Have you ever caught yourself being influenced because of what someone else has said or done? Of course you have, it’s a regular occurrence, but you probably don’t even realise it all of the time.
We are all impacted in some way by what other people suggest to us or to coin a phrase ‘word of mouth’. This happens at work, out with friends and today online. It’s always been human nature to respect other opinions and to trust their views. When there’s an existing relationship this trust strengthens even further still.
This is the principal behind the B2C influencer marketing industry, it’s an updated version of word of mouth. We all like influencers for different reasons, sometimes it’s their lifestyle or the way they market themselves, the values of the person or simply the content they share with us.
Here’s some interesting and a few surprising B2C influencer marketing stats…
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Contents
The Value of Influencer Marketing
The growth in influencer marketing from 2019 to 2020 is estimated to increase from $6.6 billion in 2019 to $9.7 billion in 2020. Some reports are saying it could reach $15 billon worldwide by 2022.
For every $1 spent, businesses are receiving $5.78 in ‘media value’.
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Finding ‘Better’ Customers
51% of marketers believe that influencer marketing helps them to get ‘better’ customers. More customers mean more conversions and sales, while higher-quality customers can lead to recurring purchases and brand advocacy.
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How Effective is Influence Marketing
One massive B2C influencer marketing stat that impressed us, is that 91% who use influencer marketing say it is an effective use of budget, and that they think it works. We’re back to word of mouth, are you influenced by that figure?
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Bigger Budgets for 2020
66% intend to increase their influencer marketing budget over the next year, while 16% are expecting their influencer marketing spend to remain the same as 2019. 13% were unsure about what would happen to their influencer marketing budget and only 4% intended to decrease their budget.
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Influencer Marketing ROI
Around 65% (down from 70% in 2019) measure the ROI on their influencer marketing campaigns. This seems to signify that some businesses continue to find it difficult to determine an ROI on influencer marketing.
The most commonly measured influencer marketing ROI in 2020 is Conversion/Sales (39%) which has gone from the bottom of the list to the top since 2019. More brands now focus on using their influencer marketing to generate tangible results. Other campaign goals that users are most interested in are engagement or clicks generated at 34% and 27% are interested in views/reach/impression (down from 34% last year).
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Top Channels for Influencer Marketing
In first place is Instagram with 93% of influencer marketing, it’s the network of choice. Furthermore, 87% consider Instagram important for their influencer marketing campaigns. The other channels look like this; Facebook 46%, YouTube 36%, followed by 22% for Twitter and 16% for LinkedIn. A further 15% is spread across more specialist social networks.
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Finding Influencers
39% of brands say they struggle to find influencers to work with. Influencers have their own agenda and goals, but you need to be part of their community first. It’s important to take time to build trust before jumping in. A mere 14% reported finding appropriate influencers to be easy.
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B2C Influencer Fraud
More than 2/3 have experienced influencer fraud having been bitten in the past. That’s 68% having personal knowledge of influencer marketing fraud in their campaigns. It’s also interesting to note that only 14% (4200+ Instagram posts assessed) of influencers are currently fully compliant with FTC and CMA Guidelines.
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Quality of Customers from Influencer Marketing Campaigns
We know that not all customers are created equal! Generally, the value of influencer marketing overall, is good and it attracts high-quality customers. An interesting B2C influencer marketing stat for 2020 that has gone down is that 72% (82% in 2019) believe that the quality of customers from influencer marketing campaigns is better than from other forms of marketing. Although 91% believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing.
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In-House B2C Influencer Marketing Campaigns
78% claim that they ran their influencer campaigns in-house, with the remaining 22% opting to use agencies. If you’re responsible for in-house influencer campaigns or you want to get more involved with influencer marketing, our Influencer Marketing Course could help take your knowledge to the next level.
Sources: Business Insider & Influencer Marketing Hub Report 2020
