Influencer marketing has grown over the years to become one of the most influential sources of online marketing for businesses both big and small. A majority of businesses spend anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 a year on influencer marketing. For many businesses, it has become a great alternative source of marketing and enables them to reach many people, especially in younger generations.
What is influencer marketing?
First, an influencer is someone who has a certain niche following that they actively engage with online. They have a powerful influence on their followers who look up to them and value their opinions on new products and services they are currently using. These influencers are much more trustworthy than celebrities due to their close, personal relationships with their followers.
Why influencer marketing is important
Influencer marketing is an opportunity to increase brand awareness, increase engagement, and grow your following. Instagram is one of the biggest platforms used for brands and influencers alike. This form of marketing is much more authentic, organic and cost effective than other means of advertising.
The growth of influencer marketing
Over the last two years, influencer marketing has experienced a phenomenal expansion. Instagram, being the powerhouse for this type of marketing, has reached 1 billion active users who post 95 million photos and videos every single day.
Influencer marketing went from a $1.7 billion industry in 2016 to a projected $6.5 billion industry for 2019. Just one year ago, there was a reported $325% increase in Google searches for the term “influencer marketing” alone. Instagram has even received an increase in usage 10 times that of just 5 years ago.
Take a look at these staggering statistics showing just how influencer marketing is continuing to rise:
Fashion & beauty influencers
The majority of influencers are in the fashion and beauty industry. In 2018, the beauty industry saw three times the activity than previous years with nearly 5 million mentions by influencers.
Influencer marketing formats increasing
Back in 2017, 91% of influencers were only posting single image content for their collaborative brands. Now, influencers are posting more videos, stories and carousel posts which can include up to 10 images and/or videos.
Disclosures increasing
Influencers use the hashtag #ad to let their followers know that their content post is in fact an advertisement from a brand they trust. This disclosure has seen a 133% increase from 2017.
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash
