INFLUENCER MARKETING

55 Influencer Marketing Stats + How to Leverage Them [Our Expert POV]

Influencer marketing is on the rise, and increasingly more companies are using their marketing budgets on influencers.

But are the results accurate or hyped-up? How can you make the most of your campaign?

You can find out from the influencer marketing stats below.

We’ll give you all the most recent numbers and our perspective as an influencer marketing platform to help you interpret them to your advantage.

Influencer Marketing Industry Overview

1. Influencer marketing is expected to be worth $24 billion by the end of 2024.
2. 63% plan to use AI in executing their influencer marketing strategies; 55% of these are for influencer identification.
3. 85% of survey respondents in an Influencer Marketing Hub report believe influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing to reach their target audience.
4. 75% admit to having increased the amount of content they produce and share.
5. 61.4% of people worldwide are active on at least a social media platform, from Instagram and TikTok to Twitch and YouTube.
6. Big Commerce claims that the first-choice platform for influencer marketing and brand-influencer collaborations is Instagram. However, Influencer Marketing Hub says TikTok is utilized by 69% of brands for influencer marketing, ahead of Instagram (47%), YouTube (33%), and Facebook (28%).
7. About two-thirds of creators on social media platforms are nano-influencers with fewer than 10,000 followers.

The anticipated growth of influencer marketing to a $24 billion industry by the end of 2024 underscores its increasing prominence in the digital marketing landscape.

This expansion is propelled by a strategic embrace of advanced technologies, with 63% of marketers planning to leverage artificial intelligence for more nuanced tasks like influencer identification.

Insider tip: This reflects a broader trend towards data-driven decision-making in influencer marketing strategies, ensuring that partnerships are not just based on gut feelings but on actionable insights that promise higher engagement and conversion rates.

The strong belief among 85% of marketers in the effectiveness of influencer marketing highlights its critical role in reaching diverse and expansive audiences, particularly given that 61.4% of the global population engages with social media platforms.

Insider tip: This wide-reaching engagement underscores the importance of selecting the right platform for brand-influencer collaborations.

While Instagram has traditionally been the go-to channel, the rise of TikTok, now utilized by 69% of brands for influencer marketing, signals a shift towards platforms that offer dynamic, engaging content formats that resonate with younger demographics.

Moreover, the significant presence of nano-influencers on social media, making up about two-thirds of content creators, points to a democratization of influencer marketing.

Brands are increasingly recognizing the value of partnering with these relatable personalities, who often boast higher engagement rates despite smaller followings.

This trend towards authenticity and relatability in influencer-generated content is a key takeaway for brands looking to deepen their connection with their target audiences, emphasizing the importance of genuine storytelling in driving influencer marketing success.

Influencer Marketing Challenges

1. Over 60% of influencer marketers believe that influencer marketing in itself is the biggest challenge.
2. Other studies show that scaling their influencer marketing campaign was the hardest challenge for 22% of companies, while 16% of them claim fostering influencer partnerships is the hardest part.
3. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, setting a budget to influencer marketing is a definite problem for 26% of influencer marketers.

Marketers face unique challenges that demand strategic foresight and adaptability.

Navigating this space effectively requires a deep understanding of the nuanced dynamics involved in influencer partnerships.

Insider tip: Prioritize clear communication and align on shared objectives to cultivate fruitful relationships with influencers, ensuring your campaigns remain authentic and true to brand values even as they scale.

Besides, the financial management of influencer marketing campaigns needs a keen eye for budget allocation that aligns with expected outcomes.

Remember: Balance your investments with the anticipated return, employing data-driven strategies to justify spending and optimize the impact of their campaigns.

It's also wise to monitor your sales using coupon codes and referral links for each influencer.

Trust, Engagement, And Demographics

Let’s start with these numbers:

1. 61% of people put more trust into influencers’ recommendations.
2. 50% of millennials trust influencers over celebrities, as they find them more authentic.
3. 84% of people bought something via influencer recommendation by clicking on a link or image.

These three influencer marketing statistics speak volumes about customers’ views on marketing.

First, it’s obvious that traditional advertising has seen a massive decline.

Today, it’s no longer enough for a company to showcase its products to hook customers.

Advertising is no longer what it used to be.

