It has been a few years since influencers gained the spotlight in Digital Marketing.
Instead of traditional media celebrities, brands started to entrust their campaigns to internet personalities with a loyal and engaged audience.
Now, statistics about influencers show that Influencer Marketing has already become part of companies’ strategies and is only growing.
Still, it’s important to follow the evolution of influencers to understand how they can shape consumer behavior and the best ways to connect with them.
In this article, we explain what Influencer Marketing is and present the main Influencer Marketing statistics that you should consider for marketing in 2024.
We’ll discuss:
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer Marketing happens when brands establish partnerships with digital influencers to associate their image with those personalities who endorse their products and connect with their consumers.
This strategy gained relevance with the emergence of blogs and social networks in the Web 2.0 era, enabling anyone to publish content on the Internet.
The first influencers, until then mere unknowns, emerged on blogs and vlogs, with authentic and entertaining content that engaged an audience.
Soon they became internationally known celebrities — see, for example, the success of names like Pewdiepie, Addison Rae, and Khaby Lame.
In this same context, traditional advertising was challenged. With so much content to consume on the internet, why would people pay attention to a company’s ad, which usually interrupts their routine without asking permission?
Therefore, brands started to adopt new strategies, more relevant and exciting to consumers, searching for their attention and trust.
Then, those web personalities who had credibility with their followers started to represent an effective way to connect with consumers in the digital age.
Thus, partnerships between brands and influencers consolidated Influencer Marketing and a marketplace of services and tools — the Creator Economy — that help this type of partnership thrive.
Why Hire Influencers for Your Marketing Strategy?
Digital influencers are web content creators who build an engaged and loyal audience.
By hiring influencers for your marketing strategy, you can approach this audience with the trust and endorsement they convey.
While the most well-known influencers have millions of followers, Influencer Marketing is increasingly turning to micro-influencers and nano-influencers, which allow you to increase brand reach and engagement within your niche.
Numbers are impressive, but they are not decisive — what matters in Influencer Marketing is the relevance of influencers to the brand’s audience.
Through authentic content, they reveal their lifestyle, show that they are real people, and get closer to their followers, unlike traditional media celebrities, who are distant from the public.
Digital influencers can shape the behaviors and preferences of their audience.
Therefore, the interest of brands is to associate their image with those influencers and connect with their audience. This way, followers also come to trust the brands that the influencers endorse.
Now, let’s delve into some influencer marketing statistics.
What are the Key Influencer Marketing Statistics for 2024?
Looking for key influencer marketing statistics that are relevant in 2024? Explore these examples to enhance your digital marketing strategy.
37.6% of agencies and brands worked with up to 10 influencers in 2024
According to influencer marketing data from a 2024 survey done by Statista, 37.6% of brands and agencies disclosed working with up to ten influencers. And 14.7% reported collaborating with up to a thousand influencers in pursuit of their goals.
In other words, influencer marketing is a huge marketing trend in 2024 and beyond, so jump on the bandwagon now.
36% of brands agree that influencer content performs better than branded content
Influencers come complete with their own thoroughly engaged audiences. And those audiences implicitly trust what their favorite influencers have to say. Adding influencer marketing to your strategy allows your brand to benefit from this trust.
According to marketing data from Linqia, 36 percent of brands today say that influencer content consistently outperforms branded content. Many consumers also consider influencer content more authentic than branded content, which they perceive as biased.
Partnering with the right influencers—those with an audience that overlaps yours—can really expand your reach.
Nano-influencers tend to have the highest engagement rates
Many brands hesitate to explore influencer marketing because they believe they can’t afford to hire celebrities or big names to promote their products. However, data suggests that creators with millions of followers may not be the best fit if you’re looking for engagement. The most effective engagement comes from micro- and nano-influencers.
According to HubSpot research in partnership with Rock Content, 35% of marketers say smaller influencers typically attain higher engagement rates. (Many consumers consider them to be more authentic and trustworthy.)
