Commentary

The State of Influencer Equality Report by IZEA

Published on October 27, 2022

The success of the influencer marketing industry relies heavily on a diverse selection of creators who are able to produce an assortment of engaging content. However, the question still remains as to whether these individuals are being rewarded fairly and accordingly. Netinfluencer will discuss a collection of key insights from The State of Influencer Equality report.

Who Conducted the Survey?

The State of Influencer Equality report was carried out by IZEA, an influencer marketing software provider that was first established in 2006. The company offers a platform that aims to help businesses manage their chosen influencers and ensure that they are on track throughout a campaign.

The business has recently announced the launch of IZEA Flex, a new platform that hopes to provide marketers and agencies with more valuable data to help them carry out a variety of successful influencer marketing campaigns.

Survey Methodology

This report relies on IZEA’s own marketplace transactions from the last seven years, representing over $60 million in influencer payments. This data was first analyzed in January 2020 and aims to represent an abundance of influencers across multiple social media channels.

As such, the business hopes that this report can accurately depict the financial landscape of this industry, whilst still respecting the sensitive issues of race, gender, and diversity.

Three Key Takeaways

IZEA offers a wide variety of insightful findings that express the true nuances and complexities of this dynamic industry. Described below are just three key insights from this report.

2021 saw the highest rate of sponsorships for racial minorities.
Men continue to earn more money per post, compared to their female counterparts.
Creators aged 65 and over are now considered to be the highest-earning demographic.

What Does This Mean for Influencer Marketing?

The first key finding from this report signifies how non-white creators are seeing a higher influx of sponsorship deals, potentially leading to a higher rate of revenue. IZEA explains that 2021 was the first time in seven years that white influencers gained fewer sponsorships than the rest of the US population. The report notes that white influencers saw a 57% share of the sponsorship transaction volume across all social platforms, whereas non-white influencers saw a 58% share. This suggests that racial disparities are slowly lessening as we move towards a more diverse creator economy.

The report also expresses the pay differences between men and women, suggesting both a shift and decline in the gender pay gap as time goes on. These statistics show the average cost paid per post across all social platforms, depicting a 47% gap between men and women in 2019. However, this gap closed to 24% in 2020, before extending to 30% in 2021. This finding highlights the gender inequalities we see in many industries but also depicts a sense of resolution, particularly in the last two years.

The third finding shows that younger creators are no longer the most profitable or sought-after demographic. The data notes that creators aged 65+ earned an average of $3924 per post, whereas those aged 18-24 only earned $2941. IZEA also describes that the 65+ demographic is now earning 3x as much as those aged 45-54. This elucidates a dramatic shift in age demographics, noting that older creators are now able to see a much higher level of growth than the acclaimed Gen Z group.