Whether to advertise a new product or service, promote an older one, improve brand recognition, authority, investment, or credibility, influencers can greatly enhance your marketing efforts. As highlighted by recent social media and influencer marketing statistics, it’s no wonder so many brands use influencer marketing to expand their reach.
In this post, we will acquaint you with the most important social influencer stats, including those related to how profitable influencer marketing is to brands, where influencers stand with millennials and Gen Zers, and the latest info on the collaboration between marketing professionals and influencers.
If you like what you hear, then read on!
Top 10 Must-Know Influencer Marketing Statistics
- 520% is the average ROI for influencer marketing.
- Daniel Middleton is one of the top YouTuber influencers with total earnings reaching over $16.5 million.
- Almost 70% of influencers decide to become one in order to make money online.
- Around 90% of marketers say that ROI from influencer marketing is the same as with other channels.
- 84% of brands plan to collaborate with social media influencers in 2020.
- Women make for 84% of influencers creating sponsored posts on Instagram.
- 70% of teen YouTube subscribers relate more to YouTube influencers than traditional celebrities.
- 91% of millennials think that online reviews are as trustworthy as recommendations from family and friends.
- 44% of Gen Zers make a purchasing decision based on a social influencer’s recommendation.
- 80% of customers have bought a product or service after clicking on a recommended post’s link/image.
Influencer Marketing ROI Stats & Facts
1. 520% is the average ROI for influencer marketing.
(TheInfluencerMarketingHub)
Influencer marketing is extremely profitable for businesses that use it, earning (on average) $5.20 for every dollar spent. Moreover, top brands can earn up to $18 for every dollar invested.
Despite this, the bottom 25% don’t generate any revenue at all; a more in-depth analysis of influencer marketing data revealed that those firms failed to understand influencer marketing tactics or picked a wrong influencer altogether.
2. The most frequent budget for influencer marketing is between $1,000 and $10,000 per annum.
(BigCommerce)
This is closely followed by $100,000 to $500,000 (18% of brands), and according to the latest influencer marketing statistics for 2020, 7% of brands spend a whopping $1 million on influencers per year, which just goes to show that influencer marketing is still going strong despite the occasional naysayers.
3. 17% of brands invest over 50% of their ad budgets in social media influencers.
(BigCommerce)
Half a budget is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Moreover, this percentage is also a good indicator of the general importance of influencers; particularly for businesses in the fashion, luxury, beauty, online gaming, travel, and lifestyle industries.
4. Almost 90% of marketers said that the ROI from social media influencer marketing is as big as in other marketing channels.
(BigCommerce)
Small businesses, in particular, will find this piece of information reassuring, given the fact that they’re usually extra cautious about funneling their marketing budget on influencer marketing.
5. 63% of marketing professionals plan to increase their influencer budgets for 2020.
(TheInfluencerMarketingHub)
In other words, there’s a marked influencer marketing growth for 2020. Namely, marketing experts have realized just how profitable this marketing method is, but only when done properly.
Out of the remaining 37% of marketers — 17% expect their influencer budgets to remain largely the same, 15% weren’t sure what would happen with their budgets, and merely 5% of marketers intend to decrease their investment.
This goes in line with other influencer marketing trends that show considerable growth for influencer advertising in 2020. Of course, not everyone has control over their budget, which is likely why we have such a large number of those that are unsure of how their organization will allocate its funds.
6. Daniel Middleton is one of the top YouTuber influencers with total earnings reaching over $16.5 million.
(Wondershare)
If you haven’t been living under a rock these past few years, chances are you know just how profitable making YouTube videos can be.
According to recent influencer marketing stats, the most successful (richest) YouTubers of 2019 are:
- Daniel Middleton ($16.5 million),
- Evan Fong ($15.5 million),
- Markiplier ($12.5 million),
- PewDiePie ($12.5 million),
- Dude Perfect ($14 million), and
- Logan Paul ($12.5 million).
7. Almost 70% of influencers decide to become one in order to make money online.
(Altimeter and Tapinfluence)
On the other hand, 36.5% of influencers wanted to be recognized as thought leaders, whereas 48.2% wanted to create an online audience and rise in fame.
Influencer Marketing Strategy and Collaboration Facts
8. A staggering 61% of marketers believe it’s difficult to find relevant influencers for a marketing campaign.
(Mediakix)
Also, what most marketers agreed on was that partnering with the wrong influencers was detrimental to their marketing campaign. Likewise, fake followers were yet another hurdle when it comes to influencer marketing, even though Instagram tried to eliminate them from the platform.
9. Nearly 70% of bloggers like to engage with a company directly instead of going through a network or agency.
(GroupHigh)
These influencer marketing facts were the result of a survey of over 4,000 bloggers. The reason being, influencers want an ongoing partnership rather than being just a part of a single campaign.
10. 84% of brands plan to collaborate with social media influencers in 2020.
(Mediakix)
In addition, 81% of respondents stated that using influencer advertising in their marketing strategy was effective and had satisfying results.
The same media influence statistics showed that collaboration with digital influencers for creating sponsored content is now one of the most efficient and trusted marketing tactics for companies to reach potential customers.
11. The more followers an Instagram influencer has, the less engagement they have.
(Markerley)
When it comes to engagement rates for influencer marketing, micro-influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers receive more likes on their posts (8% of the time) than influencers with over 10 million followers (1.6% of the time).
Regarding comments, individuals with fewer than 1,000 followers receive comments about 0.5% of the time, while those with 10 million+ followers do so only 0.04% of the time — a 1300% difference.
According to the same survey, the optimal reach and engagement is between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.
Gen Y and Gen Z Influencer Marketing Statistics
12. 70% of teen YouTube subscribers relate more to YouTube influencers than traditional celebrities.
