Influencer Marketing Spend: Should You Invest in Influencers?

Brands and bloggers are always looking for new ways to generate revenue and website traffic. 

Influencer marketing is already an established form of online marketing because influencers have built bridges between brands and audiences. 

This is why marketers have seized the opportunity to work with influencers.

Top Influencer Marketing Spend Facts and Figures: Editor’s Choice

Influencer Marketing Statistics

Influencer marketing has gained traction as one of the most successful strategies brands can implement in the digital space. Here’s how the market has improved its performance over the last few years.

1. Influencer marketing market size in 2021 is expected to reach $13.8 billion.

Despite the initial concern over the state of influencer marketing during the pandemic, it turns out the market was left untouched by the economic crisis—it grew by more than a double since 2019 when it was worth $6.5 billion. 

Even in 2020, the market size has increased to $9.7 billion. This is staggering YoY growth, considering it was only $1.7 in 2016.

2.  49% of customers rely on advice from influencers on Twitter.

This is the reason why most brands decide to join forces with influencers. 

Research conducted by an analytics company Annalect and Twitter showed that 56% of people rely on their friends’ recommendations, and 49% of users choose to trust influencers on social media when deciding on their next purchase. 

3. Influencer marketing statistics indicate that entries for giveaways are the preferred paying method for 10.5% of brands.

Interestingly, 36% of brands pay influencers by sending them free samples of their products—21% even just offering discounts on the company’s pricier items. 

This leaves only 32.4% of brands that pay influencers in cash in return for them promoting their products or services.

4. 56% of Millennials will buy a product after coming across a post from someone they follow. 

Influencer marketing statistics for millennials show that they consider influencers a trustworthy source of information about the products and services they promote. In fact—one in five younger customers turns to influencers specifically if they want to learn about the new items.  

5. Google searches for Influencer Marketing grew 1500% over the 2015–2018 period.

Statistics on influencer marketing growth say that more and more people search for the phrase Influencer Marketing every year. In 2015, there were 3,900 searches per month for that phrase, but, as time passed, that number doubled. 

Therefore, it doesn’t come as a big shock when this trend continued in 2018 when 61,000 searches for the phrase Influencer Marketing were done.

6. Influencer marketing report indicates that 94% of marketers who have used these strategies find them to be a success.

Influencer marketing involves selling products and services with the help of individuals who have sway over what other people buy. 

A whopping 94% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is valuable, and influencer marketing ROI shows that it can generate 11 times the ROI of traditional advertising.

7. Travel influencers earn $220 for every post.

Reports show that influencer marketing is always on the rise. Social media influencers use their number of followers and creative vision to decide what to charge brands. However, not all influencers are paid the same. 

Influencer marketing pay rate statistics conclude that out of all influencers, the most paid ones are travel influencers, who charge $220 a post. Entertainment influencers are second at $209 per post, and Home and Lifestyle influencers are third at $204 per post.

What’s certain is that influencer marketing is successfully used across the industries—from promoting coworking spaces online to advertising luxury resorts. 

8. $6.5 is the average ROI for every dollar spent on influencer marketing.

ROI statistics of influencer marketing indicate that businesses make $6.5 in revenue for every dollar invested in influencer marketing. 

Some businesses, 70% of them to be exact, make $2, while only the top 13% of them are known to make $20. Last but not least, there are 18% of businesses that fail to make any revenue, according to influencer marketing statistics in 2021.

9. 19% of marketers spent between $1,000–$10,000 on influencer marketing in 2020.

A slightly lower percentage of companies—18%—report a $100,000–$500,000 annual spend on influencer marketing.

Only 7% of brands have reportedly invested over one million dollars into their influencer marketing campaign over the entire 2020. 

Influencer Marketing on Instagram Statistics

Among all the social media platforms, it’s unlikely a company can find a better place to place their products more naturally than through Instagram’s favorite personal accounts. 

