Influencer Marketing

Benchmark Report:

2020
 Index
Research

Influencer Marketing Expected to Grow to be Worth $9.7 Billion This Year 7

380 More Platforms and Influencer Marketing Focused Agencies

Created Last Year 8

Only 14% of Influencers are Currently Fully Compliant with Legal Guidelines 9

TikTok was the Most Downloaded App on the Apple App Store in Q1 2019 10

Better Engagement Rates for Nano- and Micro-Influencers Than for the
Superstars of Social Media 11

Increasing Average Earned Media Value per $1 Spent on Influencer

Marketing 13

Searches for “Influencer Marketing” in Google Continue to Grow 14

Additional Metrics

Instagram Now Used by Nearly All Influencer Campaigns 15

Big Companies are Increasing the Number of Campaigns and Creators

They Activate 16

There is a Clear Move from Mega-Influencers to Micro-Influencers 17

Results from our 2020 Influencer Marketing brand survey

Massive Increase in Content in Recent Years 19

Most Respondents Believe Influencer Marketing to be Effective 19

Nearly 4/5 of Our Respondents Intend to Dedicate a Budget to

Influencer Marketing in 2020 20

2/3 of Respondents Intend to Increase Their Influencer Marketing

Spend in 2020 21

80% of Respondents Intend to Spend at Least 10% of Their Marketing

Budget on Influencer Marketing 22

Although Most Brands Spend Less Than $50K on Influencer Marketing,

5% Spend More than $500K 23

Most Still Recognize the High Quality of Customers from Influencer

Marketing Campaigns, Although Support is Down on 2019 23

Nearly 2/3 Measure the ROI on Their Influencer Marketing 24

Most Common Measure of Influencer Marketing Success is Now

Conversions / Sales 25

Most Consider Earned Media Value a Good Measure of ROI 26

80% of Firms Take Their Influencer Marketing Spending from Their

Marketing Budget 26

About 4/5 of Influencer Marketing Campaigns are Run In-House 27

Many Firms Use Tools or Platforms to Execute their Influencer

Marketing Campaigns 27

87% of Respondents Use Instagram for Influencer Marketing 28

Awareness is Still the Main Objective for Running an Influencer
Campaign, But Sales is Increasing in Popularity 28

Influencer Fraud is of Increasing Concern to Respondents 29

More Than 2/3 of Respondents Have Experienced Influencer Fraud 30

Brands are Finding it Harder to Find Appropriate Influencers 30

Mixed Views on Whether Brand Safety is a Concern in Influencer

Campaigns 31

Majority Believe Influencer Marketing Can be Automated, Although

Significant Numbers Disagree 32

Audience Relationship Still Considered Most Valuable When Partnering

with Influencers 32

68% of Respondents Prefer Their Influencer Marketing to be Campaign-Based 33

Large Majority Consider Influencer Marketing to be a Scalable Tactic in

their Marketing Ecosystem 33

Engagement or Clicks is Most Important Criteria When Evaluating Influencers 34

More than 50% of Brands Work with Fewer Than 10 Influencers 35

There Has Been a Trend Towards Quarterly Campaigns, Although Monthly

Campaigns Are Still the Most Common 36

Finding Influencers is the Greatest Challenge for Those Who Run

Campaigns In-house 36

Survey Respondents Spend 47% of Their Influencer Budget on

Micro-Influencers 37
We carried out our first influencer marketing survey in 2017, giving us excellent insight into
the state of the industry. We repeated the exercise last year, and have now made our study
an annual look into how marketing agencies and brands see the state of influencer
marketing.

In our Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2020, we surveyed 4000 marketing

agencies, brands, and other industry professionals to gather their perspectives on the state
of influencer marketing in 2020.

In addition to the results from our survey, we include some other relevant statistics related
to influencer marketing that have come about thanks to recent research. Many of these
come courtesy of our partner CreatorIQ, who provide an influencer marketing software
cloud for enterprise brands, agencies, and publishers. CreatorIQ’s data comes from tens of
thousands of influencer marketing campaigns and posts piloted through their platform by
their clients..

One thing is very clear from these results. Influencer marketing is still a highly popular and
effective form of marketing. Although the media may at times run reports from naysayers
criticizing the industry, those who actively participate can clearly see the effectiveness of
influencer marketing.

Here are the main results from our Influencer Marketing 2020 Study, along with a selection
of other relevant recent statistics we have found.

