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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.
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.
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.
Let’s start with these numbers:
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.
If you want to see those numbers happen, you must use the right influencers and pick the right audience.
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:
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:
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.
Choosing the proper social networks can make or break your campaign.
Let’s analyze these influencer marketing stats before you decide.
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.
Now, let's see how brands can allocate that money.
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.
Every first-year marketing student finds out that measuring the results is essential to any campaign.
But what do the influencer marketing stats show?
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:
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.