蘑菇AV

For brands, working with influencers was once an experimental addition to their media plans, but growth in influencer marketing spend is now outpacing its digital and social counterparts, per our forecast. While influencer partnerships still account for a significantly smaller part of the media mix, their growth is a sign that the industry is maturing鈥攁nd more legacy advertisers want in.

Successful creator campaigns on TikTok rely on partnering with creators who align well with the brand and consistently show love for its products. In 2024, US influencer marketing spend on TikTok is projected to reach $1.403 billion, per 蘑菇AV鈥檚 forecast. Brands that take a genuine approach to collaborating with creators ensure credibility, are more likely to connect with followers, and inspire purchases.

Influencer marketing is a core part of many brands鈥� strategies. Sponsored content spend on social media will total $8.14 billion in 2024, nearing the $10 billion mark by 2026, according to 蘑菇AV鈥檚 March 2024 forecast.

The influencer marketing industry finds itself at an inflection point in more ways than one, and agencies must adapt to stay afloat.

Many notable data points emerged from this busy week, including Google's search usage, resounding global trust in influencer recommendations, and most Americans don't know they're using AI-enabled products (even though 99% recently have).

Marketers looking to bolster their influencer strategies must navigate a growing number of agencies, platforms, and vendors. Here鈥檚 a breakdown of the key players in the space.

The power of creators is alive and well鈥攄espite reports suggesting the opposite. Marketers are increasing, not cutting, their influencer spending, particularly on TikTok. But creator partnerships may not be right for every marketer, as challenges from brand safety to measurement persist.

Influencer marketing is a natural way to reach Gen Z: Gen Zers rely on influencers far more than millennials do, per GoDaddy.

We鈥檝e increased our forecast for US influencer marketing spend for next year from $4.6 billion to over $6 billion, following TikTok鈥檚 explosion.

Key stat: US influencer marketing spend will grow more than three times faster than social ad spend in 2023, and it will remain ahead through 2025, according to our forecast.

Brands could scatter influencer marketing dollars. Despite its outsize role in the growth of the creator economy, TikTok represents somewhat of a middle ground within influencer marketing. In 2024, TikTok accounted for 17.2% of influencer marketing spending, per our forecast.

Next year, US influencer marketing spend will hit $5.89 billion, and 82.7% of marketers will use influencer marketing, according to our forecasts. While that figure still pales in comparison to the $75.08 billion going to social network ad spend, influencer marketing is growing at a faster rate.

Spending on sponsored content will rise 3.5 times faster than social ad spending will this year. Social ad spending, including YouTube, still dwarfs influencer marketing spending, at $83.72 billion versus $5.14 billion in 2023, per our forecasts. But the different spending patterns are a clear indication that creators aren鈥檛 tied to social media. The trend holds true on every platform, as marketers continue to shift more budget into influencer marketing, particularly video.

US Influencer marketing spending will pass $2 billion on Instagram in 2024, while spending on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook will each pass $1 billion, per our forecast.

On today's episode, we discuss what brand new forecasts the forecasting team cooked up in Q2, including influencer marketing spend by platform and tier, luxury ecommerce, and US prescription drug sales. "In Other News," we talk about Apple Pay's meteoric rise and what DoorDash's Q2 performance says about the future of the food delivery space. Tune in to the discussion with our senior forecasting analyst Iwona Drapala and director of forecasting Peter Newman.

Here鈥檚 what healthcare and pharma brands need to know about making social health influencers a bigger part of their marketing strategies in order to sway consumer decisions.

More than a quarter (26%) of marketers worldwide use YouTube for influencer marketing strategies, according to a September 2024 report by the Influencer Marketing Hub. Another 25% uses the platform for organic content marketing.

2024 was a year of legitimacy for the creator economy. 2025 will be a year of professionalization, as creator content scales beyond social media and marketers focus on proving the ROI of their growing influencer marketing investments.