Big brands are now turning to small social media influencers to increase their brand awareness and increase sales, which has led to a dramatic increase in influencer marketing over the last year.
A New Report From Global Media Monitoring firm Meltwater estimates the number of sponsored posts shared by internet influencers rose to about 3.8 million last year, a 26.7 percent increase from the three million in 2020.
Sponsored stories (status) also increased by 33 percent to 16 stories per week, compared to 12 in 2020, indicating a growing trend in influencer marketing.
“Brands are prioritizing digital strategies and adjusting budgets based on changing consumer habits, with influencers playing an integral role in business planning,” said Katherine McInnes, Head of Marketing Africa at Meltw ater.
“Working with micro-influencers in particular has proven to be a crucial way for brands to communicate authentically with customers.”
The micro-influencers – those with bet Between 5,000 and 30,000 followers on social media accounted for 91 percent of sponsored collaborations, a 2 percent increase from 2020.
“Their (micro-influencers) smaller but focused audience drives high willingness to buy and increases in brand awareness , which often yields the best return on investment for brands,” said Ms. McInnes.
According to the report, the micro-influencers are charging $354 for social media posts, $555 for videos uploaded to their pages posted, and $179 for each story (status) update.
Instagram has emerged as the most popular destination for influencer marketing, with at least 94% of all influencer campaigns in the last year involving some form of Instagram Content included.
Facebook ranked second at 43 percent, followed by Tiktok at 13 percent and YouTube at 10 percent.
“TikTok is still an emerging platform, and while it’s not as well known as Instagram, it’s growing in popularity Brands are integrating the social media channel into their marketing plans,” said Ms. McInne s.
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