What is the Influencer Marketing Trends Report 2024?

The Influencer Marketing Report 2024 is a survey by the creator marketing platform CreatorIQ. 

For this report, the CreatorIQ team surveyed 225 organizations ranging from small businesses to agencies to enterprises. The questions assessed the company’s influencer marketing practices from September 2022 to August 2023.

61% of the companies surveyed are based in the United States, with other companies primarily located in Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands, Brazil, and Germany. The most common verticals represented include beauty, retail and shopping, media and entertainment, health and wellness, fashion, and food and beverage. 

53% of participants were brands or companies, while 47% were agencies, providing a nearly equal number of responses from both sides. 

Digital Ads Featuring Creators is the Future of Marketing

Traditional marketing efforts are less successful as consumers come across many other content forms in their day-to-day lives. As a result, many brands collaborate with creators to capture their target audience’s attention online, but what are the best content forms for a high ROI?

One of the most successful types of content for brands is creator content, which 66% of brand respondents shared drove more ROI than traditional digital marketing without creators. 

Brands’ most common influencer marketing activity was UGC, with a 76% usage rate among respondents, followed closely by a 66% usage rate of gifting and seeding. While user-generated content (UGC) has received a lot of attention over the last year, it may not be the most effective for ROI. 

Despite being the most common, UGC and affiliate marketing may no longer be the most effective. 22% of brand marketers reported that sponsored digital ads with creators were their most impactful marketing strategy and outperformed popular affiliate marketing and UGC marketing options. 

This finding differs from 2023’s report, where 33% of respondents said gifting and seeding was the most effective marketing strategy. 

So, what can marketers take away from this? While UGC is popular and sees good ROI, digital ads featuring creators might be even more effective. If you haven’t experimented with this medium yet, consider adding it to your 2024 marketing plans. 

In addition, a significant benefit of working with creators is content production costs, which stayed the same from last year for 55% of brands, while in-house traditional advertising costs increased. Since inadequate budgets were one of the biggest challenges for brands, this is a massive benefit of prioritizing influencer marketing. 

The Biggest Factors Creators Consider for Brand Partnerships

As part of this survey, CreatorIQ surveyed a small sample of creators for feedback on how they determine which brand partnerships they’ll take on. 

The creator survey consisted of 66% part-time creators and 34% full-time creators. Regarding platforms, 65% of the creator participants felt that Instagram was their most lucrative platform, with only 21% citing TikTok and 9% picking YouTube. 

Usage trends reflect this, with 41% of creators sharing they used TikTok more this year. Instagram was evenly divided, with 26% reporting that they used Instagram more and 26% sharing they used Instagram less. 

The consensus? TikTok continues to be a popular platform that creators increasingly use despite Instagram being considered a more lucrative platform among creators and marketers. 

When asked about the most crucial factor in determining partnerships, 56% of respondents reported that sustainability, inclusivity, and social justice causes was the most important factor. This response significantly increased from last year, when 43% of respondents expressed this was their top consideration. 

Creative control is another significant factor when working with creators. 82% of respondents reported that creative control for brand partnerships was “very important.” 

For brands, this may mean ditching the scripts and working alongside the creator to develop a cohesive content plan. Remember, the creator knows their audience best, so take feedback on what does and doesn’t work for them seriously – it’ll likely benefit your ROI and relationship with the creator. 

The overall findings of this report suggest that brands should focus on wooing creators with superior product quality, competitive compensation, and initiatives that support inclusivity, sustainability, and other social causes. 

Despite these findings from creators, many brands still lean heavily towards gifted products over paid product collaborations. 91% of the creators surveyed had been paid for brand content in the past year, and 51% shared that they were inspired to post unpaid content when they were genuinely excited about the brand’s offerings – just one more reason to focus on creating superior products. 

Brands Pick Instagram Over TikTok for Best ROI

Many highlight TikTok as the most important social media platform, yet survey participants favored Instagram as their most integral social media platform. 

62% of respondents said Instagram was the best for creator marketing programs, with only 28% picking TikTok. 

Instagram was more than twice as popular as TikTok, but why is this?

Survey participants shared that Instagram delivered the greatest ROI, with only 22% claiming that TikTok drove the highest ROI. 

As for YouTube, this platform noticed an increase from 5% in last year’s report to 8% in the 2024 report. 

However, marketers note that video content is still king, as 82% of organizations shared that Instagram Reels and TikTok changed how they approach brand activations. A sizable 41% of companies reported trying YouTube Shorts for their influencer marketing efforts within the last year

For industry leaders, YouTube was reported to deliver twice the ROI, making this a significant platform that brands shouldn’t sleep on. Trend predictions also support this sentiment. 

Key 2024 Trend Predictions

Lastly, the survey asked participants to share their biggest influencer marketing trend predictions. 

The biggest 2024 trend predictions are an increase in AI-generated content, affiliate marketing, TikTok use, and a more significant investment in YouTube. 

As part of their 2024 influencer marketing predictions, respondents shared that TikTok is still a promising platform for ROI in the future, especially as Anchor Links and live shopping integration are more broadly available. 

YouTube Shorts are also expected to gain traction, particularly in Europe, where reports share higher engagement rates than Instagram. Upcoming improvements are also a much-anticipated part of the rapid adoption of YouTube Shorts. 

Unsurprisingly, AI-generated content is expected to continue making rapid advancements in the industry. 66% of respondents already shared that they used AI in the past year, with 42% using AI for generating social media captions. When possible, use AI to free up your time so you can strategize and focus on higher-level tasks.

Lastly, UGC is predicted to continue growing in popularity, with respondents reporting that they expect UGC to be even more prominent in 2024. 

For more information, read the entire Influencer Marketing Trends Report 2024 by CreatorIQ.