Even long-standing brands with high reputations face difficulties promoting their products the old-fashioned way.

The explanation is straightforward:

This sort of advertising doesn’t seem authentic to social media users.

Everyone knows that brands’ primary goal is to increase their ROI.

Therefore, the things they say about their products—albeit true—don’t seem authentic.

And that’s an essential distinction in the world of marketing: truth versus authenticity.

As things are standing now, micro-influencer marketing emanates more authenticity because your customers follow the recommendations of other real people.

The Right Influencers For Your Target Audience

If you want to see those numbers happen, you must use the right influencers and pick the right audience.

1. Preference for working with small influencers: nano (44%) and micro (26%) over macro (17%) and celebrities (13%).
2. Nano-influencers (below 10,000 followers) have the highest engagement rates (4%). The smaller the audience, the higher the engagement rate.

• Micro - influencers (10,000-100,000 followers): 2%
• Mid - tier influencers (100,000-600,000 followers): 1.6%
• Macro - influencers (500,000-1,000,000 followers): 1.3%
• Mega - influencers and celebrities (1,000,000+ followers): 0.8%

1. 70% of brands prefer to work with nano or micro-influencers.
2. Virtual influencers are gaining more traction. 75% of Gen Z and 67% of Millenials are following at least one virtual influencer.

1. The demographic breakdown shows male and female users aged 18-24 are the most likely to follow influencers at 30.8%.
2. 85% of Instagram’s user base is below 40.
3. 63% of Twitter users are male, 76.2% of Pinterest users are female, while Instagram has a 51.8% male base.
4. Statista points out that 84% of all social media influencers are females.

Based on these influencer marketing statistics, the first conclusion is that nano-influencers have the best results in generating engagement.

This is because people perceive them as the most genuine type of influencers.

They address a smaller group of individuals, so they’re more likely to engage personally with those people through direct messages and conversations.

The larger an influencer’s audience is, the less success they have at generating engagement.

Free tools:

• Instagram engagement rate calculator
• TikTok engagement rate calculator

However, companies predominantly opt for influencers with bigger followings for their marketing campaigns.

Why does that happen?

An answer may have to do with the hard math.

If a micro-influencer with 50,000 followers has a 1.4% engagement rate, that means they’ll mobilize 700 people.

A nano-influencer with a 5% engagement rate and 5,000 followers will reach 250 people.

Brands want to reach as many people as possible with the least amount of effort.

That’s not always the best solution, especially if you wish to create a deeper connection.

Pro tip: Personalize all your influencer marketing campaigns instead of following the numbers blindly.

But who relates to influencers?

The influencer marketing statistics above point out that young women aged 16-24 are the most likely to follow influencers and purchase according to their recommendations.

There are two problems with this point:

• This age group has the lowest income across generations because it mainly comprises high-school students, university students, and very young professionals.
• The 9% of boomers who actively follow influencers can deter you from trying an influencer-based campaign for this age group.

What are the mistakes here?

First, remember that your ultimate purpose is to generate as many sales as possible.

If you’re not actively increasing your ROI with a particular campaign, why use it in the first place?

Sure, popularity, awareness, and engagement are key campaign objectives – but they ultimately need to serve the same purpose of increasing sales.

Medium story long (ha!), you should follow your gut and watch those sales.

Here’s an example.

Moon Lin is a 90+ year-old fashion blogger. She’s proof that you can reach older generations with influencers, though you’d have to plan this campaign better and craft more convincing messages.

However, do it right, and it will be worth it.

These older generations have the most funds, and they’re the least fickle when it comes to their brand preferences.

You also have to remember that just 16% of influencers are males. That can be a problem, especially with older generations that grew up with a different status quo.

This status quo firstly modelled their subconscious biases—and it’s a proven fact that we base purchase decisions on our subconscious.

Plus, the existing state of affairs also determined males to have the most money.

A company trying to reach out to the older generations with influencer marketing will have immense work to do, but that work will also bring the most results.

The Right Social Platforms

Choosing the proper social networks can make or break your campaign.

Let’s analyze these influencer marketing stats before you decide.