Notable Highlights
Influencer Marketing Industry is set to grow to approximately $9.7B in 2020

More than 380 new influencer marketing- focused agencies and platforms established in 2019

Average earned media value per $1 spent has increased to $5.78

300% more micro-influencers utilized by large firms than in 2016

The majority (55%) admit to having a standalone budget for content marketing

Nearly 4/5 of our respondents intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2020

91% of our survey respondents believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing

65% of our respondents measure the ROI from their influencer campaigns

5
 The most common measure of influencer marketing success is now conversions/sales

80% of firms take their influencer marketing spending from their marketing budget

87% of respondents use Instagram for influencer marketing

Influencer fraud is of increasing concern to respondents

More than 2/3 of respondents have experienced influencer fraud

68% of respondents prefer their influencer marketing to be campaign-based, rather than always-on

Finding influencers is the greatest challenge for those who run campaigns in-house

Survey Methodology
We surveyed 4000 people from a range of backgrounds. Although we had to remove some
responses due to a lack of clarity, the 2020 survey is our largest yet, with more than double the
number of respondents compared to last year's study.

34% of our respondents consider themselves brands (or brand representatives). 31% work at
marketing agencies (including those specializing in influencer marketing) and 4% are PR
agencies. The remaining 29% represent a wide range of occupations and sectors.

70% of those surveyed focus on the B2C sector, with the remaining 30% running campaigns for
firms in the B2B area. This shows a slight increase in the proportion of those engaged in B2C
marketing (and a corresponding decrease in B2B) compared to last year, although the difference
is insignificant.

The most popular vertical represented is Fashion & Beauty (24% of respondents), followed by
Travel & Lifestyle (13%), Health & Fitness (12%), Gaming (7%), Sports (5%), and Family, Parenting &
Home (5%). The remaining 31% grouped as Other, covers every other vertical imaginable. Due to
the size of our survey sample, the proportions of each industry vertical represented here will
likely be representative of the users of influencer marketing in general.

45% of our respondents came from the USA, 16% Europe, 12% Asia (APAC), 5% Africa, with 15%
representing the ROW (Rest of World).

The bulk of our respondents came from relatively small organizations, with 40% representing
companies with fewer than ten employees. 22% of the surveyees were from companies which
has 10-50 employees, 14% 50-100, 13% 100-1,000, and 10% coming from large enterprises with
more than 1,000 employees.

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 Influencer Marketing Industry Analysis 2020

Influencer Marketing Expected to Grow to be

Worth $9.7 Billion This Year

Estimated Influencer Marketing Growth (YOY)

$10B $ 9.7B

$8B
$ 6.5B
Market Size

$6B
$ 4.6B
$4B
$ 3.0B
$2B $ 1.7B

$0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

One of the best ways that we can see the growth of influencer marketing over the last few
years is to compare the estimated market size of the industry each year. Back in 2016 (the
distant days of influencer marketing), we figured the industry to be worth $1.7 billion. It has
grown rapidly every year since then. We estimate that there has been an increase of at
least 50% each year.

This means that the growth in influencer marketing over the current year, 2019 to 2020, has
seen the estimated market size increase from $6.6 billion in 2019 to $9.7 billion in 2020. We
are fast approaching a market size of $10 billion.

7
 380 More Platforms and Influencer Marketing
Focused Agencies Created Last Year

1120
Number of new platforms
and agencies in the market

+380 New platforms and

influencer marketing focused 740
agencies in the last 12 months

420
335
190

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

As influencer marketing has matured as an industry, it has attracted support companies and
apps to simplify the process for both brands and influencers. Organic influencer marketing
can be a slow and tedious process, particularly when it comes to finding and wooing
influencers to promote your company’s products or services.

380 new influencer marketing-focused platforms and agencies entered the market over the
last 12 months. Back in 2015, there were just 190 influencer platforms and agencies. This
grew to 335 in 2016, 420 in 2017, 740 in 2018, and 1120 in 2019 – more nearly three times the
number that existed just two years previously.

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 Only 14% of Influencers are Currently Fully
Compliant with Legal Guidelines

Only 14% of influencers

were compliant with FTC
and CMA Guidelines
We conveyed research on
1000 fashion influencer posts
for a month and found only
14% of posts to be compliant
and meeting all regulatory
guidelines as set out by the
FTC and CMA

* 4200+ posts assessed (Instagram)

Both the US government agency, the FTC, and its British equivalent, the CMA, have taken a
close look at influencer disclosure over the last couple of years. They have made clear
guidelines and expectations.

The social networks (in particular Instagram) have made it easier for brands and influencers
to comply with the requirements. However, influencers still have a long way to go to meet
the requirements. We undertook research on a sample of 1000 fashion micro-influencer
posts for a month (over 4200 posts analyzed). We found only 14% of posts to be fully
compliant and meeting all regulatory guidelines as set out by the FTC and CMA. If
influencers don't improve their performance soon, there is a real danger that the FTC and
CMA will start prosecuting rather than just warning and educating.

However, it is an improvement over last year’s results. In the equivalent survey we made
last year, we found only an 11% compliance rate.

