Influencer Marketing Statistics you should know for 2022

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 2022. 

We’ll talk about the following topics:

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.

What are the Key Influencer Marketing Statistics for 2022?

Here, we have gathered some Influencer Marketing statistics that highlight how Influencer Marketing works and why so many companies invest in this strategy. 

Keep on reading to understand why you should also invest in it in 2022.

49% of consumers have been persuaded by influencer recommendations

A study conducted by Twitter in 2016 shows that social media influencers play an important role in helping brands connect with their audiences. 

According to the survey, 49% of consumers rely on recommendations from digital influencers to make purchase decisions.

Additionally, 40% of them claim to have purchased something after seeing it on social media, supporting the idea that brands can profit off the trustworthiness of digital influencers.

Women and young people follow more influencers than men and older people

There are influencers and followers of all niches and profiles, but the data from Influencer Marketing Hub show there are more women than men following influencers. 

Also, younger people follow more influencers than older people.

In younger age groups, the disparity between women and men is more evident. Between the ages of 16 and 24, 33.1% of women follow influencers, compared to 25.1% of men. 

Between the ages of 25 and 34, these rates change to 26.1% of women and 21.9% of men.

In the chart below, you can better understand the data.

91% of engagement on sponsored posts on Instagram are from micro-influencers

Do you think that big influencers dominate brand campaigns? Then you should know that micro-influencers are gaining space, and it is not a coincidence. 

Their smaller but more focused audience favors the involvement of their followers.

According to the report 2022 State of Influencer Marketing conducted by Klear, 91% of engagement on sponsored posts was with content created by micro-influencers. This represents a 2% growth in comparison to 2020.

94% of Influencer Marketing campaigns include Instagram

Do you know which channel is the most used in campaigns with influencers? If you said Instagram, you’re right!

The social network is the darling of influencers and brands: 94% of Influencer Marketing campaigns include Instagram in their channels, according to data from the report 2022 State of Influencer Marketing conducted by Klear.

Facebook also has a strong presence, appearing in 43% of the campaigns. Then comes TikTok (13%) ahead of YouTube (10%), which may indicate a trend of preference of brands for shorter videos.

Investments in influencer content will grow exponentially

According to Research and Markets, the Influencer Marketing industry reached the impressive mark of $10.24 billion in 2021. 

However, this is nothing compared to their prediction of the size this market will reach by 2028: $84.89 billion.

In light of this anticipation, a survey conducted for this study also showed that marketing professionals plan to increase the budget for actions with digital influencers in 2022, and the tendency is for this share to continue expanding.

90% of marketers believe Influencer Marketing is an effective strategy

If the numbers above still haven’t convinced you that Influencer Marketing deserves a place in your strategy, listen to what marketers are saying.

According to the Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2021, 90% of marketing professionals believe Influencer Marketing is effective. 

This means that working with influencers tends to boost your marketing results, improve your relationship with your audience, and bring a positive return on investment.

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, 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.

Wrap Up

Now you know some of the main Influencer Marketing statistics that prove the power of this strategy, and you know how to hire good influencers for your campaigns.

Influencer Marketing can no longer be seen as a trend for 2022 because it has already been consolidated in marketing strategies worldwide. 

But keep in mind, 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!