Social Media Influencer Profits On The Rise In Recent Years

Social media influencers have enjoyed huge profit increases in the past few years.

This is according to statistics from the US-based influencer marketing firm Izea. The firm found that the average price per sponsored post on various social media platforms had seen a dramatic increase.

What this means for social media influencers

Izea said in a separate study that social media influencers take 48% of their total income from doing social media influencer marketing.

While this is a decrease from 63% in 2014, social media influencers are increasingly diversifying their sources of income by running ads and doing content marketing, freelance work and public events.

Social media influencers are also expected to receive more profits as marketers expect to spend up to 13 times what the influencers charge their products. For example, marketers expect to spend $1,788 to have a social media influencer follow their brand while influencers only charge $31 for this.

However, most marketers have said that they do not think celebrity influencers are good value for their money. This suggests that marketers have a preference to not work with celebrity influencers.

Social media influencers, on the other hand, have said that compensation is not the top factor for sponsored content. Influencers said that they are looking for brands that fit with their content and are relevant to their audience.

Digital marketing — Photo by PhotoMIX-Company on Pixabay

Social media influencer marketing now a trend

Izea also said in their study that social media influencer marketing has become the most effective marketing method for experienced marketers.

A quarter of marketers found television as the most effective marketing medium. Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe that television marketing is becoming less effective now and receives too much investment.

A majority of marketers also believe that social media influencer marketing, as well as content marketing, has a superior return of income. This is in comparison to other advertising mediums such as print, radio and online banners. They also believe that social media influencer marketing has better value than agency-created marketing.

The study said that 70% of companies are already doing social media influencer marketing. 73% of companies already have budgets for social media influencers. Their budgets average at between $500,000 and $1 million and can even reach up to $7 million.

Sponsored Facebook updates are a favorite social media influencer marketing approach by marketers. 74% of marketers used this approach in 2018. However, the use of sponsored videos and photos is on the rise. 50% of companies have used videos in 2018 while 42% of them used photos in the same year.

While marketers find social media influencers as effective for marketing, they are not necessarily aiming for sales. Most marketers said that they were aiming for engagement and awareness for their brands.

Reliance on social media influencers

A recent Morning Consult study said that 72% of Generation Z and millennials follow social media influencers. The same study also said that most of them trust influencers’ advice on brands and products.

This has created an issue where consumers fail to distinguish if a social media influencer’s post is an advertisement.

Earlier this November, the Federal Trade Commission said in a document that social media influencers should provide disclosures whenever they post sponsored content. The FTC added that influencers have the responsibility to be transparent.

Izea said in their study that over three out of four social media influencers have a level of familiarity regarding FTC guidelines. For marketers, only 38% of them have an understanding of the guidelines.