9
 TikTok was the Most Downloaded App on the
Apple App Store in Q1 2019

TikTok Is the Most Downloaded

App on the Apple App Store

It ranked as the top most

TikTok
downloaded app in Apple’s
iOS App Store for Q1 2019,
YouTube
with more than

Instagram
33 Million
Facebook
downloads
Snapchat (SensorTower, 2019)

0 10M 20M 30M

Although app download numbers vary significantly from month to month, there has been a
definite surge in downloads of TikTok over the last couple of years. Indeed it ranked as the
topmost downloaded non-gaming app in Apple iOS App Store for Q1 2019, with more than
33 million downloads.

It hasn’t kept that position every month since launch; however, it has always performed
well. TikTok is no longer merely a niche social network and video sharing app. It is
extremely popular and has real staying power with the young. Any brand with a
youth-focus should build some form of TikTok presence, possibly working with the
fashionable youngsters who broadcast on the app.

10
 Better Engagement Rates for Nano- and
Micro-Influencers Than for the Superstars of
Social Media

Average Engagement Rate

on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter in 2019

We analysed 100.000+ influencer profiles

across leading Influencer Marketing Platforms

<1.000 <5.000 <10.000 <100.000 100.000+

followers followers followers followers followers

Instagram 7.2% 5.3% 3.7% 2.1% 1.1%

TikTok 9.38% 8.57% 8.13% 7.23% 5.3%

Twitter 1.4% 1.2% 0.6% 0.4% 0.3%

We analyzed 100,000+ influencer profiles across leading influencer marketing platforms,

Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to see if there were variations in the engagement rate
depending on an influencer's number of followers. We made a definite conclusion:
influencers with a high number of followers have lower engagement than those with fewer
followers.

This is particularly evident on Instagram, where nano-influencers with fewer than 1,000
followers have seven times the engagement rate than mega-influencers with greater than
100,000 followers (7.2% vs. 1.1%). This pattern shows at every follower-number level in
between these extremes.

The follower rate numbers on the other surveyed platforms may differ, but the pattern
remains the same. Twitter has overall lower levels of engagement – people make so many
tweets that go unanswered. But Twitter influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers have

11
1.4% engagement, while those with more than 100,000 followers have a mere 0.3% of their
followers engaging with their tweets.

TikTok has much higher engagement at all follower levels, but even here, the same pattern
is evident. Small TikTok users have 9.38% engagement, yet the superstars can only manage
5.3%. Again, the trend is visible at all follower levels.

Engagement Rate Benchmarks

by Platform and Follower Size in 2019

Nano Micro Medium Mega

1K-10K 10K-100K 100K-1M 1M+

Overall 4.4% 2.4% 1.8% 0.7%

Benchmarks 2.4% 7.6% 1.2% 4.3% 1.0% 3.2% 0.2% 1.9%

6.7% 6.2% 5.0% 4.0%

Average engagement
3.6% 11.4% 3.6% 9.5% 2.9% 7.5% 2.7% 5.9%
rate benchmarks across
four key channel sizes on 0.42% 0.13% 0.03% 0.01%
each of the major socials 0.15% 1.11% 0.04% 0.38% 0.01% 0.10% 0.00% 0.04%

media platforms.
0.17% 0.04% 0.015% 0.008%
0.06% 0.53% 0.01% 0.14% 0.002% 0.06% 0.002% 0.07%

KEY 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile

Data analytics from CreatorIQ’s platform.

Sample size: 224K posts, 5,6K campaigns and 31,7K social accounts from 2016 -2019.

CreatorIQ also compared average engagement rate benchmarks across four key channel
sizes on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. While their study is not identical to
ours (they use slightly different engagement bands), the results still come to the same
conclusion. Smaller influencers have better levels of engagement than their larger
counterparts.

Indeed these statistics highlight how pitiful the engagement rates can be for
mega-influencers, particularly on Twitter (with just 0.008% engagement and Facebook
(0.01% engagement). Even nano-influencers struggle to make much headway on these two
platforms, (0.17% Twitter, 0.42% Facebook), so it is clear why so many brands prefer to use
Instagram for their influencer marketing.

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 Increasing Average Earned Media Value per $1
Spent on Influencer Marketing

Earned media is publicity gained from promotional efforts other than paid advertising.
Earned media value is a monetary representation of this publicity. Businesses who
understand influencer marketing gain impressive returns: up to $18 in earned media value
for every dollar spent on influencer marketing.

Even average firms achieve dramatic results, with an average earned media value of $5.78
per dollar they spent on influencer marketing in 2019. This is up from $5.20 in 2018,
indicating that there is now a better understanding of influencer marketing, with fewer firms
failing to meet their marketing objectives.

13
 Searches for “Influencer Marketing” in Google
Continue to Grow

Searches rose from 3,900 searches per month in 2015, to 6,460 in 2016, 21,000 in 2017, and
then 61,000 in 2018. While the latest year’s rate of increase may have fallen, the number of
searches continues to grow. In 2019, searches for the phrase “influencer marketing” rose to
70,000. At this rate, it won’t be long before this number exceeds 100,000 searches for the
year.

