Rakuten Marketing Study: The 2019 Influencer Marketing Global Survey

Rakuten Marketing’s latest global report – ‘The 2019 Influencer Marketing Global Survey’ – is now available for download.

Our survey explores which platforms are the most popular for influencers, and reveals that YouTube’s monopoly over influencers has ended. The most common platform for 65% of consumers to view influencer content is now Instagram – beating YouTube by 3%.

With their rising popularity, more marketers are becoming aware of the impact influencers have on sales, and the need to measure accordingly is growing. 71% of marketers can now tell that their influencer marketing campaign has driven sales, an increase on and the need to measure accordingly is growing.

Get your copy of ‘The 2019 Influencer Marketing Global Survey’ to find out more

Content comes first

Whilst 71% of marketers feel as if they can tell if an influencer is performing, consumers are becoming more aware of the content they’re being shown.

Anthony Capano, Managing Director EMEA at Rakuten Marketing comments, “Influencer marketing has come a long way and understanding from consumers, brands and influencers themselves has grown. However, this level of consumer savviness comes at a price: if influencers are promoting products that aren’t a natural fit, audiences will switch off.”

Honesty is key

Whilst marketers traditionally define honesty or authenticity as “being yourself”, 46% of consumers say that a mixture of passion and good taste are the most authentic traits in influencers. This begs the question – where does authenticity come from? 34% say that it comes from an influencer when they’re able to provide something that benefits the shopper personally.

Our survey also details that 97% of consumers express that they still trust influencers if they have disclosed a relationship with a brand. 43% of global consumers trust influencers to give an honest review of the product, and appreciate the disclosure about their relationship with the brand.

Discover more statistics by downloading ‘The 2019 Influencers Marketing Global Survey’ here

A diverse playing-field

As consumers embrace following a diverse mix of influencers, our survey says that 39% follow fashion gurus and 43% follow beauty specialists, making them just as popular as celebrities online.

In 2019, marketers are happy to pay celebrity influencers £25,000 per post, and £26,000 per post for micro-influencers. The amount for a celebrity post has significantly decreased from 2017, were marketers were happy to pay up to and in excess of £75,000 for a single post.

Capano continues, “Rather than just investing in high tier celebrity endorsement, marketers are also investing in the advocacy of ‘micro-influencers’. These influencers are typically more engaged – as are their audience – and working with multiple micro-influencers will often result in higher engagement and better cut-through”.

Download Now

To find out more on how marketers globally are reacting to influencers, be sure to download ‘The 2019 Influencer Marketing Global Survey’ now.