HypeAuditor, an AI analytics platform for brands who want fair and transparent influencer marketing, releases its fourth annual “State of Influencer Marketing” 2023 report. Each year, the report provides an overview of latest news from social media platforms most used by marketers (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube), as well as predicted trends for the year ahead.
What were the general findings of the report?
Crack down on fraud
In comparison to 2021, the average percentage of Instagram accounts impacted by fraud has decreased by 12.5% – a concrete result of the platform’s efforts in fighting against dubious practices. This is the fourth consecutive year that this percentage has decreased since 2019.
However, the overall number of influencers impacted by fraud remains high (36.28%). Close to 60% of mega and celebrity influencers with over 1 million followers on social media are impacted by fraud making them the largest category to be impacted by cyber criminals.
Rise of nano influencers
Nano influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) unsurprisingly are the largest and most influential across TikTok and Instagram, which represents opportunities for marketers to connect authentically with their audiences. On TikTok and Instagram, nano influencers represent the most of all content creators, with 58% of them on Instagram and 49% on TikTok.
Nano influencers maintain the top spot when it comes to having the strongest connection with their audience, with an Engagement Rate (ER) of 2.78% on Instagram and of 12.6% on TikTok.
Social media platforms
The “State of Influencer Marketing” 2023 report reveals that Instagram remains crucial for Aussie brands due to its large and active user base, with more than 12 million monthly active users in the market. Australia took the seventh spot all over the world, ahead of Spain, Germany and Italy, with 646 Aussie brands having over 50 mentions in posts from a minimum of 20 influencers, in the past 90 days alone (from 1st October to 31st December 2022).
The report highlights that the most talked about Aussie brands on Instagram, in terms of tags, are Kmart with 6,000 mentions, Woolworths (4,600 mentions) and Coles (3,800 mentions).
The impact of influencer marketing as an industry to help business brands connect with social media users is echoed by recent findings from Meta which highlight that 87% of Instagram users take a specific action (i.e following a brand, visiting a retail store, or making a purchase) after seeing an engaging post about a product being used by an influencer. As a result, 79% of marketing specialists consider this platform as an integral part of their campaigns.
In addition to these findings, YouTube is also one of the most engaging platforms, with reports suggesting that six in 10 YouTube subscribers would follow advice on what to buy from their favourite content creators on the video site. This is especially true among younger generations who admit relating the most to YouTube influencers, than traditional celebrities. In turn television has a smaller influence on Generation Z, in comparison to other generations.
What were the executive remarks of the report?
Alexander Frolov, CEO and Co-Founder at HypeAuditor, commented: “In 2022, it has become clear that the influencer marketing industry is maturing and making steady progress. Effective action taken by the social media platforms to reduce fraud is having a real valuable impact, and the percentage of accounts impacted by fraud has gradually decreased once again.”
He added, “Influencer marketing is being recognised by majority of marketers as an important tool to connect authentically with their audiences. This will become more important as we face a year of economic challenges which encourage shoppers to tighten their purse strings.”