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 Additional Metrics

We also want to highlight a few other influencer marketing statistics that have come to light,
assembled in coordination with CreatorIQ.

Instagram Now Used by Nearly All Influencer

Campaigns

The “Great Instagram Breakaway”

CreatorIQ analyzed the social platforms that brands make use of most when running
influencer campaigns. While Instagram has continually led the pack during the years
surveyed (2015 onwards), its usage has continued to rise each year. Now more than 90% of
all influencer campaigns include Instagram as part of the marketing mix.

Conversely, Facebook has noticeably lost favor over that period. Back in 2015, Facebook
was included in 75% of all influencer campaigns. In 2018, Facebook was used in less than

15
half of the influencer campaigns, and its support dropped even further in 2019, to
approximately 40%. Other traditional platforms to lose favor between 2015 and 2018 were
Twitter and YouTube. However, both these platforms arrested their falls in 2019, with
support leveling at about 45% for Twitter and 20% for YouTube. Notably, CreatorIQ found
Twitter support to be higher than Facebook. We tend to focus more on Facebook in our
Influencer Marketing coverage (and considerably more on YouTube than its support would
suggest).

Pinterest usage has fluctuated over the years, but it is currently used in approximately 10%
of influencer marketing campaigns, one of its highest figures over the period.

Big Companies are Increasing the Number of

Campaigns and Creators They Activate

Average Required Posts per Company

Post Per Creator (Avg.)

9000 2019
7638.818182
8000
2018
7000 5872.563636
6000

5000

4000

3000 2017
1578.527273
2000

1000

0
2017 2018 2019

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 Average Creators Activated
Creators Activated (Avg.)

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
2017 2018 2019

CreatorIQ findings show a clear increase in the average number of creators activated per
organization. Numbers nearly doubled from 320 in 2017 to 600 in 2018, and have continued
to rise (albeit at a slower rate) to 660 in 2019.

There is a Clear Move from Mega-Influencers to

Micro-Influencers
CreatorIQ data emphasizes the shift in focus from brands using mega-influencers to
micro-influencers. We have written extensively about the increased effectiveness of
micro-influencers compared to offline superstars on social media. Micro-influencers tend to
be regarded as experts on a subject, and have laser-focused supporters who take an avid
interest in their views. While many people follow mega-influencers and celebrities, they

17
 Micro:Mega Creator Ratio Over Time

2016 2019
The ratio of mega
(1M+ followers) to micro
(<100K followers)
influencers used in
campaigns in 2016 was 1:3.
In 2019, there are 10
microinfluencers used
MEGA MICRO MEGA MICRO
for every mega
influencer. 1:3 1:10
Mega Influensers: 1M+ followers
Micro Influensers: <100K followers

Stat pertains to Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, & Twitter combined.

often do so, simply because they recognize the name, rather than for any great interest in
the topic of the posts.

The ratio of mega-influencers (with one million-plus followers) to micro-influencers (with

fewer than 100,000 followers) rose from 1:3 in 2016 to 1:10 in 2019. In other words, there are
now 10 micro-influencers for every mega-influencer, compared with 3 micro-influencers
per celebrity in 2016.

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 Results from our 2020 Influencer Marketing brand survey

Massive Increase in Content in Recent Years

Have you increased content output in the

past 2 years?

Yes 84%

No 16%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Our respondents were asked whether they had increased content output over the last two
years. A colossal 84% of them admitted to having upped the amount of content they
produced.

This (partially) comes on top of the 75% increase in content claimed by last year’s
respondents. Clearly, many firms now realize the insatiable demand for online content
nowadays, and are increasing their content marketing accordingly. Judging by the recent
uptake in influencer marketing, much of this increase in content must be made and
delivered by influencers on behalf of brands.

Most Respondents Believe Influencer Marketing

to be Effective

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 Do you think influencer marketing is an
effective form of marketing?

9%
Yes

No

91%

Unsurprisingly, considering the overall positive sentiment expressed about influencer

marketing, 91% of our survey respondents believe influencer marketing to be an effective
form of marketing.

This statistic has hovered around the same level in each of our surveys. It is clear that most
firms that try influencer marketing are happy with the experience, and are willing to
continue with the practice.

Nearly 4/5 of Our Respondents Intend to Dedicate

a Budget to Influencer Marketing in 2020

Will you be dedicating budget to influencer

marketing in 2020?

22%
Yes

No

78%

20
The general satisfaction felt by firms that have engaged in influencer marketing seems to
flow through to their future planning. 79% of our respondents indicated that they would be
dedicating a budget to influencer marketing in 2020.

This is a drop from last year’s 86% result, although still well up from the 37% who claimed
they would dedicate a budget in 2017. This reduction could simply be a result of a change
in the mix of respondents to our survey. We had comparatively more marketers instead of
brands replying this year (and it is, of course, the brands who provide the budgets for
influencer marketing, and the marketers who implement them).

