Definitive guide
Statistics on Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing Statistics 2024 | 25 Key Insights
Influencers have become the new celebrities of the last decade. They are able to form public opinion and perception on social issues, products, and services through the wonders of social media. I’ve come up then with this list of 25 key insights on influencer marketing statistics for startups to gain competitive leverage online.
1. The projected market value of Influencer Marketing by the end of 2024 is $24.0 billion.
According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, the Influencer Marketing sector will have an estimated value of $24.0 billion by the end of 2024. This projected value reflects a 13.7441% increase from 2023’s $21.1 billion.
2. The Influencer Marketing sector’s market value experienced an average growth rate of 45.79% three years before 2020.
The Influencer Marketing sector was valued at $1.7 billion in 2016 and increased by 76.4706% to $3.0 billion in 2017. This further grew by 16.1616% and 41.3043% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. By 2020, the Influencer Marketing sector was already worth $9.7 billion.
3. The Influencer Marketing sector’s market value had an average growth rate of 25.88% four years after 2020.
The Influencer Marketing sector recorded a market value of $9.7 billion in 2020 and increased by 42.268% in 2021 to $13.8 billion. The sector’s market value continuously increased annually in 2022 by 18.8406% and in 2023 by 28.6585% at $16.4 billion and $21.1 billion, respectively.
4. The Influencer Marketing sector has been growing at an average of 35.88% over the last nine years.
The Influencer Marketing sector’s market value has been growing steadily at an average of 35.88% from 2016 to 2024. The steady rise is seen in the sector as businesses continue to see the great financial rewards of investing in influencers to create brand awareness through social media.
This is despite the decline in the average growth rate of the sector’s market value from 2016 to 2020 at 45.79% to 25.88% from 2020 to 2024.
5. 23% of companies use influencer marketing and continue to do so in 2024.
Hubspot surveyed in early 2024 and discovered that 23% of marketers use influencers for their campaigns. Of that number, 87% of marketers divulged plans to increase or maintain the use of influencers in their marketing campaigns this 2024.
6. Micro-influencers are the most popular for brand promotions, being preferred by 64% of marketers in 2023.
There are four major types of influencers: nano, micro, macro, and mega. Nano influencers have less than 10,000 followers and micro-influencers have 10,000 to 99,999 followers. Macro-influencers, on the other hand, 100,000 to 999,999 followers. Mega-influencers have more than 1 million followers.
With that said the Hubspot survey interestingly discovered that celebrities are being replaced by micro-influencers for brand endorsements. The survey showed that 64% of marketers preferred to work with micro-influencers in 2023 than with their bigger counterparts.
The shift is because micro-influencers are less expensive yet are easier to establish a longer-term partnership relationship with. Micro-influencers also offer access to more engaged, loyal, and tight-knit communities.
This is why 47% of marketers attested that micro-influencers generated the most positive results for their company’s campaigns.
7. Macro-influencers were the second most popular for brand promotions since 44% of marketers worked with them in 2023.
Data show that 44% of marketers worked with macro-influencers in 2023, making them the second top choice for brand promotions. Only 22% of marketers preferred to work with nano-influencers and 17% for mega-influencers or celebrities.
8. Influencers are seen by 31% of social media users as a means to discover new products.
A recent Hubspot survey showed a new trend among social media users: influencers as a means for product discovery. The survey revealed that 31% of social media users look up to influencers to discover new products online. Among social media users, 43% of Gen Zs make influencers their preferred product discovery.
9. 32% of Gen Zs made a purchase after discovering a product through an influencer.
Statistics show that almost a quarter (21%) of social media users aged 18 to 54 purchased a product after learning the recommendations of an influencer. Interestingly, 32% of Gen Zs bought a product from December 2023 to February 2024 after an influencer’s recommendation.
10. A 0.5% increase in engagement is experienced for every 1% increase in investment in influencer marketing.
A 2018 study by the American Marketing Association revealed that an increase of 1% in influencer marketing investment would result in a 0.5% increase in online engagement. The study was conducted on China’s microblogging website Weibo regarding 1,256 influencer marketing campaigns.
Accordingly, the campaigns involved 2,412 influencers who wrote 5,835 posts on 861 brands from beauty products to beverages. The study also discovered that reallocating expenses to influencer marketing initiatives increased engagement by 16.6%.
11. Instagram ranked #1 among marketers for influencer marketing in 2023.
The Hubspot Social Media Trends Survey released last May 2023 showed that 72% of marketers used Instagram most when working with influencers and creators. This garnered Instagram the top spot among social media platforms for such campaigns over TikTok (61%), YouTube (58%), and Facebook (57%).
12. Instagram also showed the highest return on investment for influencer marketing campaigns at 30% in 2023.
30% of marketers surveyed by Hubspot last 2023 said Instagram provided the highest return on investment (ROI) for their influencer marketing campaigns. YouTube and Facebook came in second as each platform garnered the same response of 20% from marketers for generating the highest ROI. Only 14% of marketers said TikTok yielded the highest returns when working with influencers and creators.
13. 32% of marketers attested that Instagram was the easiest social media platform to work with influencers.
Among social media platforms, Instagram was chosen by more marketers (32%) as the easiest to use when working with influencers. YouTube came in second for being chosen by 20% of marketers. This is followed by Facebook (18%) and TikTok (14%). In addition,18% of marketers revealed intentions to use more YouTube for influencer marketing.
14. Influencers are now perceived as persons of trust by 69% of consumers.
Consumers now have a higher regard for influencers as persons of trust along with family members and friends when it comes to product recommendations.
