10 Influencer Marketing Statistics You Need to Know in 2021 [Infographic]

It’s all the hype these days and one of the latest trends in digital marketing. Yep, we’re talking about influencer marketing.

Compared to social media marketing or even video marketing, influencer marketing is considered to be fairly new branch of marketing. Influencer marketing statistics show that an increasing number of businesses are also beginning to invest heavily in it.

If your business is one of them, there’s lots you need to comprehend to perfectly implement and execute your influencer marketing strategy. Aside from understanding the basics like what’s an influencer, what influencer marketing is, and the ideal influencer marketing spend, you’ll need to arm yourself with more concrete influencer marketing statistics and facts.

And that’s what we’re here for. In this article, we bring you the ten most important influencer marketing statistics you need to know. By the way, to learn more about how to master an Instagram for your brand, sign up for the Instagram course.

Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Hire yourself and start calling the shots.

Get Started Free

1. Influencer Marketing Usage Among Marketers

To start us off, here’s an influencer marketing statistic that shows just how popular it currently is – more than nine out of ten marketers today have influencer marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy (SocialPubli, 2019).

Plus, more than half use influencer marketing on a regular basis. One-quarter of them use it “frequently” while nearly one-third has it as an ongoing strategy.

Given that influencer marketing is still at a relatively adolescent phase, its usage and growth is fairly impressive. Fewer than one-third (27.9 percent) of marketers have been using influencer marketing for over three years, 20.9 percent have only been using it for less than a year, and just a handful (seven percent) have never used it.

But its growing popularity among marketers today is perhaps a sign of its effectiveness, which brings us to our next point.

2. Influencer Marketing Effectiveness

Nearly all marketers – or 92 percent to be exact – believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2018). 

And that’s certainly not an unsubstantiated belief – influencers generate higher user engagement than content published by brands themselves. The average engagement rate with influencers is at 5.7 percent, approximately two times the two to three percent engagement rate for branded content on Instagram, the most popular influencer marketing platform.

And that appears to be reason enough for marketers to continue and even boost their influencer marketing strategy – 90 percent of marketing teams that currently have an influencer marketing strategy plan to maintain or increase their budget for influencer marketing.

3. Influencer Marketing ROI

Here’s one of the most powerful influencer marketing statistics to convince you of its effectiveness: Businesses that use influencer marketing for publicity earn $18 for every dollar invested (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2018). 

In other words, every dollar a company spends on influencer marketing generates $18 in publicity value. These returns fall in the higher end of the spectrum, but even a look at returns across the board will show relatively high average returns of $5.20.

In fact, the majority of marketers believe that influencer marketing offers the highest Return on Investment (ROI), even more so than the more traditional marketing tools such as SEO, email marketing, social ads, and SEM.

That said, determining the ROI of influencer marketing appears to be one of the most challenging aspects marketers face. While some focus on view, reach, and impression, others prefer to measure metrics such as engagement and clicks. Ultimately, it all depends on each business’ objectives.

4. Influencer Marketing Industry Growth

With such a high ROI, it’s no wonder the influencer marketing industry is set for tremendous growth in the coming years. 

Current social media usage worldwide is showing no signs of slowing as it permeates all aspects of consumers’ daily lives. As a result, analysts are expecting influencers to take on increasingly important roles as intermediaries between brands and consumers. This means that brands will need to step up their influencer marketing efforts to better connect with consumers. 

The latest figures certainly support this forecast. Data shows that by 2020, brands will be spending up to $15 billion on influencer marketing (Business Insider, 2019). 

Considering that brands’ total influencer marketing expenditure in 2019 was $8 billion, that means that the influencer marketing industry is expected to increase by 87.5 percent in as little as three years. 

Such massive growth is only proof of its potential. So if you’re still considering whether you should use influencer marketing to boost your brand, it’s best to get right to it. 

5. Most Important Influencer Marketing Channels

With so many social media sites available for you to choose from to start your influencer marketing strategy, where should you begin?

Fret not. Here are some market figures to guide you.

Instagram is by far the most popular influencer marketing platform among brands. As many as 97 percent of marketers and agency professionals plan to use regular Instagram posts as part of their influencer marketing strategy in 2020 (Linqia, 2020). This is followed by Instagram stories, which 83 percent of marketers plan to use.

Facebook, the “king of social media,” is the third most popular channel, and YouTube and Twitter round up the top five platforms marketers use for influencer marketing. 

Though only 16 percent of marketers have plans to use TikTok for influencer marketing, you may want to consider jumping on the bandwagon as it’s currently one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world and has plenty to offer.

The platform you ultimately choose to do influencer marketing on will also depend on where your target audience is. If the majority of your audience uses YouTube the most, engaging with an Instagram influencer to promote your product probably wouldn’t be as effective.

6. Influencer Marketing Budget

The above-mentioned influencer marketing statistics evidence the rise of influencer marketing and its success. 

But if you need further convincing of just how it’s becoming part and parcel of marketing strategies, here’s another statistic: nearly 60 percent of marketers say they are going to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2020 (Linqia, 2020).

