost-effectively test new markets and demographics. Gifting at scale, which allow brands to quickly and efficiently access the right influencers without the risk of a paid campaign, will also rise. However, given the number of micro-influencers that brands must engage to achieve their goal of reach, we also anticipate increased interest in influencer marketing platforms and agencies that can manage these types of collaborations at scale — a trend we’re already seeing reflected by Google Trends. Searches for “influencer marketing platforms” have increased 650% in the last year.

Brands Will Start Hiring Influencer Marketing Managers

Google Trends also show a comfort level with Influencer Marketing that suggests they are long past trying to determine the value, and that they are ready to jump into more advanced collaborations. Phrases like “influencer marketing tips” and “influencer marketing seo,” which dominated 2016, have fallen over the last year, replaced by phrases like “influencer marketing manager,” “influencer marketing agency” and “influencer marketing platform,” according this year-over-year look at influencer marketing terms. This transition shows that brands have used influencer marketing consistently enough that they are looking to make the strategy part of their regular marketing calendar. Interestingly, searches for “advertising” have decreased over the last year, suggesting an opportunity for savvy marketers to make influencers part of their offering.

Brands Will Request More Instagram Stories

Introduced in 2016 as a controversial, copycat response to Snapchat (remember them?), Instagram Stories came into their own in 2017 as influencers were able to create that same authentic connection that first made Snapchat so appealing with far more options for selling products.

The “swipe up” functionality and ability to link directly to eCommerce pages made Stories a real gamechanger for brands this year, who now get the authenticity and personalized warmth of a Snapchat-style video, with the conversion that has made Instagram once again the leading influencer platform this past year. Stories have even helped to sell out products overnight, as Something Navy did for her first collaboration, Something Navy x Treasure & Bond, with Nordstrom. We anticipate that Instagram Stories will shine even more brightly in 2018 as tracking capabilities improve and more brands learn what timing and types of content produce the greatest results.

Brands Will Focus on Building Relationships

Another important trend we saw emerging this year was a shift away from one-off campaigns, and toward building authentic relationships. MARKS & SPENCER has been a leader of this approach, fostering relationships with bloggers like Arielle Charnas of Something Navy and Paola Alberdi of Blank Itinerary, with great results, including organic content for the brand.

By placing an emphasis on relationships through consistent outreach and even in-person collaborations, such as their Girls Night In event held last January to recognize and appreciate Australian influencers, and last year’s London Fashion Week event to show appreciation for international influencers, M&S has established more than just a working relationship with their bloggers. As more and more brands recognize the value of true ambassadorships, we anticipate fewer short-term campaigns in 2018, and more long-term, relationship-focused efforts.

Brands Will Start Buying Influencer Content

Brands will also start to recognize the stand-alone value of influencer content this year as the ROI on influencer imagery becomes increasingly clear. My company’s collaborations have shown that influencer imagery consistently generates higher click-through rates, click-to-order rates and overall revenues in EDM campaigns compared to in-house or stock imagery, with similar level of engagement shown in social media campaigns. Statistics show that while 70% of brands are using influencer content, only 10% are leveraging it. We see this is a huge area of improvement for brands and have already begun to help brands find ways to increase their ROI on campaigns by making influencer imagery from those collaborations easier to access and use internally. As you approach new collaborations, we encourage you to brush up on photo rights so you can negotiate the licenses you’ll need for future internal campaigns.

Although any number of events could shape influencer marketing trends over the next year, from the introduction of a new social channel to the effects of the US appealing net neutrality, we feel these five trends will be a significant part of the landscape for marketers who engage influencers in 2018. Whether you’re just starting to utilize influencers, or you’re looking to see a greater ROI on collaborations in the coming year, get ahead of these trends to make 2018 your most successful year yet.