Taking Advantage of Influencers to Grow Your Brand

You don’t need a report to tell you that social media popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic. As a result, marketers are spending 53 percent more on social media, according to the 2022 Nielsen Annual Marketing Report. However, navigating the influencer landscape is becoming an increasing problem. 

Favored influencer platforms Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube posted interesting trends and insights, tracked by Nielsen’s InfluenceScope.

Take these bite-sized facts and beef up your arguments in your next ROI conversations:

• Not shockingly, 71 percent of consumers trust the opinions and product endorsements from influencers, according to an advertising study commissioned by Nielsen.
• Although many have and use multiple accounts and platforms, Instagram is the primary content channel for influencers. 
• TikTok is growing in popularity. In 2021, 68 percent of U.S. marketers invested in the platform, up from 16 percent in 2020.

Know your influencer tiers and how to use them: nano (1K-10K), micro (10K-50K), mid (50K-100K), macro (100K-1M), and mega (more than 1M).

• Instagram dominates the nano tier with 55.2% of total influencers.
• TikTok has bypassed Instagram in popularity for micro, mid, macro, and mega influencers.
• YouTube is attracting fewer influencers but remains strong among mega influencers.

Just a number? Other age-specific facts:

• Almost 90 percent of influencers on the major platforms are 18-34 years old. 
• Seasoned influencers adopt TikTok slowly, but Instagram appears to be a middle ground, attracting influencers 25-34 years old.
• YouTube continues to attract influencers aged 35-64.

Generation trends:

• Instagram is most loved by Millenials, with women being the majority.
• Gen Z most uses TikTok.
• YouTube is popular among Gen Z and Millenials, with men being the majority influencers.

In the first quarter of 2022, Nielsen researchers found that an average of 80 percent of influencer ad viewers were able to recall seeing a brand in ads. The influencer ads led to a nine-point increase in “brand affinity and purchase intent” vs. consumers who did not see ads with influencers. 

Choose your investments in influencer marketing wisely and relevantly by staying on top of trends and data insights, especially on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Good luck! If you need a partner along the way, we hope you think of Glint first. Let’s explore together.