New research from micro-influencer stage Takumi reports that 9% of UK advertising professionals are planning to spend over #100,000 on influencers during the subsequent 12 months.
The statistics show the prevalence that attempting to exploit the energy of influencers is likely to have over budgets and marketing strategies over the next year. 39 percent of the surveyed planned to invest up to #10,000 while 20 percent estimate their potential spend at involving #10,000 and #100,000.
Significantly, only 4 percent reported having no plans to spend any cash on influencers.
CEO, Co-founder and Mats Stigzelius of Takumi said:
“A lot of people are stating that influencer promotion is an over-hyped fad – that there is no ROI and it is going to soon disappear. But as these results show, it’s clear influencer marketing is here to stay. Brands are currently dedicating big budgets towards it and recognise its value.
“Of those professionals we studied for example, 61% stated they feel they can accurately measure engagement levels and return on investment, and as platforms such as Instagram continue to roll out new features to signpost promoted material, that is only likely to grow.”
Powerful influence
The spending on influencers is reflective of how many marketers believe it to be an effective strategy. 26% rate influencer advertising as more capable of targeting consumers more traditional forms of advertisements like media display ads.
43% agree that while influencer marketing is more successful, they add the corollary that this is the case when it’s targeted at millennials.
There’s also a taste for smaller influencers, with 56 percent of those surveyed stating that they specifically pick accounts with below 250,000 followers. Just a quarter goal those with more than a thousand follows.
“The size of the accounts used in marketing campaigns is especially intriguing.” Mats added. “Lots of individuals still wrongly prefer macro influencers with thousands and thousands of followers, but the reality is that at this point you reach the same audience with micro influencers, while also profiting from higher engagement.
“For example, working with a star might give you one social networking article. Dealing with influencers, you could generate 100 bits of content that is societal and the reach with the same budget. From our experience, we’re seeing an increasing number of brands realise that celebrity isn’t everything and ditching big names in favour of micro-influencers. It’s a trend we just hope to continue.”