2/3 of Respondents Intend to Increase Their

Influencer Marketing Spend in 2020

My influencer marketing budget for the next 12

months will:
100

90

80

70 66%
60

50

40

30

20 17% 13%
10 4%
0

Increase Stay the Same Unsure Decrease

66% of those respondents who budget for influencer marketing intend to increase their
influencer marketing budget over the next 12 months. An additional 16% indicate that they
expect to keep their budgets the same as in 2019. A further 13% stated that they were

21
unsure about how their influencer marketing budgets would change. This leaves a mere 4%
intending to decrease their influencer marketing budgets.

While these figures are again similar to the 2019 results, they are slightly more favorable
("only" 63% of respondents intended to increase their budgets last year).

This is further proof that influencer marketing remains successful and shows no sign of
slowing down. After a few years of robust growth in influencer marketing, you might have
anticipated the movement of marketing budgets to "the next big thing." However, that
hasn't happened yet – brands and marketers can still see the effectiveness of influencer
marketing and are not yet searching for something new.

80% of Respondents Intend to Spend at Least

10% of Their Marketing Budget on Influencer
Marketing

What percentage of your marketing

budget will you be allocating to
50 influencer marketing in 2020?

40 39%
30

22% 23%
20

10 7% 9%

78% of respondents will spend more than

10% of budget on influencer marketing

Less than 10% 10-20% 20-30% 30-40% More than 40%

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Influencer marketing is of course, only part of the marketing mix. Most businesses will
balance their marketing budget across a range of media to ensure that they reach the
greatest possible audience. However, the vast majority of firms intend to include at least
some influencer marketing in their mix.

The most common percentage of marketing devoted to influencer marketing comes in the
10-20% range, with 39% of respondents intending to spend in this range. An additional 23%
plan to allocate 20-30% of their total marketing spending to influencer marketing.

9% of respondents are clear advocates for influencer marketing, intending to spend more
than 40% of their marketing budget on influencer campaigns.

Although Most Brands Spend Less Than $50K

on Influencer Marketing, 5% Spend More
than $500K
Brands of virtually every size tackle influencer marketing, therefore it should be no surprise
that there is quite some variation on what firms spend on the practice. 43% of the brands
surveyed said they spend less than $10K annually on influencer marketing, with 29%
spending between $10K and $50K. A further 11% spend $50K to $100K, 10% $100K to $500K,
and 5% spend more than $500K.

Clearly, the amount that a firm spends depends on the size of its total marketing budget
and the proportion it chooses to devote to influencer marketing. Brands that opt to work
with mega-influencers and celebrities typically spend more than brands that work
alongside micro- or nano-influencers.

Most Still Recognize the High Quality of

Customers from Influencer Marketing
Campaigns, Although Support is Down on 2019

23
 Do you believe the quality of customers from
influencer marketing campaigns is better than
other forms of marketing?

28% Yes

No

72%

Brands carry out influencer marketing for a range of purposes. Many campaigns are
designed to increase brand awareness rather than encourage sales. Some customers are
more lucrative for a business than others – they buy high-margin products and add-ons. In
some cases, influencer marketing may bring new customers to the brand, but the additional
spending may be less than the cost of running the campaign.

Our survey respondents are generally positive about the value of influencer marketing
overall. Most agree that influencer marketing attracts high-quality customers. 72% believe
that the quality of customers from influencer marketing campaigns is better than other
forms of marketing. Although this is positive, it must be noted that the figure is down from
last year, when 82% were positive about the types of customers generated by influencer
marketing.

Nearly 2/3 Measure the ROI on Their Influencer

Marketing
We found that 65% of our respondents measure the ROI from their influencer campaigns.
While this is positive, and much improved on the results we found in our first survey, it is
surprisingly down on last year’s 70% positive response.

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It is hard to believe that businesses would have gone backward in their influencer
marketing practices. As recently as 2018, 76% of marketers in a Linqia study claimed that the
most significant influencer marketing challenge that year would be determining their
campaign ROI. The small reduction this year is most likely to reflect the increased sample
size of our survey, with a broader range of people answering the study, some of who will
not have been responsible for influencer marketing (and therefore not having an ROI to
measure).

Most Common Measure of Influencer Marketing

Success is Now Conversions / Sales

How do you measure success of an influencer

marketing campaign?

27%
39% Conversions / Sales

Engagement or clicks

Views / Reach / Impressions

34%

This is the first significant change that we have noticed in this year’s survey. A year ago, the
focus on influencer marketing measurement was relatively evenly balanced between
differing campaign goals, but Conversion/Sales was the least-supported reason. This year, it
has a clear, undisputed lead.