Nano-influencers—defined as influencers with 5,000 followers or fewer, show the highest engagement rates. Engagement rates tend to decrease as you move up the ladder toward celebrity-level influencers.
TikTok commands the highest user engagement rates
Reaching your audience on social media is mainly about connecting with them on the platforms they use most. To reach a broad audience, platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram are good choices. However, in 2024, TikTok has the highest engagement rates and is the best platform for reaching Gen Z users, so you may want to adjust your social media strategy accordingly.
Most TikTok users engage deeply with the videos they watch, leading to high conversion rates. Up to 78% of TikTok users purchase products they originally saw influencers showcase on the platform.
Additionally, nano-influencers have the highest engagement rates on TikTok—up to 18%, compared to Instagram’s 5%.
47.3% of influencers are micro-influencers
The average professional influencer isn’t a top-tier mega-influencer with millions (or even hundreds of thousands) of followers. According to recent influencer marketing stats, nearly half—up to 47.3%—are micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are usually defined as having between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.
Influencers of this level offer marketers a solid balance between reach and engagement. Nano-influencers still have higher engagement rates overall, but micro-influencers have more followers and provide a wider reach. So, if you want to expand your reach, micro-influencers may be a better fit for your strategy.
Most micro-influencers will also still be relatively affordable for small or emerging brands. Take the time to find the right people. Make sure you choose influencers with good reputations who operate in niches related to yours.
79% of marketers say Instagram is the most important platform
According to recent data from HypeAuditor, 79% of marketers feel that Instagram is the best platform for reaping the benefits of influencer marketing.
Some potential reasons for this opinion include the following:
- Instagram’s visual component makes it a powerful way to reach audiences
- A wide range of different demographics use Instagram daily
- Instagram offers a variety of post options for marketers, including stories and popular shot-form reels
- Many influencers prefer Instagram to other options
Relevancy is the top priority for both influencers and marketers
Marketers and brands care about delivering content that really matters to their audiences, and 44% of influencers cite relevancy as their top priority in their partnership with brands.
Collaboration allows them to produce more relevant, authoritative, and effective content. In other words, influencers are potentially as excited to partner with you as you are about working with them.
As you can see, influencer marketing statistics can shed light on your digital marketing efforts’ next step.
How Do You Hire Good Influencers?
Given these statistics, you may now be wondering how to hire good influencers for your campaigns.
Let’s look at some tips for your brand to successfully enter the Influencer Marketing universe!
1. Don’t focus on the number of followers
The number of influencers’ followers usually draws the attention of brands, which want to know the potential reach of their campaigns.
However, having a large audience does not mean that an influencer has really good engagement rates and power of influence.
When looking for influencers in the market, it is more important to understand if they have the trust of their followers, how they relate to them, and if they really are an inspiration to their audience.
2. Find influencers who are aligned with your brand values
In addition to understanding the relevance of influencers to your audience, it is also important to evaluate more subjective factors that are not in reach and engagement numbers.
Look for influencers who have values and principles aligned with those of your brand.
Remember that when you partner with them, their image is associated with your branding. So, evaluate their background and reputation to understand if they are in tune with what your brand stands for.
3. Choose influencers who like your brand and your product
It may seem obvious, but it’s important to pay attention to this: work with influencers who actually like your brand and your product.
The public notices when a brand recommendation is genuine because the influencer actually liked what they consumed.
On the other hand, if there is no affinity with the product, the content doesn’t seem authentic.
In this scenario, the influencer could lose their credibility and become unable to exercise their power of influence.
4. Go beyond your bubble
Many influencers have power within a niche.
You may not even know them, or have never heard of them, but they have loyal followers who can be interesting to your brand and potential buyers of your products.
So be careful not to stay just within your internet bubble. Analyze influencers from the perspective of your buyer persona and understand which profiles are important to them.
There are many more influential names than you think.
5. Research influencers’ reputations
Being an influencer is no longer a hobby. For many people, it is a profession and, as such, it requires professionalism.