In fact, brands are allocating a greater portion of their budgets to influencer marketing. An impressive 95 percent are planning to use up to half of their budgets on influencer marketing. The majority, 43 percent, will be spending between 11 and 25 percent.

Having a higher influencer marketing budget means the ability to work with more prominent influencers with a larger base of followers and run more campaigns. 

In 2019, 16 percent of brands had influencer marketing as a vital part of their strategy and had campaigns that were constantly ongoing, while 9 percent of them ran between 11 and 15 campaigns.

The majority of them (60 percent), however, kept it much lower, having run a maximum of five influencer marketing campaigns the entire past year.

7. Top Influencer Marketing Goals

86 percent of marketers place raising brand awareness as one of their top three objectives of influencer marketing campaigns (World Federation of Advertisers, 2018). This is followed by reaching new or targeted audiences (74 percent), improving brand advocacy (69 percent), and increasing sales conversion (46 percent).

Other objectives of influencer marketing include driving engagement, reaching new target audiences, improving brand reputation, generate sales, and more.

But with these influencer marketing statistics, it appears that the purpose of most influencer marketing campaigns are related to the brand and/or its reputation.

When it comes to measuring the success of influencer marketing, reach and engagement are considered to be the most important metrics, with at least 80 percent of marketers using these metrics to determine how successful an influencer marketing campaign is. Interestingly, just 16 percent of marketers list direct sales as a success metric.

8. Effect of Influencer Marketing on Consumers

Though, as we’ve seen, generating direct sales may not be the main goal of marketers carrying out influencer marketing campaigns, it appears to be a by-product – and a pretty noteworthy one, too.

Eight out of every ten consumers have purchased something after having seen it as a recommendation by an influencer (Rakuten Marketing, 2019). 

Looking at the influenced purchase habits between men and women, there appears to be no significant difference. Just slightly more women (89 percent) than men (83 percent) in the United States carry out purchases after getting inspired by influencers. Women, however, tend to spend less than men on products recommended by influencers.

In terms of sharing, the power of images reign above all other content types. Seven out of ten consumers say they share images published by influencers. Video and written content, however, are only likely to be shared by 48 percent and 38 percent of consumers respectively.

9. How Many Instagram Influencers Are There?

Not only is Instagram marketers’ favorite influencer marketing channel, but it is also the platform on which most influencers are active. You’re probably wondering: how many Instagram influencers are there?

The answer: There are half a million influencers whose preferred and only channel of influence is Instagram (InfluencerDB, 2019). Of them, the majority (81 percent) have between 15,000 and 100,000 followers, 15 percent have between 100,000 and half a million followers, while just four percent have more than half a million followers.

If you’re thinking the more followers the merrier, think again – studies show a negative correlation between the number of followers and engagement rates. That said, most marketers prefer to work with influencers with a less extravagant follower base (also commonly known as micro-influencers), typically between 10,000 and 100,000. 

10. Leading Topic for Branded Partnerships on Instagram

With these Instagram influencer marketing statistics, you may now be seriously considering starting an Instagram influencer marketing strategy for your ecommerce business. 

Before you start looking for influencers, you should consider your target audience and evaluate whether Instagram may be the most appropriate channel for your business.

Here’s something to get you thinking. Fashion is the most active sector on Instagram, with 25 percent of all sponsored posts on Instagram centering around it (InfluencerDB, 2019). This puts it way ahead of food (12 percent), entertainment (11 percent), and baby products (10 percent). 

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s automotive (two percent), decor (two percent), and technology (one percent). 

Conclusion

Now that you’re armed with these ten influencer marketing statistics, you’re one step closer to launching your first influencer marketing campaign. Just remember to keep these influencer marketing statistics in mind while you plan out your campaign and manage your goals.

We’ve touched on Instagram as an influencer marketing platform in this post, mainly because it’s the most popular one. But there are plenty of other platforms you can use, especially if Instagram is not quite where your target audience is. For example, you may want to check out our guide to working with Facebook influencers and YouTube influencers.

Summary: Influencer Marketing Statistics 2021

Here’s a summary of the Influencer marketing statistics you need to know in 2021:

1. Ninety-three percent of marketers use influencer marketing as part of their marketing strategy.
2. Nine out of ten marketers believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing.
3. Businesses that use influencer marketing for brand promotion earn $18 for every dollar invested.
4. The influencer marketing industry is set to hit $15 billion by 2022.
5. 97 percent of marketers use Instagram for influencer marketing, making it the most popular social media channel for influencer marketing.
6. 57 percent of marketers say they will be increasing their influencer marketing budgets in 2020.
7. Brand awareness is one of the top three influencer marketing objectives for 86 percent of marketers.
8. Eighty percent of consumers have carried out a purchase after having seen it recommended by an influencer.
9. Half a million influencers use Instagram as their preferred and only channel of influence.
10. Twenty-five percent of all sponsored posts on Instagram are fashion-related.

Want to Learn More?

• WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Which Is the Better in 2021?
• Instagram Stories: The Ultimate Beginners Guide for 2021
• How to Start a Business Online (From Scratch)
• How to Make Money on Instagram in 2021

Is there anything else you’d like to know about Influencer marketing statistics and wish was included in this article? Let us know in the comments below!