Influencer Report: Must Know Stats in 2023

In such a fast-past, ever-evolving industry, it’s hard to keep up with influencer marketing news. As more influencers join the movement and more brands invest in creator collaborations, the importance and effectiveness of influencer marketing are growing. 

To better grasp this marketing niche, here’s a look at influencer marketing statistics that provide a helpful overview. 

Influencer marketing spend is expected to reach $7.14 billion in 2024.

Source: Statista

Every year since 2019, the amount spent on influencer marketing has grown. In 2019, $2.4 million was spent on the marketing technique. By 2023, that number had grown to $6.16 billion. Next year, spending will increase by another billion dollars, hitting $7.14 billion.

78% of social media users follow influencers.

Source: Trust in Influencer Marketing

It’s common for social media users to follow influencers. Since algorithms tailor content to each user, it’s fairly easy to discover and follow influencers on social. 

While a large majority of users follow influencers, that number grows if you look at 18- to 29-year-olds. Influencer marketing reports show 92% of this age group follows influencers. 

58% of all creators say their biggest challenge is finding brand partnerships.

Source: Insider Intelligence

One of the most profitable ways to make money as an influencer is to create long-term partnerships with brands. Influencers are paid for sponsored content, which often introduces a brand to a new audience and authentically promotes a product at the same time. 

While these collaborations are beneficial, they can be hard to come by. While 58% of all creators listed it as their biggest challenge, 80% of microcreators listed it as their top struggle. 

Pro tip: If you’re trying to identify brands that want to work with influencers, check out Casting Calls on Marketplace, an influencer marketing platform. These job listings give you an opportunity to pitch to brands that are looking to work with creators. 

Instagram is the most popular influencer marketing channel, holding 44% of influencer marketing spending share. 

Source: Insider Intelligence

Social media influencer statistics show both creators and brands favor Instagram. The channel has remained in the top spot since 2019 and has held 43-44% of the influencer marketing share each year. 

TikTok is the second most popular and is expected to hold 18.5% of the market share in 2024. YouTube and Facebook follow close behind.

66% of creators consider themselves part-time creators.

Source: Linktree

It’s fairly common for influencers to start out as part-time creators. Many creators pick a niche that they’re passionate about and launch a channel around it, but it takes time to earn money. Creators often spend several months creating content and growing their audience before they’re able to gain income. 

36% of creators have been making content for less than or equal to one year.

Source: Linktree

Becoming an influencer is still a fairly new concept, as evident by this statistic. Some people are just starting to join the influencer revolution, and if the research is correct, it’s mostly younger adults who are interested in the career. 

Fifty-four percent of today’s youth say they’d become an influencer if given the opportunity, which could be one of the most impressive influencer marketing growth statistics out there. 

58% of social media users say authenticity is the most important characteristic an influencer can have. 

Source: Morning Consult

When asked what drives a consumer to follow an influencer, more than half (58%) said it was their authentic passion for their niche. It makes sense. Authenticity resonates with an audience, which is one of the main reasons influencer marketing is so successful.

Surprisingly, an influencer’s follower count didn’t sway consumers to follow a particular creator. Just 10% of consumers said they followed an influencer because he or she was popular. 

62% of social media users say they’re more likely to trust influencers than they are A-list celebrities. 

Source: Trust in Influencer Marketing

As influencers share their expertise and make consistent appearances in followers’ social feeds, they build a relationship. In time, they develop trust with their audience, so much so that followers trust influencers over celebrity endorsements. 

Influencers tend to be more relatable than celebrities too, which is likely a nod to a creator embracing his or her authentic voice.

Influencer marketing 2023 deal flow for racial minorities reached a new high at 46% in 2022. 

Source: The State of Influencer Equality

As marketers work to reach more diverse audiences, they’re leaning on more diverse influencers to promote their products. As a result, the cost-per-content has also climbed. 

The State of Influencer Equality report shows compensation for all races and sexes has increased in the last eight years. 

86% of people believe any use of AI-generated images should be disclosed.

Source: Influencing AI report

There’s a lot of talk about the use of AI. Within an influencer marketing strategy, one of AI’s many uses is generating images. By simply describing the kind of image you want, AI platforms can scrub the internet for sources and generate artwork from it. 

While these tools are impressive, many people, 86% according to research, want to know when they’re looking at art that’s created by AI as opposed to a real person. AI disclosures are quickly becoming a hot topic and will likely be a big part of the conversation in the future. 

Pro tip: Wondering how to disclose AI content? IZEA users can soon take advantage of influencer marketing tools that can watermark images and tag text generated by AI.