10. The Instagram influencer industry was projected to reach at least $5 billion in 2020.

Although the coronavirus crisis has affected everything and everyone, it seems that it won’t significantly damage the Instagram influencer market. In 2019, the Instagram influencer marketing global spend increased by 22% and reached $479 million in December. 

Based on data regarding sponsored posts, Stories, and money spent in the first quarters of 2019 and 2020, it is estimated that the influencer marketing market size will be somewhere between $5 billion to $6.5 billion in 2020.

11. Kylie Jenner is the highest-paid influencer.

Social media influencers earn a living by promoting products on various social media platforms. Kylie Jenner, who received the acclaimed youngest self-made billionaire title in 2018 (subsequently revoked), is the highest-paid influencer, per social media influencer pay data. 

She is known to make up to $1.2 million per sponsored post on Instagram. Cristiano Ronaldo comes in second place ($966,000), while the third place belongs to Ariana Grande ($966,000).

12. Micro-influencers deliver higher engagement results.

Influencer marketing statistics reveal that Instagram influencer partnerships are the way to go if you want to reach new audiences. The engagement rate on Instagram is much higher than on any other social media platform. 

Compared to 1.5% on other platforms, Instagram comes in with a massive 3.21% engagement rate. 

Apart from that, it has been concluded that micro-influencers with 0-25K followers have a higher engagement rate (around 7%) on their posts.

13. Instagram influencer rates reach up to $3000 per post.

Depending on the number of followers, the per-post amount charged by influencers can vary immensely. The marketing spend on Instagram can get as low as $75 per post if the influencer has 2,000 to 10,000 followers. 

But, how much do bigger Instagram influencers make? Those with 50,000 to 100,000 followers earn between $500 to $1,000 per post, while those with 500,000+ followers get $3,000+ per sponsored Instagram post.

14. Instagram Stories feature is the decisive part of the success.

In January 2019, influencer marketing data showed 500 million daily active Stories worldwide. Influencers are known to use Stories to interact with their audiences. 

They do this by giving their fans a glimpse into their lifestyles while promoting sponsored content at the same time. Social media marketing reports show that influencers are posting twice as many Instagram Stories as Snapchat Stories.

15. Over 68% of marketers consider Instagram the go-to social media, per influencer marketing spend in 2021.

Social media platforms are a vital part of any influencer marketing campaign. Instagram remains the favorite influencer marketing hub for marketers, with 68% stating that Instagram is their preferred social media channel. 

Facebook is in second place with 51%, while YouTube and Pinterest usage have increased over the years at 38% and 24%, respectively.

YouTube Influencer Marketing Statistics

YouTube has 2.3 billion users, according to the latest data. Not only does any business’s target audience probably spend a lot of time watching videos on the platform, but the engagement and relationships they have with influencers are also among the highest online.

16. 70% of teenage subscribers relate to YouTube creators.

YouTube creators’ relationship with their fans is more of a friendship than a fanship because they interact. Gen Z influencer marketing statistics reveal that four out of ten Gen Z and Millennial subscribers say that their favorite YouTube influencer understands them better than their friends. 

That’s why influencer marketing studies and statistics have shown that 70% of teenage subscribers say they relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities.

17. YouTube influencer rates can go as low as $500 per video.

The influencer video marketing spend on YouTube is usually higher than any other social media platform. The more subscribers a channel has, the more it gets paid per video. 

For 50,000 to 100,000 channel subscribers, YouTubers get $500-$1,000 per video; for 100,000 to 500,000 subscribers, $1,000-$3,000, and for 500,000+ channel subscribers, the price can easily get to $5,000 or more.

18. The most popular YouTube channel is T-Series—it has over 154 million subscribers.

There are now thousands of YouTube channels fighting for the attention of 1.5 billion active users. YouTube influencers exist in multiple genres, from gaming to fashion to comedy shows. 

According to YouTube influencer marketing statistics, the user with the largest number of subscribers is Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie, who became the first to own a channel with over 100 million subscribers. 

