Future Wave of Influentials: Everything You Need to Know About Virtual Influencers

Though Web2 provided the influencer, Web3 is laying the groundwork for an artificially intelligent substitute. So begins the age of the internet celebrity influencer for a brand. The fear of a robot uprising is one example of how science fiction films have gotten people thinking. With the development of cutting-edge science, engineering, and AI technologies, this idea, which used to be impossible, is now possible. The rise of digital promoters is a great example of this point in and of itself. The use of fictitious personalities on web media platforms presents a significant brand opportunity. It is safe to predict that this trend will spread even further this year as a brand experiments with the metaverse. Even though many brands have already worked with virtual marketers and even created their own, it's safe to say that this trend will continue to grow.

A "virtual influencer" is a fictitious public avatar that exists only in computer-generated form. Then, this avatar is set up to act the same way on many media channels, as if it were a real influencer. They post about similar things that human promoters do, for instance, vacation photos, outfit posts, and lots of selfies. VirtualHumans.org claims there are more than 200 online celebrities active on web-based networking platforms. Those who are considered to be major innovators have millions of fans.

When it comes to advertising goods and services on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, CGI promoters are just as useful as their human counterparts for a brand. By working with bloggers, a brand can show its products in a more real way than it can with more traditional forms of advertising. Some audience members might think that these "CGI advertisers," also called "virtual influencers," are real people because their faces, personalities, and bodies look so real. A CGI influencer will have the following qualities:

• They must be computer-generated.
  
• In most cases, they take on a human form.
  
• Their history is interesting and relatable to the audience.
  
• They have the ability to influence the audience

In the past few years, an electronic avatar has grown in popularity and status, with more and more slick electronic characters showing up on Instagram and other social networks and building up large fan bases. Just like celebrities and real individuals with a lot of influence, these 3D models are often used in marketing campaigns, brand placements, and PR activities.

Because of how popular these opinion leaders have become, they get three times as many interactions on Instagram as regular users. A recent study found that more than half of the respondents surveyed (58%) follow at least one CGI influencer. They follow a virtual influencer for many different reasons, such as to get content (27%), stories (19%), and inspiration (15%). Although the trend of using digital natives as spokesmen has not caught on in the West to the same extent as in Asia, it has grown enormously there. The meta-human idol market is expected to grow from $4.6 billion in 2015 to close to $5.8 billion by 2030. Most of this growth will happen in China.

Each "CGI influencer" has an anonymous team of smart creators behind them, including companies and individuals with an eye for technology. They're the ones who have built their Instagram followings and shaped these digital characters into the global avatar the masses see today. Three-dimensional imagery is used to make internet icons. Despite the fact that their outfits and homes are entirely made up, digital personas might appear in the real world.

Their designers decide on their appearance, attire, and demeanor. Moreover, they get to choose who they hang out with, date, argue with, and work with on the social media platform Instagram. Most notably, they get to keep the money they earn from endorsement relationships with a brand. These producers then superimpose their bloggers on any background they like. So, if they make a digital influencer who likes to travel, what they need is a high-resolution background image of a faraway place, and their digital influencer can cross that place off their list.

As the use of digital models on social networking sites grows, so does the number of the computer-generated avatar. A big selling point is that an influencer can easily use a brand as part of their everyday life. The stories they tell and the experiences they've had can be tailored to the service or commodity they're selling. Attempting to persuade a real-life influencer is significantly more difficult. Here are some specific ways that companies are putting this technology to use:

• Imma: IKEA
  Imma is the most popular electronic model in Japan. As part of a new installation that will open in 2020, IKEA will build her a legitimate house. Imma did what she always does and posted live updates on her social networking sites as she looked around her new home for her many followers. Since her start as a digital ambassador, Imma has worked with brands like Dior, Porsche Japan, and Valentino. With almost 400,000 Instagram followers and 38,000 on TikTok, the persona "contrarian voice for the future" certainly has a strong online presence.

• Daisy and Yoox
  Daisy, an artificially intelligent shopping avatar, was developed by Yoox, a well-known online clothing retailer with a big Instagram following, so that shoppers may see how different product combinations look on a human figure. Last year, the Chinese government's news source, Xinhua, showed off an internet news anchor that "can work 24 hours a day." Seraphine, a popular League of Legends character who has her own social media presence and fan base, was also made by the same team.

• Colonel Sanders, KFC
  Businesses have seen some bold computer-generated projects, like KFC's re-imagining of Colonel Sanders as a happy digital influencer, which got 151 million impressions for the well-known fast food chain. During the two-week campaign, Colonel Sanders ran KFC's social media channels and showed that he was an influencer. The online opinion leader posted funny pictures of KFC's partnerships with Dr. Pepper, Old Spice, and TurboTax. Using a computer-generated image of Colonel Sanders as an influencer, KFC was able to rack up over 20,000 likes on a single photo.

• Lil Miquela, Samsung
  As part of their #TeamGalaxy campaign, Samsung hired Lil Miquela to help spread the word about the Galaxy Z flip phone worldwide. Everything was accomplished in a single video titled "Do What You Can't." The fact that this computer-generated influencer exists shows that anything is possible, which makes this slogan and the collaboration with Lil Miquela a perfect fit. From Samsung's point of view, the goal of this campaign was to get closer to members of Generation Z and millennials. This could not have been accomplished without including one of the most well-known digital avatar in the world, which is a true reflection of how far technology has come.

A lot of well-known companies are using internet opinion leaders to help with their marketing efforts right now. This strategy not only attracts millions of viewers around the world, but it also helps these brands stand out from the other businesses in their industry. But the most surprising thing is that even smaller brands and businesses can build their own marketers. You can make an electronic avatar that can have a natural relationship with an audience and not just work with a brand to sell things.

It is imperative that businesses develop novel and cost-effective methods of promotion. One of these effective strategies is to work with influential individuals, or even go a step further and use a virtual influencer. According to a Gartner study, by 2025, online marketers will account for 30% of all marketing budgets. Among the most exciting emerging technologies to keep an eye on in the future are electronic creators. A brand should support computer-generated creatives for a variety of reasons. Items in this category include

1. Possession of total ownership of the brand
   Because of the rise of virtual promoters, internet marketers will have greater control over who they work with. One major upside to virtual opinion leaders is that they take away the incentive to act irrationally in the factual world. for the simple reason that virtual bloggers make a living off of social content. The possibility of a character misspelling the brand's name has vanished. There will also be less of a chance that a post will be published too late.
   
   
2. Spending cuts in the long run
   Since there is no physical world in which a virtual influencer exists, they do not have the same hectic schedule as their human counterparts. They are capable of attending simultaneous photoshoots in different settings. By going there virtually, they can see the beauty of places all over the world without having to pay for a trip.
   
   
3. High engagement
   It seems that the rate of engagement with internet entrepreneurs is about three times higher than with traditional creatives. These types of marketers are still fairly new, so there isn't a lot of information about them yet. Because of this, it's important to give this information a lot of thought.
   
   
4. A world of unbounded opportunity for imagination
   Marketers in the digital sphere can give their virtual bloggers any characteristics they like, including but not limited to look, age, gender, interests, and the type of material they produce. The possibilities for these types of innovators and their settings are vast.
   
   
5. Transition to the Metaverse
   As the metaverse grows, it's possible that computer-made avatars will become quite popular. Since internet opinion leaders are just made-up characters, any brand can easily add them to any virtual setting. Users will be able to follow their favorite persona into the metaverse, which may increase their level of trust and open up fresh options for developing meaningful relationships with a brand. It's possible that programmatic advertising and metaverse avatars will be able to work together in the near future.