Influencer marketing is sufficiently widespread now that most businesses understand that
the best way to measure your influencer marketing ROI is by using a metric that measures
the goals of your campaigns. Clearly, more brands now focus on using their influencer
marketing to generate tangible results. 39% believe that you should gauge a campaign by
the conversions/sales it drives.

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The remaining respondents have differing goals for their campaign, with 34% most
interested in engagement or clicks generated as the result of a campaign (this topped last
year’s poll), and 27% interested in views/reach/impression (down from 34% last year).

Most Consider Earned Media Value a Good

Measure of ROI
Earned Media Value has become more recognized over the last couple of years as a
measure of the ROI on influencer campaigns. We asked our respondents whether they
considered it a good representation. This year 77% favor the measure, as against 22% who
don’t. This is almost identical to last year’s result.

Earned Media Value provides a proxy for the returns on the posts that an influencer has
historically given the firms he or she has worked with. It indicates what an equivalent
advertising campaign would cost for the same effect. EMV calculates the worth you receive
from content shared by an influencer.

The only negative of using this measure is that the calculation of EMV can be complicated.
As such, it can sometimes be difficult for marketers to explain the concepts to their
managers.

Presumably, most of the 22% who are against using the statistic either don’t understand it or
struggle to communicate its worth to their management team.

80% of Firms Take Their Influencer Marketing

Spending From Their Marketing Budget
This is another statistic showing little change over the last year. 80% of the respondents in
our survey take their influencer marketing spending from the budget of their Marketing
Department. The remaining 19% (there is some rounding error) take their influencer
marketing spending from their PR Department’s funds.

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Presumably, the firms in the minority group use influencer marketing predominantly for
awareness purposes, rather than as a direct means to sell their products or services.

About 4/5 of Influencer Marketing Campaigns

are Run In-House
Although the change isn't substantial, more firms appear to be running their influencer
campaigns in-house than in the past. 78% of our survey respondents claimed that they ran
their influencer campaigns in-house, with the remaining 22% opting to use agencies or
managed services for their influencer marketing.

In the past, firms found influencer marketing to be challenging because they lacked the
tools to facilitate the process – organic influencer marketing can be very hit-and-miss,
making it frustrating for brands trying to meet their goals. Nowadays, however, many firms
use tools (whether in-house or from third parties) to facilitate the process.

Some brands prefer to use agencies when working with micro- and nano-influencers
because the agencies are more experienced at working with influencers at scale.

Many Firms Use Tools or Platforms to Execute

their Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Organic influencer marketing can be challenging to execute successfully. It can sometimes
be exceptionally time-consuming for little reward. It can be especially challenging to find
suitable influencers with whom to cooperate if you aren't regular participants in the social
sphere.

For this reason, many brands now use tools to help expedite the process. According to our
respondents, 44% currently use tools developed in-house to execute influencer marketing
campaigns and 40% use 3rd-party influencer marketing platforms.

On the surface, this looks like fewer firms use tools than a year ago, but it is essential to

27
realize that the survey questions have changed concerning this. Last year, 58% admitted
using tools developed in-house to execute their influencer marketing campaigns. We did
not ask a separate question about using third-party-developed tools then, so these results
are not strictly comparable.

87% of Respondents Use Instagram for

Influencer Marketing
Instagram remains the network of choice for influencer marketing campaigns. 87% of our
survey respondents consider Instagram important for their influencer marketing campaigns
(up from last year’s 79%).

The percentages using the other social channels are all relatively similar to last year. 46% of
the respondents tap into Facebook for their campaigns, 36% YouTube, 22% Twitter, 16%
LinkedIn (presumably those involved with B2B companies), and a further 15% spread across
more specialist social networks.

The most notable differences are a decline in Twitter from 24% to 22%, an increase in
LinkedIn from 12% to 16%, and an increase in other networks from 12% to 15%. Presumably,
the rise reflects the recent popularity of Twitch and TikTok.

Awareness is Still the Main Objective for

Running an Influencer Campaign, But Sales is
Increasing in Popularity
We noted above that the most common measure of influencer marketing success is now
Conversions / Sales. That is not yet the main objective for running influencer campaigns,
but it is growing in importance.

40% of our respondents claim their influencer campaign aims to increase awareness. 36%
place more emphasis on Sales. Somewhat less popular, at 24%, is the group of respondents

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who engage in influencer marketing to build up a library of user-generated content. This
percentage has fallen quite noticeably as an objective, from last year’s 31%.

What is your main objective when running an

influencer campaign?
50

40%
40
36%
30
24%
20

10

Awareness Sales User Generated Content

Influencer Fraud is of Increasing Concern to

Respondents
A big topic in the news in recent times has been a concern about influencer fraud. Luckily
there are now plenty of tools to help detect fraudsters, and this should reduce the effects
of influencer fraud. Hopefully, it will soon merely be a chapter in the history of the industry.

However, influencer fraud has not been wholly vanquished from brands and marketers’
minds yet. Indeed they are more concerned this year than last, with 68% of our survey
respondents expressing their concern, up from 64%.