However, PewDiePie’s channel was overtaken by a record label and a film production company channel from India—T-Series.  

19. The average cost of a YouTube ad is $0.10 to $0.30.

When it comes to influencer marketing campaigns, statistics show YouTube has always been one of the biggest advertising platforms. 

It allows you to reach a vast amount of people instantly, and as it turns out, it doesn’t cost a lot. $0.10 to $0.30 would be the amount you’d have to pay when a viewer interacts with your ad. Youtube ad costs vary depending on format, pricing model, and other factors.

Fun Facts and Statistics about Influencer Marketing

20. Only 8% of influencers sign a contract. 

In 2016, Influence.co surveyed 1,140 influencers worldwide. These statistics on influencer marketing showed that just 8% of influencers sign a contract with the brand they are representing. 

Half of them said they don’t sign anything (52%), and 29% said they sometimes sign a contract form.

21. Influencers in the UAE charge the highest rates per sponsored post.

Who would have thought that location would play such an enormous part in influencer marketing costs? As it turns out, where an influencer resides can also determine how much they charge per post. 

According to influencer marketing pay rate statistics, influencers from the UAE are on top of the list, as they charge the most, namely $274. Influencers from the US and Canada come in close second and third place, with the former charging $214 and the latter $210.

22. 69.4% of influencers become influencers to make some revenue.

As shown by influencer marketing trends, the highest percentage of influencers—almost 70%—took on the role for the sole purpose of making money. 

The Influencer marketing report for 2021 showed that there is also a high number of influencers with a more noble cause who decided to become influencers to make a change in the world. 

However, some just wanted to become famous, and they account for around 48% of influencers.

23. 84% of companies plan to work with a social media star in the future, according to influencer marketing spend statistics.

Every brand wants to promote its product in the best way possible. Collaborating with an influencer is the optimal way to go.

According to a survey by Augure, 84% of companies want to work with an influencer as part of their influencer marketing plan.

24. 72.2% of influencers feel marketers do not pay them enough.

Although influencer marketing use statistics show that this marketing type is on the rise, and influencer revenue can often be compared to that of mainstream celebrities, there are a few things that influencers struggle with when dealing with marketers. 

One of the main reasons for their dissatisfaction is the fact that they are often underpaid. 

Influencer marketing trends conclude that a staggering 72% of influencers have a problem with this. 

Moreover, around 40% believe that they don’t have enough creative freedom when dealing with marketers, while approximately 30% of them have an issue with unrealistic deadlines.

25. Influencer marketing statistics show that, in Italy, marketers invested just over $286 million in the strategy in 2019.

The numbers have been growing exponentially throughout 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the overall investment reached 104 million EUR ($123.76), while Italian companies spent a total of 180 million EUR ($214.17) over the next year.

26. Influencer marketing ad spend in Australia is between $13–$20,000 per Instagram post.

Influencers with over one million Instagram followers earn between $92 and $19,880 on average. Those with a slightly smaller following (100,000–1 million) charge anywhere between $80 and $1,590. 

Micro-influencers, a pool where most Australian influencers belong, earn $20–$200 per post.

Influencer Marketing Spend: The Takeaway

With each passing day, social media and their influential voices continue to grow in authority and popularity, driving influencer marketing forward. From these influencer marketing spend statistics, we’ve learned that influencer marketing is expanding rapidly in marketing effectiveness and popularity. 

That, together with social media presence getting more and more involved in our everyday lives, indicates that the influencer marketing future can only get brighter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

BBC, Big Commerce, Businesswire, Businesswire, Brandwatch, Convince and Convert, Digital Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Marketing, Fox Business, Hype Auditor, Influence, Influence, Influencer Marketing Hub, Influencer Marketing Hub, Ion, Later, Linqia, Mediakix, Mediakix, Smart Company, Social Media Today, Statista, The National, Think With Google, WebFX