1. The current market value for influencer marketing is 21.1 billion US dollars as of 2023, and that figure is more than twice as much as it was in 2020.
2. There are 1.35 billion Instagram users worldwide.
3. Instagram is a popular platform, with an influencer market size worth 13.8 billion USD in 2021 and expected to double by 2025.
4. There have been 6.12 million brand-sponsored influencer posts on Instagram between 2016 and 2020.
5. There are 2.7 billion YouTube users worldwide.
6. US influencer marketing spending reached $4.9 billion in 2023.
7. TikTok generated $14.3 billion in revenue in 2023.
8. There are over 100,000 TikTok influencers in the US, most of which have between 50,000 to 100,000 followers.

1. The average engagement rate of TikTok influencer content worldwide is 15.86%, but it reaches 17.99% in the US.
2. Only 18% of brands plan to use Twitter, and 4% to use Snapchat for influencer marketing.
3. 40% of Snapchat users say they’ve discovered brands thanks to influencers on this platform.
4. 98% of content creators in the US share brand-related content using Instagram posts, Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels. Conversely, 69.1% of them use Instagram Live.
5. LinkedIn has become an engine for B2B influencer marketing, with 82% of marketers noticing greater success on LinkedIn than other social platforms. That means 33% higher purchase intent from ads and a 600% increase in the likelihood to convert.
6. Campaigns on Facebook and Instagram that integrate both standard advertisements and influencer endorsements have an 85% higher probability of motivating consumers to add items to their shopping carts, as opposed to relying solely on conventional ads.
7. Social media ads on Facebook have the potential to reach 1.98 billion people.
8. 29% of marketers believe that Facebook brings the highest ROI.
9. 43% of marketers will increase their Facebook budget in 2024, while 46% will maintain the same marketing spend.
10. 88% of marketers plan to invest more in YouTube.

According to these numbers, Meta, YouTube, and TikTok are the most used social media channels for influencer marketing.

The most poignant similarity of these mediums is they’re highly visual and allow short-form videos.

That brings us to other issues.

Why didn’t Snapchat have the same success?

Snapchat is less user-friendly than Instagram, so brands saw they had more success on this platform.

As a result, they started neglecting Snapchat.

Arguably, that’s a potential mistake as well because, as you can see, 40% of Snapchat users say they’ve found out about new brands through influencers who are active on this platform.

So what should you do?

That answer is highly subjective, depending on what you’re marketing.

Some brands would be better off ignoring Snapchat altogether, while that would be a mistake for others.

Pro tip: Start from your audience. Figure out who you’re addressing first and then determine what channels they’re using.

Many brands don’t use this strategy, though, because you can see it’s very time consuming.

Your research team can point you to four different audiences who use preferentially four other platforms.

That means you’d have to construct four separate campaigns with distinct goals, budgets, and messages.

Many brands prefer to cast a wider net in a larger pool instead of setting up multiple rods on various lakes and ponds.

But ultimately, personalized strategies can help you attract and keep more customers.

Pro tip: Whatever platform(s) you end up choosing, make sure that people can quickly click a purchase button. If you make the selling process too complicated, no one will have the patience to buy your products.

Influencer Marketing ROI and Your Campaign Budget

1. 85.8% of marketers aim to have an influencer marketing budget in 2024, whereas 59.4% already had one but aim to grow it larger. That's because influencer marketing is one of the biggest ROI marketing tactics.
2. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub Report, TikTok videos received 50.1% of the marketers' vote for most ROI, surpassing Instagram Reels at 29.9%. YouTube Shorts garnered a lesser 12% endorsement for the best ROI, while Snapchat Spotlights saw an 8% preference, marking a 33% increase from the previous year's 6%.
3. However, the Goat Agency claims that Instagram stands out as the most effective platform for influencer marketing, with 30% of marketers identifying it as their prime channel for return on investment. Facebook and YouTube each garner support from 20% of marketers as their leading sources of ROI, while TikTok is highlighted by 14%. In the United States, 29% of influencers are willing to collaborate with brands they admire in exchange for free products alone. This willingness increases to 54% when the products offered are of significant value.

Now, let's see how brands can allocate that money.

