Our annual Influencer Marketing Survey revealed some exciting findings this year, most of which suggest that 2019 will be a year of rapid growth and innovation for the influencer marketing industry.

Key Takeaways

Marketers feel confident about influencer marketing as a channel

• 80% of marketers find influencer marketing effective
• 89% say ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels

Influencer marketing spending will increase in 2019

• Nearly two-thirds of marketers are increasing their influencer marketing budgets in 2019
• 17% of companies will spend over half their marketing budget on influencer marketing

Instagram and Instagram Stories will be the focal point of many strategies

• 89% of marketers say Instagram is important to their influencer marketing strategy
• The top three most effective content formats are Instagram Posts (78%), Instagram Stories(73%) in close second, and YouTube Videos (56%)

Finding the best influencers for a campaign remains a struggle

• 61% of marketers agree that it’s difficult to find the right influencers for a campaign
• In spite of Instagram’s crackdown, spotting fake followers is the #1 ranked influencer marketing concern for marketers

Measuring ROI is still a concern, especially in relation to “always-on” campaigns

• “Measuring and improving ROI” is cited as the #1 challenge when working with influencers
• 41% of marketers are concerned with building an “always-on” strategy in 2019, and 27% of them measure campaign performance on an ongoing basis
• Top three goals of influencer marketing are increasing brand awareness (85%), reaching new audiences (71%), and generating sales / conversions (64%)

Influencer Marketing Embraced As An Effective Channel For Driving ROI

• 80% Of Marketers Find Influencer Marketing Effective

As more companies incorporated influencers into their marketing strategy in 2018, it appears that many of them found some success. A huge majority (80%) of marketers find influencer marketing effective, and 35% find it very effective. Only 5% of marketers find influencer marketing ineffective.

71% Of Marketers Say The Quality Of Customers & Traffic From Influencer Marketing Is Better Than Other Sources

Most marketers agree that the quality of visitors and customers from influencer marketing is betterthan other channels, and 18% of marketers strongly agree with this sentiment—only 5% disagree.

Read the full survey results here.

About This Survey
This survey was taken by 162 participants between January 15 - 25, 2019. Over 90% of participants were based in the United States, but a handful were from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Germany, and France.

Survey participants were required to use a business email in order to confirm that they worked at one of these three company types:

• Agencies (influencer agencies, PR, creative agencies, etc.): 52%
• Consumer-facing brands (gaming, travel, e-commerce, fashion, travel etc.): 37%
• B2B companies (business service providers, software, etc.): 11%