25+ Influencer Marketing Statistics That Will Change Your Mind About It

In 2018, linguists chose “influencer” as the “English word of the Year.”

Since then, this absolute phenomenon continues to prove itself as a constant part of the online landscape.

Nowadays, trends are mainly influenced by social media stars and viral content.

So how did influencer marketing become such a major thing, and what are its prospects?

Read on as we have collected more than 20 influencer marketing statistics that will shed light on these and many more pressing questions.

Engaging Influencer Marketing Facts (Editor’s Choice):

• Experts predict that the influencer marketing branch will be worth $16.4 billion in 2022.
• A Rakuten study reports that 80% of consumers admit they have made a purchase based on a recommendation by an influencer.
• 49% of consumers say their purchasing behavior depends entirely on influencer recommendations.
• 41% of Twitter users would buy a product recommended by an influencer.
• In 2019, 89% of marketers reported that ROI (return on investment) from influencer marketing led to the same or even better results than the traditional one.
• The average expected return for every dollar spent on influencer marketing is $18.
• Nano influencers (with 1000–5000 followers) have the highest engagement rate at 5%.

Influencer Marketing Statistics—New Ways to Reach Customers

“Influencer” is now a word often used with a negative connotation.

People with no experience or knowledge in marketing and content creation believe that all influencers do is take pictures and post them on social media.

In fact, this new job stretches way beyond that. For this reason, the statistics on influencer marketing have been crushing traditional channels to the ground.

1. The US marketers using influencer marketing are expected to reach 72.5% in 2022.

(Source: eMarketer)

In 2019, 55.4% of US marketers partnered with influencers. Only three years later, this number is expected to be 20% higher.

2. Influencer marketing budgets will reach about $4.5 billion in 2022.

(Source: Influencer Marketing Hub)

According to influencer marketing statistics for 2022, marketers in the US alone will spend $4.14 billion on collaborations with influencers. In comparison, in 2021, they spent a “mere” $3.69 billion.

3. In 2020, the average amount marketers spent on influencer marketing was between $1,000 and $10,000.

(Source: BigCommerce)

Such influencer marketing stats prove its spectacular impact on modern marketing. In fact, 18% of marketers have paid anywhere between $100,000 and $500,000, while another 7% spent more than $1 million on influencers.

4. As of March 2021, 93% of US marketers planned to use Instagram influencers.

(Source: Statista)

Instagram is crushing all the competition. The next four are Instagram Stories (83%), TikTok, and Facebook, both with 68%, and YouTube (48%).

5. 87% of users take a certain action after seeing a product or service on Instagram.

(Source: Facebook)

Such actions include searching for more information, visiting the brand’s website or application, making a purchase, etc. The high engagement rate is a massive advantage in Instagram, as influencer statistics prove the advertising impact of the platform.

6. Micro-influencers are expected to be on the rise in 2022.

(Source: Forbes)

Experienced marketers predict that brands will prefer to collaborate primarily with micro-influencers in 2022. They may not have the biggest following; however, this guarantees more authenticity and a higher engagement level. Moreover, micro-influencers charge less than mega-influencers.

7. 74% of consumers would spend up to $629 on a product or service recommended by an influencer.

(Source: BigCommerce)

Stats on influencer marketing are booming with such impressive data. They indicate most people’s willingness to spend somewhere around $1–$629 on a purchase recommended by an influencer. However, more than half of them would pay less than $100.

8. In 2019, fraudulent influencers cost companies $1.3 billion.

(Source: Invesp)

Fraudulent are those with fake followers, likes, and comments. Surprisingly, 50% of marketers shared that this is the biggest challenge of influencer marketing.

9. Teenagers trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.

(Source: Think with Google)

Google’s influencer statistics pointed out that 4 in 10 millennials think their favorite YouTuber understands them better than their friends. What’s more, teenagers see YouTubers as bigger trendsetters than traditional stars.

10. Celebrities with more than seven million followers may charge as much as $150,000 per post.

(Source: The Economist)

Let’s turn our attention to some celebrity endorsement statistics. They suggest that YouTube stars earn up to $300,000 for a sponsored video. They are followed by Facebook ($187,500) and Instagram ($150,000) influencers.

How Many Influencers Are There?

With influencer marketing becoming even more crucial for marketers, the influencer market size tries to grow proportionally.

Logical, right?

However, let’s break down the facts.

11. The exact number of influencers globally is unknown.

(Source: Media Kix)

The Instagram influencer marketing industry is estimated to be somewhere around 2.3 million and 39 million. Data can’t be precise because of the various conventions, e.g., fake influencers, criteria, etc., that have to be considered.

12. More than 90% of US users engage with influencers weekly.

(Source: Statista)

If this doesn’t prove the impact influencer marketing has, what would? Consumers across the hottest platforms right now (Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok) engage with influencers each week. This increases brands’ chances of being noticed, recognized, and remembered.

