SOLIVE - NEWS - March 2021

Influencer marketing worldwide in 2021: current state and outlook according to brands and agencies

In a year still heavily impacted by the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, where does influencer marketing stand globally? Gaining an objective view of the situation isn't always easy. Fortunately, specialists in the field are keeping a close eye on the state of the sector, its players (agencies and brands), and emerging trends. Here are some key findings from the latest benchmark report by Influencer Marketing Hub.

Influencer marketing: a still powerful and effective lever for brands

In its benchmark report on influencer marketing 2021, Influencer Marketing Hub surveyed more than 5,000 marketing agencies, brands and other industry professionals to determine their views and better understand their current opinions on the market related to this activity.

Among the key takeaways, the strong performance of the influencer marketing market is particularly noteworthy. Despite the health crisis and its accompanying uncertainties, brands continue to strongly favor this practice for their online communication strategies.

Considered a highly effective and popular way to reach consumers, influencer marketing campaigns now occupy a prominent place in corporate strategy. At So Bang, our influencer agency, we have a platform of 10,000 influencers worldwide, representing a wide range of profiles (micro, nano, etc.).     

Next, and we've already mentioned this several times, if there's one social media platform that's truly thriving, it's TikTok. Despite its detractors, the social network continues its meteoric rise. In France, it's worth noting that it now tops the list of the 10 most downloaded mobile apps, ahead of WhatsApp. And here again, within our agency, our team has developed genuine expertise in TikTok.

Other key takeaways for influencer marketing in 2021

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, here are the key points to remember about influencer marketing today: 

  • The influencer marketing industry is expected to reach approximately $13.8 billion in 2021 (in 2020, the market size was $9.7 billion). 
  • More than 240 new agencies and platforms focused on influencer marketing were created in 2019. Today, the study estimates the total number of influencer agencies and platforms at nearly 1400. 
  • Micro-influencers have better engagement rates than social media superstars. For example, micro-influencers on Instagram have an average engagement rate of 3.86%, and this rate drops at all influencer levels, reaching a low of 1.21% for mega-influencers. 
  • The majority of influencer agencies (59%) admit to having an independent budget for brand content marketing, and 75% of them now intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2021. 
  • 90% of respondents believe that influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing to reach consumers (sales, customer relations) and promote brands, services and products. 
  • Companies appreciate working with influencers they know. The majority of brands report using the same influencers (and therefore the same communities) in different campaigns. 
  • Approximately half of the companies working with influencers also have an e-commerce website. In general, e-commerce and social selling are gaining popularity for all types of businesses. 
  • Brands still tend to offer free product samples (or discounts on more expensive products) rather than paying their influencers cash. 
  • 67% of respondents measure the ROI of their influence campaigns. 
  • More than audience or reputation (image, visibility), conversions/sales are the most common measure of success in influencer marketing. 
  • 83% of companies allocate their influencer marketing expenses from their marketing budget. 
  • Among the social media platforms used, 67% of respondents reported using Instagram for influencer marketing, but there has been a dramatic increase in the use of TikTok. On this platform, engagement is significantly higher for influencers of all sizes compared to their Instagram or YouTube counterparts. 
  • Influencer fraud (fake profiles, fake communities, fake content) remains a concern for respondents, but less so than in the past 
  • Far fewer respondents were victims of influence fraud than before 
  • 67% of respondents prefer their influencer marketing to be based on campaigns rather than other forms of digital communication. 
  • Finding influencers remains the biggest challenge for those running in-house campaigns, but this is becoming less and less of a problem.

It's worth noting that this data focuses on influencer marketing globally. The survey gathered perspectives from a wide range of countries (47% US, 11% Europe, 13% Asia (APAC)) and from numerous brands (36%) and marketing agencies (32%, including those specializing in influencer marketing like So Bang). Finally, the proportion of companies surveyed was 70% B2C and 30% B2B.

(More information on the 2021 benchmark report by Influencer Marketing Hub: https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/)