(Google Trends)
This is hardly a surprise. Generation Z doesn’t watch TV and spends most of their time online — hence the lower interest in traditional celebrities.
As a result, 1 out of 4 respondents claimed their favorite YouTuber understands them better than their real-life friends, Google’s recent influencer marketing statistics reveal.
In addition, millennials believe YouTubers are bigger trendsetters than other celebrities, and 6 out of 10 respondents would rather buy recommendations from YouTubers than their favorite TV celebrity.
13. 91% of millennials think that online reviews are as trustworthy as recommendations from family and friends.
(BrightLocal)
On the other hand, 82% of them are put off by negative reviews, according to influencer marketing statistics from 2019. In addition, three-quarters of millenials and Gen Zers scour the internet to gain more info on companies each week; individuals over 55 years of age only do this in 35% of cases.
14. 52% of British Gen Zers and millennials spent more time on social media than in the previous year.
(VidMob)
What’s more, younger generations seem to spend most of their free time watching videos. Millennials, for one, spend 33% of their digital time watching videos in place of articles or photos, whereas for Gen Zers the percentage is even higher — a whopping 40%!
In addition, 57% of that video time is used on social apps — such as YouTube (31%) and other social media (26%), influencer marketing analytics reveal.
15. 44% of Gen Zers make a purchasing decision based on a social influencer’s recommendation.
(Mobile Marketer)
Additionally, 70% of Gen Zers follows at least one influencer on Facebook and Instagram.
Then again, Generation Z uses a broad range of social platforms, with almost 40% of them having four or more social media accounts compared to the rest of the population with only 15%.
Likewise, the most used social apps for this age group are:
- Facebook (61%),
- Instagram (55%),
- YouTube (53%), and
- Snapchat (51%).
Influencer Marketing Effectiveness Statistics
16. Micro-influencers experience 22.2 times more weekly “buying conversations” than the average customer.
(TKFG and Expercity)
Apparently, 87% of influencer recommendations don’t happen online but in-person with 74% of them encouraging individuals to purchase or try a product. What’s more, 82% of customers are “highly likely” to listen to a micro-influencer’s recommendation compared to 73% who are “highly likely” to follow a recommendation from an average individual.
17. 80% of customers have bought a product or service after clicking on a recommended post’s link/image.
(Rakuten Marketing)
In addition, statistics on influencer marketing effectiveness showed that 88% of surveyed customers were inspired to buy something they saw at an influencer’s profile. They also aren’t afraid to go deep into their wallet.
Namely, 75% of them reported spending anywhere between $1 to $630 on said products, whereas nearly half of them (42%) said they spend fewer than $100.
18. Women make for 84% of influencers creating sponsored posts on Instagram.
(Statista) (Statista)
An impressive survey of three million Instagram #ad posts showed that the majority of Instagram social influencers who create ads are female.
What is more, 2019 trends in influencer marketing confirmed 31% of all social media influencers creating such posts are between the ages of 18 and 24.
19. 94% of marketing experts find influencer marketing useful for increasing revenue.
(State of Influencer)
No surprises here, given the aforementioned statistics on influencer marketing growth. When social media like TikTok can make products sell-out in mere seconds, then it’s no wonder companies are looking for more ways to increase influencer sales.
This is mostly done through educational and inspirational content which includes storytelling and social initiatives to effectively “break the ice.” Educational and inspirational content is one of the best ways to influence consumer shopping habits.
20. Business to business (B2B) influencer marketing delivers 11 times more ROI than other forms of digital advertising.
(TapInfluence)
This one did come as a surprise though. B2B influencer marketing statistics show an even greater ROI than with B2C. Given time, an influencer’s content will make a long-lasting effect on a brand’s ROI, hence the increase.
FAQs
What is influencer marketing?
(InfluencerMarketingHub)
Influencer marketing is a combination of traditional and modern marketing approaches. It’s the concept of celebrity endorsement tailored to fit current content-based marketing. The only real distinction between celebrity endorsement and digital marketing influencers is that, in the case of the latter, the brand and the influencer collaborate more closely.
Namely, brands work with online influencers to promote their products or services. However, sometimes the results are less tangible — as is the case with brand awareness, authority, and credibility. Brands also use influencers to establish or enhance thought leadership.
How much does influencer marketing cost?
(Buffer)
A particular influencer’s cost depends on the social network, their following and engagement, the product in question, the type of campaign, and whether you’re going for a direct partnership or doing it via an agency.
For example, more fun facts about influencer marketing: an influencer with 500,000 to 1,000,000 followers has an average price of around $5,000–$10,000 per social media post. Hence, Instagram influencers get about $10 per 1,000 followers, whereas Youtube influencers get around $20 per 1,000 subscribers.
Conclusion
Brands that know how to leverage the growing online activity and find relevant influencers will certainly remain on top. And as the influencer industry keeps expanding, savvy marketers will turn toward micro-influencers for more honest and genuine customer communication.
Also, seeing how customers today are increasingly internet-savvy, it isn’t surprising that they trust influencers and positive reviews more than paid reviews and other marketing efforts. Hopefully, these influencer marketing statistics helped you to determine whether influencer marketing is profitable for your brand or not.
Sources:
- Activate 2016 Global Influencer Survey
- Altimeter and Tapinfluence
- Augure
- Bigcommerce
- BrightLocal
- Buffer
- Google Trends
- Grouphigh
- InfluencerMarketingHub
- InfluencerMarketingHub
- Markerley
- Mediakix
- Mediakix
- Mobile Marketer
- Rakuten Marketing
- SocialPubli
- State of Influencer
- Statista
- Statista
- TapInfluence
- TKFG and Expercity
- VidMob
- Wondershare
