Not too long ago, influencer marketing was reserved mostly for A-listers. Now, influencer collaborations of all sizes reshape how brands connect with audiences.

Whether macro (100,000 to 1 million followers) or micro (10,000 to 100,000 followers), influencers help your marketing impact through authentic connections with their community.

In this article, we’ve curated a list of the top statistics to show how influencer marketing can expand your reach online and drive engagement with your target audience.

Influencer marketing is a content strategy that uses individuals with dedicated social media followings to endorse a product or service

Understanding Influencer Marketing

Fundamentally, influencer marketing is a content strategy that uses individuals with dedicated social media followings to endorse a product or service.

Many brands collaborate with them to leverage their established credibility and reach within their community, often through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Influencers effectively bridge the gap between companies and their target audience.

Unlike traditional advertising, influencer marketing capitalizes on influencers’ personal connection with their followers, leading to more organic and impactful engagements. It’s a fusion of old-school celebrity endorsement with a contemporary, digital twist.

The type of influencer you partner with depends on your brand. Here are the four types:

  • Mega:     1M+ followers
  • Macro:    100K – 1M followers
  • Micro:     10K – 100K followers
  • Nano:     10k or less followers

It’s up to you to decide if influencer marketing is right for your business. If unsure, check out the statistics below to help you decide.

Influencer marketing statistics by platform.

General influencer marketing statistics

  • 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing (Social Shepherd)
  • 86% of marketers used influencer marketing to increase brand awareness (Social Shepherd)
  • 74% used influencer marketing to reach a new or target audience (Social Shepherd)
  • 61% of consumers trust influencer’ recommendations (Social Shepherd)
  • Over 83% of marketers still believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing (Influence Marketing Hub)
  • 63% plan to use AI in executing their influencer campaigns (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 2/3rds of those brands will use AI for influencer identification (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 72% of Millenials and Gen Z follow influencers on social media (Hubspot)
  • 41% of influencers said the number one factor of working with a brand was how much they were paying for the time the collaboration would take them (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 36% of influencers also admitted a personal passion for a brand or product helped them determine how much effort to put into a campaign (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 22% of marketers say influencer marketing is their most cost-effective customer acquisition channel (Convince & Convert)

Influencer marketing statistics about income and industry.

Influencer marketing statistics about growth and rates

  • In 2016, the influencer market size was $1.7 billion. In 2023, it’s projected to reach $21.1 billion (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • Since 2019, more than 240 influencer marketing-focused agencies and influencer platforms have been founded (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • TikTok has the highest engagement rate compared to Instagram or YouTube (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 42% of marketers also believe TikTok has the highest ROI for influencer marketing (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • TikTok influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers had the highest engagement rates, around 9.4%. Believe it or not, the rate trended down as the follower count went up (Statista)
  • Instagram micro-influencers have an engagement rate of 3.86%, while mega-influencers fall around 1.21%. This is the same trend on YouTube, where the smaller influencers have an average engagement rate of 1.64%, while the big guys only have 0.37% (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • Brands prefer to work with small (nano – 39% and micro – 30%) influencers instead of expensive macro-influencers (19%) and celebrities (12%) (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • On Instagram, nano-influencers charge between $10-100 per post; micro-influencers charge between $100-500 per post; macro-influencers charge between $5,000-$10,000 per post (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • On TikTok, nano-influencers charge between $5-$25 per post; micro-influencers charge between $25-$125; macro-influencers charge between $1,250-$2,500 (Influencer Marketing Hub)

Influencer marketing statistics about hiring and budgets.

Influencer marketing statistics about budgets and income

  • 89% of marketers engaging with influencer marketing will increase or maintain their investment in 2023 (Hubspot)
  • On average, businesses gain $6.50 in revenue for every $1 spent on influencer marketing (Convince & Convert)
  • 67% of those who budget for influencer marketing intend to ramp up their influencer marketing budget in 2023 (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 23% of respondents spend more than 40% of their entire marketing budget on influencer campaigns (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 56% of companies will work with the same influencer multiple times, while 44% say they prefer to vary the hiring (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • It’s now the norm to pay influencers (42%) rather than just give them a free product (30%), and the most common payment method is now a percentage of sales value (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • Hiring an influencer can be a one-off promotion or an ongoing relationship where the influencer becomes a spokesperson. 67% of brands prefer their influencer marketing to be campaign-based rather than always-on (Influencer Marketing Hub)

Influencer marketing statistics about consumer journey and conversion.

Influencer marketing statistics about measuring success

  • 75% of brands track sales from their influencer marketing campaigns (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • The most common ways to track sales from influencer marketing campaigns are email addresses (30%), referral links (30%), coupon codes (12%), and product SKUs (5%) (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • 70% of brands track the ROI of their influencer marketing campaigns through impressions, reach, and views (Influencer Marketing Hub)

How Are You Complementing Your Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is just one piece of your content marketing strategy. You still need high-quality content as a foundation. If you’re not sure where to start, ClearVoice has you covered. Our content solutions and social media content writers help maximize your social media marketing’s effectiveness and drive engagement. Talk to a strategist today to see how we can increase brand awareness and ensure your success.