The transformed world of digital marketing has given birth to virtual influencers who enchant fans across the globe and redefine the communication strategies of brands. These virtual personalities having a live interface with social media users are very popular nowadays and millions of people follow these personalities; the companies reaping good profits from these virtual personalities. In this article, the author describes new tendencies in the management of virtual influencers and their influence on the marketing industry as well as tendencies in this new industry.
According to the UnivDatos Market Insights analysis, the growing use of social media platforms, rapid developments in AI, CGI, and machine learning, the rising shift to digital marketing, and metaverse integration drive the Virtual influencers market. As per their “Virtual influencers Market” report, the global market was valued at USD 16 Billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of about 23% during the forecast period from 2024 - 2032.
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1. The Evolution of Virtual Influencers
Virtual influencers have been around since at least the year 2000, with virtual bands and avatars in video games. While they were once limited to a few numbers by their creators, the increased use of social media platforms and development in AI and CGI have exposed the public to virtual influencers. Today they are not only clickable avatars but rather live personalities in large communication networks who daily answer to their followers and offer real and imagined worlds interchangeably.
Of recent, the most famous virtual influencer is Lil Miquela who is created by Brud, a Los Angeles-based startup. As soon as she made her first appearance back in 2016, Lil Miquela attracted millions of followers on Instagram, worked with famous fashion brands, and even dropped her own single. She has been followed by new virtual influencers with their individuality and backgrounds dominating the lives of millions across the world.
2. The Effect on Web Marketing
Virtual influencers have emerged as a key sector that has revolutionized the concept of digital marketing for brands to reach the market. Because virtual influencers are artificially created personas, they can always be set to follow the rules of a certain brand, thus, avoiding any scandals, which may be the case with human influencers. Such an amount of control is especially valuable for the brands to continue to possess a very solid and consistent brand essence.
However, it is important to note that virtual influencers are restricted by the laws of the physical world. They can be in several places at the same time, look impeccable, and engage with fans twenty-four/ seven. Such accessibility also means brands can engage with communities at the moment thus creating a high interactivity that is not easy to achieve with traditional influencers.
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3. AI and CGI in the Development of Virtual Influencers
The increase in the popularity of virtual influencers can mainly be attributed to technological advancements in artificial intelligence and computer-generated images. These technologies make it possible to develop synthetic characters that look and act like real people and are capable of performing appropriate reactions depending on the actions made by a user. AI serves as a tool to acquire the data on users’ activity and interests thus enabling virtual influencers to adjust the type of content and approach to interacting with their audience.
As for CGI technology, the technology utilized for creating the aesthetic aspect of virtual influencers. CGI animation can graphically create characters that look like real individuals and various technologies can make these characters extremely realistic. Such realism is important to create a close bond with the fans and it enables the virtual influencers to fit into the social media platforms perfectly.
4. Prominent Virtual Influencers on the Rise
With the future of virtual influencers set to expand even further with its development, several chief ambassadors that can be regarded as popular have appeared and all of them contribute something of their own. Apart from Lil Miquela, other popular virtual influencers include:
· Imma: A Japanese virtual influencer with having pink bob hairstyle hair and style. Developed by Aww Inc., Imma has made significant partnerships with reputed companies such as Porsche and IKEA and she is a well-known name in the Asian market.
· Rozy: Meet Rozy, South Korea’s first virtual influencer designed by Sidus Studio X; besides taking part in commercials and branding promotions activities, Rozy has become a familiar face to many South Koreans since her image frequently airs on television as well as other social platforms.
· Shudu: This creation was developed by a British photographer called Cameron-James Wilson, who named her Shudu, calling her the world’s first digital supermodel. Her newscaster look has made her the target of fashion giants like Balmain and cosmetics firm, Fenty Beauty.
· Noonoouri: Noonoouri is a digital character in fashion and has collaborated with such big brands as Dior, Versace, and Valentino. The viewers love her because of their unusual approach and the amazing visual information in her works are popular in the sphere of fashion.
5. Ethical Considerations and Controversies
However, virtual influencers have not been without controversy as they have increased in popularity over the years. This and similar concerns may lead us to problems that exist for human influencers and a change in the job market. As brands continue to adopt virtual influencers, there is concern that human influencers may be replaced hence losing their source of income and job openings.
Another elementary ethical concern is the issue of manipulation or other related subtopics that may be involved. Moreover, virtual influencers are not real, and there is a possibility that the audience will become aware of this and will be tricked by fake personalities. Therefore, there is a need for companies that can use virtual influencers to be very open and ensure that their followers know that they are interacting with a virtual creation.
There are also problems with privacy and the ability of certain Artificial Intelligence algorithms to shape users’ actions. Another, virtual influencers can accumulate a huge amount of data about their audience and therefore there may be an issue concerning advertising; the ads may seem intrusive or manipulative to users.
6. Virtual influencers: prospects
Virtual influencers stand a great future ahead as there were some improvements in the market in many years to come. Preposterously, through advancements in technology in the future, virtual influencers will have greater realism and emotions with which they influence audiences. This is most likely to mean that brands will further intensify their use of virtual influencers in their marketing communications since these can reach out to the end consumers in distinctive ways.
Moreover, with the use of virtual influencers in the metaverse, which is a collective virtual space, new opportunities for brands and brands themselves appear with the creation of immersive and interactive content for the target audience. Virtual influencers may help brands as guides, hosts, or even as characters in virtual spaces, which makes brand communication and consumer relations even more memorable.
Conclusion
Virtual influencers are becoming one of the fastest-growing trends in the world of digital marketing because they provide brands with new ways to engage with the consumer in different ways. Their capability to keep on communicating uniformly with the targeted audience, run the campaigns 24/7, and embrace the best and current technologies makes them appealing to brands that want to take a strong step forward. With the development of the industry in the future, virtual influencers will become more significant in the popularization of digital marketing and define new frontiers of the possible and the connection between the brand and the consumer.
