How to Pay Social Media Influencers

Brands are quickly seeing the value of influencer marketing, but one of the biggest questions marketers have is: How much should we pay influencers? And, what factors into their payment? Are influencers with higher engagement paid more than others? Does audience size impact payment? To help brands how to pay social media influencers, here’s a look at average costs in the industry.  

How much should you pay influencers? 

At IZEA, we help brands and agencies create best-in-class influencer campaigns. Through the years, we’ve compiled data on influencer compensation and offer a complete breakdown in The State of Influencer Earnings, but we’ll give you the report highlights so you can make educated decisions on influencer payment. 

Average cost by platform

One of the ways to approach compensation is to pay influencers based on the platform you’ll ask them to use. Cost is based on the amount of work it takes to create content for the channel. For example, since it takes longer to generate a video demonstration than it does a quick Instagram snap, the cost for a YouTube video is higher than an Insta post. 

Here’s a breakdown of the average amount to pay social media influencers by platform:

 

As you can see by the chart, Facebook is the most affordable platform, with the average cost per post at $642. Meanwhile, Twitch is the most expensive with an average cost of $4,373 per post.

Average cost by influencer tier

Audience size should factor into payment. As you might expect, influencers with bigger audiences are paid more than those with small audiences. 

Some of the highest-paid influencers make millions of dollars a year. Mark Fischbach has 34 million subscribers on his gaming-related YouTube channel and earns an estimated $38 million annually. Fitness influencer Kayla Itsines has 15 million Instagram followers, makes $17 million a year, and charges $150,000 per sponsored post. These types of big-name influencers will likely set their own pricing. 

Your brand doesn’t have to work with a social media star to have an effective campaign, but marketers should expect a sliding payment scale that increases with a follower base. Here’s a closer look at payment by influencer tier:

As you can see by the chart, nano influencers make about $1,000 per post while web celebrities make about $6,000 per post. 

Average cost for content combos

Planning to ask influencers to create more than one type of content? You might ask an influencer to create a blog and a Facebook post, for example. How much should you pay an influencer for a content combo? Here’s a look at common combinations and average pay for each. 

The chart shows the cost for a blog and a Facebook post is the most affordable combo at $1,735, while an Instagram Story and a YouTube video are the most expensive, typically costing just over $12,000.

Tips for negotiating compensation

Compensation is one of many things you’ll discuss with an influencer. You’ll talk about the campaign’s goals, deliverables, deadlines, content rights, and payment, but compensation can include a lot of back and forth. When negotiating with an influencer, you should:

Suggest a price first

Do your research and have a price ready to discuss. It provides a starting point for your conversations. Make sure you’ve considered things like the influencer’s experience, audience size, and engagement rate in the price.  

Adjust content expectations, not the budget

If you have a firm price in mind, but the influencer isn’t willing to accept it, you can adjust the deliverables. For instance, instead of asking for a YouTube video, you could request an Instagram photo. You could also change pieces of a content combo too. 

Many influencers have set bundle prices, so they may counter with their own combinations. Hear them out and see if it’s a good fit for the campaign. 

Consider offering additional perks

Are there additional perks you can offer to keep costs within budget? If you’re having trouble landing on an agreeable payment, try to sweeten the deal with other gifts. You could offer: 

• Free products, in addition to any supplied for an endorsement
• Invitations to branded or networking events
• Gift cards or store credit
• Behind-the-scenes company tours
• After-hours shopping experiences

Pitch a long-term relationship

Do you plan to collaborate with the influencer again in the future? If so, this can adjust costs too. If you’re willing to make a six-month commitment with an influencer, you can suggest a slightly lower per-piece rate. 

Long-term relationships are often beneficial for both parties. For brands, consistent collaboration increases brand awareness and encourages more sales. Meanwhile, influencers get steady work and can grow with a brand. 

Compensation can be a sticky part of any influencer marketing campaign, but if you know industry averages, consider the influencer’s attributes, and have a flexible mindset, it won’t feel like a hurdle. 

If you need help beyond influencer payment rates, IZEA Flex can help. The platform is designed to help brands and agencies create campaigns with ease. You can discover influencers, negotiate contracts, and monitor important metrics, like ROI, all from one dashboard. Learn more about IZEA Flex. 

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