13. In 2020, TikTok created a $200 million Creator Fund.

(Source: TikTok)

The social media platform that broke all charts during the first pandemic outbreak is all about inspiring and motivating its content creators.

The company started a large Creator Fund back in 2020, looking to aid creators in their efforts to make a living from the platform. This Fund is expected to grow to $1 billion by 2023. Its purpose is to stimulate influencer marketing growth on TikTok and benefit content creators and marketers.

Influencer Influential Impact

Having familiarized ourselves with some of the more general influencer statistics, it’s time we dove a bit deeper.

The effectiveness of influencer marketing can be measured by metrics such as ROI, conversion and engagement rate, etc.

Is there research about the actual results, and what does it say?

14. 51% of marketers believe influencers bring them higher quality customers.

(Source: Smart Insights)

Influencers and brands work together mainly because they share the same values and interests. A company producing beauty products would contact a beauty influencer for a partnership. The latter, logically, is followed by people interested in makeup, skincare, and other beauty-related information. By positioning itself before such an audience, the brand is more likely to raise awareness and acquire new customers.

15. 60% of marketers claim influencer content is better than brand-created.

(Source: Media Kix)

It’s not only considered better. Influencer content also generates eight times more engagement than those created by corporations.

16. Brands measure influencer marketing effectiveness mostly by engagement rate.

(Source: Medium)

The engagement rate shows how many interactions a specific piece of content gets (e.g., likes, comments, saves). 81% of marketers note this as the most important metric for them. Next on the list are traffic (62%) and reach (61%).

17. TikTok influencers with less than 15,000 followers have over a 15% engagement rate.

(Source: Shopify)

TikTok has entirely changed the influencer marketing market. The platform’s algorithm gives everyone a chance to go viral overnight. Its precise targeting is probably the reason for this and the higher engagement rates.

TikTok influencers with less than 15,000 followers have a 17.96% engagement rate, almost five times higher than the average Instagram influencer conversion rate (3.86%). Will TikTok influencer marketing still rock in 2022? We’re excited to know!

Influencer Demographics

The influencer marketing statistics shouldn’t only include metrics—they should give credit to the people behind content creation. We’ve already covered that being an influencer is more than simply posting pretty pictures.

Planning and shooting content, editing, coming up with captions, posting at certain times, negotiating brand partnerships… Should we keep going?

Naturally, big influencers have assistants helping them manage their social media channels. However, nano and micro-influencers do all of the tasks listed above (and so much more) all on their own.

18. Marketers need between one and six hours to create a single piece of content.

(Source: Marketing Profs)

This study was conducted among marketers, so it’s important to note the influencers’ content creation process may take even longer. That’s because influencers produce all of their content alone, whereas marketers may use colleagues’ skills or stock content to facilitate the process.

19. As of March 2022, Christiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram.

(Source: Statista)

The Portuguese football star has 414.15 million followers. The following four top social media personalities on Instagram are Kylie Jenner (320.23 million), Leo Messi (313.15 million), Selena Gomez (304.97 million), and The Rock (304.94 million).

20. 84% of Instagram influencers are female.

(Source: Statista)

This data comes from research conducted among three million #ad posts on the platform. It’s no surprise, considering most of Instagram’s audience is also female.

21. Instagram influencers can be divided into six main types.

(Source: Media Kix)

The six top influencer categories are:

• Icons or Celebrities
• Adventurers
• Instructors (people who post life hacks)
• Gurus (e.g., in the beauty, fashion, and fitness niches)
• Creators
• Entertainers

22. Over half a million influencers point to Instagram as their preferred channel.

(Source: eMarketer)

They are a part of a 39% group with more than 15,000 followers. 81% of the respondents had an influencer follower count of 15,000–100,000 followers back in 2018.

23. The average influencer engagement rate across all social media platforms is 1.5%.

(Source: Later)

If that sounds bad, think about the fact that marketers consider an engagement rate of 2% to 3% a good one for their influencer marketing campaigns.

24. Young adults aged 16–24 follow influencers for six reasons.

(Source: Science Direct)

When asked why they follow influencers, the people surveyed listed the following: information sharing, cool and new trends, relaxing entertainment, companionship, boredom/habitual pass time, and information seeking.

25. 96% of women are likely to search for recommendations online.

(Source: a.list)

The study showed the strong influence social media and word-of-mouth marketing have on women. 72% of the female participants confirmed they ask their online friends for their opinions and recommendations before purchasing anything.

Wrap Up

The above-listed influencer marketing statistics are proof of the thriving and effective influencer industry.

With marketers investing bigger and bigger budgets and seeing better results from influencer marketing, the partnerships between influencers and brands will be the central part of digital marketing strategies in 2022.

Was there a particular fact that surprised you the most?