The discussion around ad blocking is slowly making its way into boardrooms everywhere. Since it isn’t going away anytime soon, it’s a good time for marketers to start preparing for the changes ahead.

The disruptions that ad blocking is causing in the advertising and publishing industries are real. It’s time marketers and brands start mapping out new strategies and implementing solutions, with the hopes of remaining relevant and profitable in the marketplace during this time of digital evolvement.

Don’t let ad blocking get you down. Be open to adapting new ideas and strategies while trying to deal with the obstacles that paid media brings. It’s time to ramp up your social influencer marketingefforts and let your fans do the talking. Modern marketers are sure to focus on collecting and using earned media to make up for advertising loses.

Earned media is content that is gained through promotional efforts made by a brand. This would include content creation campaigns, sweepstakes or contests, hashtag promotions, and customer submissions among others. Savvy marketers are already collecting free content from their fans and customers to drive more sales.

It’s never been smart to put all of your eggs in one basket, especially given how fast technology and social media are changing these days. So marketers will need to find their perfect balance between earned and owned media. However, leveraging earned media will help marketers quickly accomplish their main goal, which is to effectively get their message out to the market.

What are customers saying about your brand to other customers? If you don’t know, you should make it a point to find out. The power of peer recommendations is far more effective than brand marketing messages. Conversations between your current and potential customers are already organically happening. So why not help fuel the conversations to grow your brand? Engage consumers with authentic user generated content about your products, encourage fans to share their love for your brand, and get your customers to post reviews on social media networks to serve as social proof. These are just a few strategies that will help brands build trust and drive sales. Nielsen has reported time after time that, consumers around the world continue to see recommendations from friends and online consumer opinions as by far the most credible.

Social influencer marketing is getting its own line item in brand marketer’s budgets everywhere. Instead of focusing your time and efforts creating content for your audience, provide them with content creation opportunities. Give your fans the power to voice their love for you and share why they love you with their networks. Value, relevance and consistency are far more important these days than mass creation and distribution. Create influencer marketing campaigns that provide people to easily submit their high quality photos and videos for your use.

While the increase of ad blocking might be annoying, it’s not going to stop modern marketers and brands who are eager to succeed. Earned media, including peer reviews and UGC, is a solution that you can implement now, and it works. Social media influencers and brand ambassadors are going to be key to marketing success as ad blocking continues to grow.