1. 41% of influencers are paid, 31% receive free products.
2. Nearly 1/4 of marketers intend to spend more than 40% of their marketing budget on influencer campaigns.
3. Most brands spend less than $50K on influencer marketing, but nearly 15% spend over $500K. However, the average price per post varies on the types of influencers you partner with.
4. Nano-influencers, with more engaged audiences and up to 5,000 followers charge the least for sponsored content, with rates ranging from $10 to $250, varying by platform. For Instagram Stories or posts, rates are typically $10 to $100, offering a cost-effective entry point into influencer marketing.
5. Micro - influencers with slightly larger follower counts command higher fees, with Instagram posts or Stories costing between $100 and $500. Sponsored Instagram Stories can economically assess their audience's compatibility.
6. Power influencers, with even broader audience size, have rates up to $12,500 for a single post, with Instagram Reels or videos being a popular choice, priced between $500 and $5,000.
7. Macro-influencers, just below celebrities in user base count, can demand up to $25,000 for their sponsored content, with Instagram videos falling in the $5,000 to $10,000 range.
8. Celebrities, with over a million followers, top the pricing scale, potentially charging over $1 million per post, with Instagram videos starting at $10,000+. High-profile figures like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylie Jenner may command fees upwards of $1.8 million, often requiring negotiation through their management teams for sponsorships.

As you can see, a substantial portion of marketers is earmarking a budget for influencer marketing, highlighting its pivotal role as a channel for brands to amplify their message.

As spending on influencer programs continues to climb, with some brands investing upwards of $500K, the emphasis on scrutinizing influencer marketing ROI becomes paramount.

This scrutiny ensures that your influencer marketing efforts, particularly those involving high-cost celebrity influencers and elaborate video content, genuinely contribute to your brand's objectives.

Insider tip: The surge in budget allocation also points to the increasing reliance on influencer-generated content to forge a deeper connection with audiences.

Video content, especially through platforms like Instagram Reels or Stories, emerges as a preferred medium, offering dynamic and engaging ways to present brands.

This trend underscores the need for brands to collaborate with potential influencers who align with their values and possess relatable personalities that resonate with their target demographic.

Remember: Learn to judiciously select influencers—from nano to larger influencers — based on their ability to produce relevant content that genuinely engages and influences.

The overarching lesson is the importance of strategic planning in influencer partnerships, where the chosen influencers become an integral part of the brand’s narrative, ultimately optimizing the influencer marketing ROI.

Measuring Influencer Marketing Results

Every first-year marketing student finds out that measuring the results is essential to any campaign.

But what do the influencer marketing stats show?

1. 86% of marketers consider raising brand awareness the primary goal of their influencer marketing campaigns.
2. 33% of companies don’t measure ROI from their influencer marketing campaigns.
3. 38.5% of companies judge the success of their influencer marketing campaign through the lens of increased conversion rates and sales. 32.5% rely on engagement or clicks, whereas views, reach, and impressions are important indicators for 29% of companies.
4. 78% of marketers believe that measuring ROI from influencer campaigns is their number one challenge.
5. 89% of companies say that the ROI they made with an influencer marketing campaign is better or at least comparable to what they’re getting out of other campaigns.

These influencer marketing stats show many companies are still learning the ropes.

Almost 80% of marketers admit that measuring ROI from their influencer campaigns is very difficult.

That can be you, too.

Luckily, specialized influencer marketing agencies have figured things out.

inBeat also has specific calculators for this job, or you can read this article about how we measure results.

That aside, here’s where the contradictions happen.

For one, marketers say it’s difficult to measure the campaign results; a third of them admits to never trying to gauge the success of their campaigns.

However, 90% believe that influencer marketing campaigns are at least as good as other campaigns.

Could all that be just wishful thinking?

Or is it because 86% of brands establish awareness as their main influencer marketing campaign goal?

Here’s what we know so far:

• Billions of US dollars go into influencer marketing each year.
• 4 out of 5 of people buy according to influencers’ recommendations.

It would be elementary for your company to hit the jackpot.

However, establishing the correct goals is vital.

If you’re using influencers to increase brand awareness like the vast majority of companies, what other campaigns will you use to increase your sales?

Truth is, many businesses are still afraid to use influencer marketing at its highest potential.

You may just be too careful about the strategies you’re using and the goals you’re setting.

This precaution can prove damaging to your business, or at the very least, it can cost you lots of money.

To avoid that, you should work with an agency that specializes in influencer marketing.

Alternatively, you can book a free demo with a micro-influencer platform, such as inBeat, to see how we can help.

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