A new survey is shining a ring light on how consumers feel about influencers—and how marketers work with these social media kings and queens.
Rakuten Marketing teamed up with Viga in December 2018 and January 2019 for the "2019 Influencer Marketing Report." The report surveyed 3,600 consumers and 719 marketers in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Here’s what they found.
Further Reading: What Does Influencer Marketing Really Look Like in 2019?
What the Consumers are Saying:
- Instagram is the most popular platform (65%), followed by YouTube (62%) and Facebook (62%)
- While women prefer Instagram (70%), YouTube is the preferred platform for men (64%)
- At 43%, beauty influencers tie with celebrities as the second most followed influencers (behind entertainers, at 47%)
- When it comes to discovering new influencers, 53% of consumers do so via social media platforms, compared to family and friends (48%) and giveaways (32%)
- 80% of consumers have made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation—specifically clicking on the link or image they provide
- 68% of consumers follow an influencer from another country
- Good news, marketers—64% of women and 54% of men don’t avoid clicking a sponsored link, with 61% of all consumers saying they would click a sponsored link from an influencer to find out more about the product
- A plurality of consumers (46%) define an “authentic” influencer as one with “good taste and passion”
- What makes them stop following an influencer? Losing interest (41%), an influencer not aligning with their core values (37%) and too much sponsored content (33%)
What the Marketers are Saying:
- 71% of marketers can tell when an influencer is performing
- What are they tracking? Brand reach (59%), brand awareness (53%) and direct sales (44%)
- 61% of influencers are open to creative suggestions, while 18% hold all the creative power
- When it comes to influencer’s fees, most marketers (54%) “somewhat” understand them; 31% “completely” understand, while 5% have no understanding
- Marketers are slightly more likely to work with micro-influencers, with fewer than 30,000 followers, compared to high-tier or celebrity influencers with more than 500,000 followers—36% versus 30%
- The average micro influencer campaign comes in at $30,132; high-tier influencers average at $39,577
- YouTube and Instagram are the platforms marketers are willing to shell out the most money for: $28,203 and $25,873 for YouTube and Instagram, respectively, for micro influencers and $34,886 and $33,021 for high-tier influencers