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 More Than 2/3 of Respondents Have
Experienced Influencer Fraud

Have you experienced any influencer

marketing fraud on previous campaigns?

32%
Yes

No

68%

One of the possible reasons for the increase in concern about influencer fraud is that more
firms have now experienced such fraud. Indeed 68% claim to have experienced influencer
fraud, up from 63% last year.

In many ways, this statistic is surprising. There has been much more publicity regarding
influencer fraud of late, and there are more robust fraud solutions now available. Maybe this
is one of the reasons for the increase in the use of third party influencer tools and platforms.

Interestingly, the percentages are the same for both influencer fraud questions. Is it just
those firms who have experienced influencer fraud who express concern about the
practice?

Brands are Finding it Harder to Find Appropriate

Influencers
We asked our respondents how they rated the difficulty of finding appropriate influencers

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with whom to work their industry. 23% stated that it was very difficult, and 62% suggested
that they had medium difficulty. A mere 14% of respondents reported finding appropriate
influencers to be easy.

In some ways, this is something of a backstep from last year's results. Despite having more
platforms and other influencer discovery tools available than before (as well as influencer
agencies for those wishing to outsource the entire process), most brands still struggle to
find suitable influencers.

This stat suggests that the influencer platforms need to do a better job at marketing their
services. There are still many potential customers out there who require assistance at
discovering and then reaching out to potential influencers.

Mixed Views on Whether Brand Safety is a

Concern in Influencer Campaigns
A headline-making issue over the last couple of years has been influencers acting in a way
deemed inappropriate by the brands they represent. For example, Logan Paul caused an
internet storm over a tasteless video he shared, and brands wondered whether they
wanted any connection with him. YouTube also had to do significant damage control over
the types of videos they allow, and have brought in stronger rules for channels that target
children.

The key to a successful influencer marketing campaign is matching your brand with
influencers, whose fans are similar to your preferred customers, and whose values match
your own.

Nearly half (49%) of our respondents believed brand safety could occasionally be a
concern when running an influencer marketing campaign. 34% (up from last year’s 30%)
gave a more definitive belief that brand safety is always a concern.

The remaining 16% believe that it is not really a concern. Presumably, this last group has
mastered the art of finding appropriate influencers for their brands, and they have little
concern about a values mismatch. It is perhaps a concern that this group is noticeably
higher than last year’s 21% who lacked concern.

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 Majority Believe Influencer Marketing Can
be Automated, Although Significant
Numbers Disagree
A contentious issue in influencer marketing is the amount of automation you can
successfully use. Some people believe you can automate virtually the whole process from
influencer selection through to influencer payment. Others value the personal touch and
think influencer marketing is a hands-on process.

The majority of respondents (54%) still believe that automation has a role to play in
influencer marketing, but this number has declined from last year’s 57% support. Those who
disagree with this sentiment have a corresponding increase in numbers, 45% now,
compared to 43% a year ago.

Audience Relationship Still Considered Most

Valuable When Partnering with Influencers
53% of the survey respondents believed audience relationship to be the most valuable
factor when considering collaborating with a particular influencer. They see little value in
working with somebody who doesn’t have a real influence on his/her audience, or perhaps
has an excellent relationship – but they are the wrong audience for that brand. The support
for audience relationship has increased from last year’s 48%.

The second most important factor is content production on 27% (down from last year’s
31%). This will be particularly so for the group who named user-generated content as being
their primary objective when running an influencer campaign, in our earlier question on
influencer campaign objectives.

The third popular reason favored by 19% of our respondents (down from 23%) found for
working with influencers is distribution. Although this seems low, it clearly connects with
audience relationship – influencers use their audience to distribute content relating to a
brand.

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 68% of Respondents Prefer Their Influencer
Marketing to be Campaign-Based
Last year we reported a trend towards brands cultivating more long-term relationships
with influencers. Brands traditionally thought in terms of influencer marketing campaigns.
Once they completed one campaign, they would plan, organize, and schedule another
one. We noticed at that point that brands were discovering the advantages of cultivating
relationships on a longer-term basis. Brands were finding that influencers they have worked
for on previous campaigns come across as more genuine. At that stage, while 65% of
influencer marketing relationships were campaign-based, 35% were “always on,”
suggesting that those influencers were in long-term relationships.

A year on, however, we have seen something of a reversal of this trend. 68% of this year’s
respondents prefer campaign-based influencer marketing compared to 31% always-on (the
remaining 1% is just rounding error).

This could be a sign of more brands entering the industry, dipping their toes in the water,
before they make any long-term commitments to influencers. Time will tell whether the
nature of brand-influencer relationships changes in any significant way.