High-profile influencers even work with media companies who represent them in negotiations.
So, to hire good influencers, investigate their reputation in past campaigns.
Find out if they meet deadlines and follow contract guidelines, if they are available to talk and negotiate, or if they have had problems with other brands.
This can help you avoid a lot of trouble.
6. Understand which channels are important to your audience
In the statistics about influencers we presented in this article, you have already noticed that Instagram is the preferred social network and that TikTok has been growing.
However, more important than knowing the most popular channels is understanding which ones are the most attractive to your audience.
Also, notice in which channels influencers have more relevance.
Some may be well known on Instagram, for example. But if you need to increase your reach on Twitter because that is where your audience is, you should look for relevant influencers on this social network.
7. Have a specific strategy and budget for Influencer Marketing
If you want to get serious about Influencer Marketing, you need to have a dedicated strategy and budget specifically for influencers integrated into the overall brand strategy.
It is common for companies only to call an influencer to participate in one-off campaigns without connecting with the brand and the audience.
However, the involvement becomes much more significant when the brand reaches the influencer with a robust proposal that has a strategy behind it.
Many times, this kind of partnership leads to influencers becoming brand ambassadors.
Basically, they become the brand’s face, developing a longer and deeper relationship with it, and building a stronger emotional connection with consumers.
8. Consider different possibilities
Influencer Marketing originated with those influencers who are content creators on the Internet. However, the concept of digital influencers has broadened and now includes many other personalities.
In recent years, new types of influencers have emerged and can be part of your campaigns:
- Athlete influencers who became popular in the context of the Tokyo Olympics, such as Simone Biles and Tom Daley.
- Virtual influencers, which are non-human influencers, created with computer graphics and artificial intelligence, such as Noonoouri and Satiko.
- Employee influencers, which are the company’s own employees exerting influence on consumers and new talents.
9. How to contact influencers
Once you’ve identified the appropriate influencers you want to approach, let’s consider how to do that. Here are a few actionable tips for you to try:
Establish a relationship first
Influencers respond best to brands who show interest in their content. Before approaching them for a collaboration, invest time in getting to know them and establishing a relationship.
Start by following them on social media. Engage with their content by leaving comments and liking their posts. This will familiarize you with the influencer and also allow you to understand your audience better.
Get in touch via email
Many brands do reach out to influencers over platform DMs. However, email still feels more serious, professional, and official. Getting in touch for the first time over email helps show you’re a professional who’s serious about collaborating.
Emails are also less likely to be overlooked than DMs. Many influencers have a backlog of DMs they never quite get to. Don’t get lost in the shuffle!
Pay attention to the subject line
Craft a subject line that makes your intentions clear at a glance. It will be easier to stand out in the potential sea of inquiries a good influencer probably gets. Mention the word “collaboration”, as well as the name of your brand.
Put some thought into your message
Successful inquiries are clear and professional while also seeming enthusiastic. Be friendly, but get to the point right away. Here are some examples of potential messages that work:
- “Wonderful to meet you! We stumbled across you on <platform> and thought your content would be a great fit for us.”
- “Hi, <influencer’s name>! We follow you on <platform> and want to offer you an opportunity.”
- “Hello, I hope you’re well. I manage influencer partnerships for <brand name>, and your content caught my eye.”
Be sure to share compensation details in your message to help pique interest and manage expectations. Make it clear you’re offering something, not asking for a freebie, to maximize your chances of getting a response.
Wrap Up
Now you know some main Influencer Marketing statistics that prove the power of this strategy, and you know how to hire good influencers for your campaigns.
Keep in mind that Influencer Marketing has already been consolidated in marketing strategies worldwide. But this market is constantly evolving, with new strategies, channels, and profiles entering the scene regularly.
So, always keep an eye on the data and influencer marketing statistics to follow the evolution of this trend.
And, if you want to dive deeper into the topic, check out our article on the role of AI Influencers in Digital Marketing!
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