Accordingly, 69% of consumers trust recommendations from influencers as they do from family members and friends in 2023. This is 8% higher than 2020’s 61%, as per Matter Now. Brand recommendations posted on social media platforms are trusted by only 38% of consumers in 2020.
15. 66% of consumers aged 18 to 29 trust influencer recommendations posted on social media platforms.
In 2020, a majority of recommendations made by influencers, family members, and friends posted on social media platforms were trusted by 66% of consumers aged 18 to 29.
While 61% of consumers aged 30 to 44 and 60% of consumers aged 45 to 60 similarly trust recommendations from the same group of people. Only 53% of consumers aged 60 and above trust brand, product, or service recommendations from family, friends, and influencers.
16. In 2020, influencers with relatable personalities are preferred by 65% of consumers.
When it comes to the criteria consumers look for, influencers with relatable personalities are preferred by 60% to 70% of consumers. This applies to influencers of products and services for babies, beverages, beauty, consumer goods, food, health, kids, personal care, personal technology, and wellness.
The expertise of influencers only comes second, which is chosen by 50% to 58% of consumers or an average of 54% for the same product and service categories.
17. In 2023, influencers with relatable personalities are preferred by 61% of consumers.
Statistics show that consumers’ preference for influencers with relatable personalities declined by 4% in 2023. Only 61% of consumers now prefer influencers with relatable personalities as against 2020’s 65%. Influencers with expert personalities still come second (43%).
Consumers also look forward to influencers with authentic personalities (39%), “just for fun” (32%), and aspirational (28%).
18. In 2020, 19.5% of consumers on average prefer celebrity influencers.
Celebrity influencers get a stronger footing for product and service recommendations over non-celebrity influencers according to 17% to 22% of consumers. This translates to an average of 19.5% of consumers preferring celebrity influencers over aspirational, experts, “just for fun”, and relatable influencers.
That’s regardless of such non-celebrity influencers recommending products and services for babies, beverages, beauty, consumer goods, food, health, kids, personal care, personal technology, and wellness.
19. In 2023, 11% of consumers prefer celebrity influencers.
Consumer preference for celebrity influencers has declined by an average of 77.27% from 2020 to 2023. Data from the Matter Nows 2023 Influencer Survey showed that only 11% of consumers prefer celebrity influencers. This is against a 17% to 22% preference in 2020 for the said group of influencers.
20. Food and beverage social media recommendations from influencers draw the highest interest among consumers at 56%.
Matter Now revealed the results of its study on consumer behavior toward influencer social media posts during the pandemic.
Accordingly, the highest interest shown by consumers on influencer posts was in food and beverage (56%). Health and wellness recommendations came in second at 48%.
Consumers also showed the most interest in influencer recommendations posted on social media when they were involved in personal technology (45%), consumer goods (40%), and beauty and personal care (33%). Social media posts made by influencers on products for babies and kids were found to be the least interesting by consumers (13%).
21. 51% of consumers acted most on influencer posts when it was on food and beverages.
Consumers (51%) were seen to act most on influencer social media posts on food and beverages. By “act on”, experts explain this involves either a purchase, social media shares, research, or purchase consideration.
Social media posts on health and wellness came in second at 39%. While personal technology registered the third highest category at 37%.
22. Companies experience a 490% increase in engagement when partnering with influencers for their brands.
Companies who partner with influencers generate a 490% (4.9x) increase in consumer brand engagement, as per Emplifi. Audience reach is also higher at 1,500% (15x) through influencer collaborations.
23. As to content type, tutorials from influencers show a 42% preference among consumers.
Consumers prefer “how-to” social media or online postings made by influencers. Accordingly, 42% of consumers prefer tutorials and other how-to content including recipes. 35% of consumers prefer influencers posting easy-to-digest or -easy-to-understand information bits. While 33% of consumers prefer influencers posting content with photos or images that come with captions.
24. Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid Instagram influencer in the world receiving $85.2 million.
Portuguese Football player Cristiano Ronaldo received the highest earnings as an Instagram influencer in 2021 at $85.2 million, as per The Social Shepherd.
While Argentine Football player Lionel Messi came in second with $71.96 million for the same year. Ronaldo has 628 million followers on Instagram and Messi has 502 million followers as of April 18, 2024.
25. Ellen DeGeneres is the highest-earning Instagram influencer in the United States with $33.73 million annually.
Actress and TV host Ellen DeGeneres is regarded as the highest-paid Instagram influencer in the United States in 2021. DeGeneres earns $33.73 million each year through her TV show’s Instagram account, which has 100 million followers at that time. The account, as per The Social Shepherd, earns $750,000 per sponsored ad which is enough to cover the actress’ weekly expenses.
FAQs
1. When did influencer marketing begin?
Influencer marketing began in the early 2000s when blogging became a trend for self-publishing. Bloggers were the first influencers before social media platforms came into existence. Influencers became predominantly popular thanks to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and, eventually, TikTok in the mid-200s.
2. What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a tool or strategy used by companies to promote their products, services, or brands using the popularity of a blogger or social media personality.
3. What are the types of influencers?
There are four types of influencers based on the number of their followers. These are the nano-influencers (less than 10,000 followers), micro-influencers (10,000 to 99,999 followers), macro-influencers (100,000 to 999,999 followerS), and mega-influencers (more than 1 million followers).
4. How much is the return on investment of influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing has shown a high return on investment (ROI) for companies who engage in them. According to Flytant, the ROI is $6.50 for every $1.00 spent in influencer marketing.