Large Majority Consider Influencer Marketing to

be a Scalable Tactic in their Marketing Ecosystem
One of the most significant advantages of influencer marketing over social activity using
official company accounts is the ease with which you can scale the activity. If you want to
create a bigger campaign, all you need to do is to work with more influencers with larger
followings – as long as they remain relevant to your niche.

While organic influencer marketing may be challenging to scale, because of the time
needed for influencer identification and wooing, there are now over 740 platforms and
influencer-focused agencies that businesses can use to help scale their efforts.

50% of our respondents believe that influencer marketing is definitely a scalable tactic in

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their marketing ecosystem, and a further 41% think that it is somewhat of a scalable tactic.
Only 7% disagree with the sentiment. There has been a noticeable movement from those
who believe it is definitely scalable to those who think it is somewhat scalable;
nevertheless, the vast majority recognize that influencer marketing is, to some extent, a
scalable tactic in their marketing ecosystem.

Engagement or Clicks is Most Important Criteria

When Evaluating Influencers

What criteria is most important when evaluating

influencers?
50

41%
40

30 27% 25%
20

10 7%
0

Engagement or clicks Content type / Category Views / Reach / Impressions Other

We have regularly seen that businesses have a variety of objectives when they create
influencer marketing campaigns. While the criteria by which our survey respondents
evaluate influencers, does not precisely match their differing goals, there is some clear
correlation.

41% of our respondents rated engagement or clicks as being their most important criterion
compared with 26% who opted for content type/category or 25% who consider
views/reach/impressions to be the most important. All these percentages are down on last
year, because 7% of the respondents have different ideas on this topic, opting for Other as

34
the most important criterion when evaluating influencers.

Although only 26% claim that content type/category is the most important criterion, this
percentage may be understated. Indeed this is the only category to increase in importance
and has risen to the second spot this year. Most brands start their influencer search by
narrowing down the possibilities to just influencers in a particular niche – a beauty brand is
unlikely to work with a home improvement influencer, no matter how engaged he is with
his followers.

More than 50% of Brands Work with Fewer Than

10 Influencers

Approximately how many influencers have you

worked with in the last year?

51%
50

40

30 28%
20

13%
10
5% 3%
0

0-10 10 - 50 50-100 100-1000 1000+

We asked those of our respondents who engaged in influencer marketing how many
influencers they had worked with over the last year. Half of them stated that they had
worked with 0-10 influencers. A further 27% had worked with 10-50 influencers and 12% with
50-100 influencers.

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Some brands, however, have undertaken influencer marketing on a large-scale, with 5% of those
surveyed admitting to working with 100-1000 influencers. Incredibly, a further 3% had worked
with more than 1,000 influencers. These brands clearly see the value of working with nano- or
micro-influencers, using a large number of influencers with small but dedicated audiences to
spread the word.

There Has Been a Trend Towards Quarterly

Campaigns, Although Monthly Campaigns Are
Still the Most Common
Although there is no set way to run an influencer campaign, monthly is still the most common
frequency for our respondents. There is an apparent movement towards quarterly campaigns,
however.

In an earlier question, we discovered that 68% of the survey respondents preferred to execute
campaign-based influencer marketing, while the remaining 31% now run “always-on” campaigns.

Of those who operate discrete influencer campaigns, 33% (down from 39%) prefer to run them
on a monthly basis. A further 30% (up from 28%) run quarterly campaigns, and 15% (up from 14%)
prefer to organize campaigns on an annual basis. The remaining 20% (up from 19%) take a
different approach, and only run campaigns whenever they launch a new product.

Finding Influencers is the Greatest Challenge for

Those Who Run Campaigns In-house
We asked those survey respondents who ran campaigns in-house what they saw as the greatest
challenges they faced. 39% found it most difficult to find influencers to participate in their
campaigns. This ties in with the similar concern they expressed to the previous question about
the difficulty in finding appropriate influencers.

Other notable areas of concern included managing the contracts/deadlines of the campaign
(21%), bandwidth/time restraints (16%), and processing payment to influencers (11%).

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 Survey Respondents Spend 47% of Their
Influencer Budget on Micro-Influencers
Respondents spent 47% of their influencer budget on micro-influencers (compared to just
23% for celebrity influencers).

One of the problems the influencer marketing industry has had has been convincing
people that celebrity does not equate with influence. The reality is that people trust
micro-influencers far more than they do stars, and are far more likely to take notice of a
micro-influencer's recommendation than one made by a celebrity. Therefore it should
come as no surprise that brands are moving their influencer marketing towards
micro-influencers as education about the industry improves.

About CreatorIQ
CreatorIQ is the leading cloud solution for global enterprises to manage and optimize
influencer campaigns at scale. It is the platform of choice for companies like Airbnb, CVS,
Disney, Edelman, Mattel, Omnicom, Ralph Lauren, Salesforce, Unilever, and other global
enterprises. CreatorIQ offers a true end-to-end solution for social brand advocacy.

About Influencer Marketing Hub

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