The State of Influencer
Marketing 2018
A look into how brands andagencies view the future ofinfluencer marketing

PHOTO BY:
GENTRI LEEFORHÄAGENDAZS© 2017
Linqia,Inc. All rights
reserved.

!

92% of marketers who used influencer marketingin 2017 found it to be eﬀective. As the industrymatures, marketers are using integrated
strategies to impact lower funnel metrics in 2018.
The State of Influencer Marketing 2018 was designed to understand how brands andagencies are using influencer marketing and how they plan to leverage the channel in 2018.
181 marketers and their agencies participated in the survey in November 2017 across avariety of industries, including CPG, Food & Beverage, Media, and Retail.
According to the survey, 86% of marketers used influencer marketing in 2017, 92% of whomfound it eﬀective. The continued widespread adoption of influencer marketing indicatesthat the channel is becoming an integral part of the marketing mix and is not a passing fad.

BUDGETS ARE INCREASING IN 201739% of marketers surveyed plan to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2018, with
only 5% planning to decrease their investment in the channel. 30% of marketers report thatthey will spend between $25K - $50K per program and 25% report that they will spend
between $50K - $100K per program in 2018. 19% plan to spend over $100,000 per program, up
from 13% last year. 46% of marketers run between 2 - 5 programs per year per brand and 31%
run more than five programs per year per brand, with enterprises typically holding“39% of marketersplan to increase
their influencer
marketing budgetin 2018.”

portfolios of dozens of brands.

How is your influencer marketing budget going to change in 2018?
39%

Increase

5%

Decrease

21%

Stay the Same

35%

Not sure/ Don't know0%2 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

10%

20%

30%

40%!

50%

On average, how much do you spend per influencer marketing program?
11%

Under $10K

22%

$10K - $25K

30%

$25K - $50K

24%$50K - $100K

9%$100K - $250K$250K - $500K

2%Over $500K

2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

40%

50%

How much do you plan to spend per influencer marketing program in 2018?
7%

Under $10K

19%

$10K - $25K

30%$25K - $50K

25%

$50K - $100K

11%$100K - $250K

5%$250K - $500K

3%Over $500K

0%

10%

20%

30%

How many influencer marketing programs do you typically run per year per brand?
24%

1-2

46%

2- 5

21%

5 - 106%

10 - 15More than 1530%

3%

0%

3%

3 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

10%

20%

30%

40%!

50%

Measuring the ROI of Influencer Marketing
76% of marketers cite measuring the ROI of influencer marketing as their top challenge for2018. However, advanced marketers are starting to look at the full consumer journey,
holding influencer marketing accountable for driving lower funnel metrics in addition toawareness and engagement. When measuring the success of influencer marketing
programs, marketers cite engagement (90%), clicks (59%), and conversions (54%) as top
performance indicators.

“Marketers citeengagement
and clicks as
top performanceindicators.”

In 2017, 46% of marketers also used product sales to determine the success of a program, anotable jump from just 34% in 2016. Conversely, 50% of marketers measure success based onreach, an 11% drop from last year. This signals a shift away from surface level metrics thatare impossible to measure organically as marketers become more sophisticated.

How do you measure the success of your influencer marketing programs?
90%

Engagement

59%

Clicks
Impressions

55%

Conversions

54%
50%

Reach

46%

Product Sales

29%

Audience Alignment
Other

2%

0%

4 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

25%

50%

75%!

100%

A SHIFT IN OWNERSHIP
Influencer marketing has traditionally been viewed as a PR/communications tactic and iswidely used as a reach and awareness tool. However, as the industry matures, there has beena clear shift in ownership. The survey found that 38% of influencer marketing owners are on
advertising/media teams, whereas only 15% are with PR/communications, a notable decrease
from 31% last year. Media teams are taking ownership of influencer marketing as targeting
capabilities evolve and budgets continue to increase, and are managing programs with thesame rigor that they use to manage other digital advertising channels.

What is your functional area?
38%

Advertising/Media

17%

Brand Marketing
PR/Communications

15%

Shopper Marketing

15%

Content Marketing

11%

Other
Product Marketing

5%0%0%BEHIND THE CAMERA AND DREAMING FOR LARABAR

10%20%30%

NICOLE BANUELOS FOR SMUCKERS40%

LET IT BE BEAUTIFUL FOR COTTONELLE

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MOM JEANS & MIMOSAS FOR FIJI!

Managing Influencer Marketing

WORKING WITH INFLUENCER MARKETING PARTNERS
Influencer marketing programs can be time-consuming to manage, and marketers must
make room for influencer marketing in an already bustling schedule. As a result, theamount of time it takes to manage influencer marketing programs is ranked as one of thetop challenges of 2018. To alleviate the strain on bandwidth, 42% of marketers partner witha managed service or “turn-key” provider to run their influencer marketing programs and“42% ofmarketers partnerwith a managedservice.”

another 18% rely on their agencies to plan and execute campaigns. 19% manage programs
in-house and 14% use a blended approach. At only 7%, using a self-service platform is theleast common choice.

How do you manage your influencer marketing programs?

Turnkey service provider

42%

In-house

19%

I outsource influencer
marketing to an agency

18%I use a mix ofprovider types

14%7%

Self-service platform

0%6 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

10%

20%

30%40%!

50%

WORKING WITH INFLUENCERS
As marketers gain more experience working with influencers and find trusted partners towork with, they are scaling the size of their influencer marketing programs. 63% ofmarketer are now working with 10 or more influencers per program. In 2017, nearly a quarter(24%) of marketers worked with 25-50 influencers per program, an increase of 14% from theprevious year, while only 34% of marketers worked with 10-25 influencers per program,down from 52% in 2016.

How many influencers do you typically work with in a program?

1 - 1037%

10 - 2534%

25 - 5024%

50 - 753%

75 - 1000%More than 100

1%

I’m not sure

1%
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

92% of marketers cite Instagram as the most important social network for influencer

50%

marketing in 2018, followed by Facebook (77%). At 71%, blogs are a close third, up from 48%
in 2016. However, the blog’s rise in importance comes at the expense of Snapchat, which wasnamed the least important social network for influencer marketing in 2018 by 50% of themarketers surveyed.

7 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Which social platforms are most important to your influencer marketing strategy going into 2018?

92%

Instagram

77%

Facebook

71%

Blogs

42%

YouTube39%

Pinterest

26%

Twitter

22%

Snapchat

1%

Other
0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Which social platforms are least important to your influencer marketing strategy going into 2018?

Snapchat

50%

Twitter50%
34%

Pinterest

28%

YouTube16%

Blogs
Instagram

10%

Facebook

9%

Other

2%
0%

8 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

10%20%

30%40%!

50%

INTEGRATING INFLUENCER MARKETING WITH OTHER CHANNELS
Influencer content is eﬀective because of its authentic nature, which makes influencer
marketing programs a strategic content investment in addition to a media channel. 81% ofmarketers are currently using influencer content in other channels, with 51% reporting that itoutperforms brand-created content. Of those that haven’t tested influencer content against
brand created content yet, 59% are planning to do so in 2018. Another 44% are going to use it toimprove the performance of other digital channels while 36% of marketers plan to integrate
influencer content with e-commerce to drive product sales.

Do you use influencer content in other marketing channels?

Yes

81%
19%

No0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

How does influencer content perform in relation to your brand- created content when you use it inother channels?
87%
Influencer content greatly outperforms
our brand-created content

12%

Influencer content somewhat outperforms
our brand-created content

39%

Influencer content performs the sameas our brand-created content

27%

Influencer content underperformsour brand-created content

6%

Influencer content greatly underperforms
our brand-created content

0%

I’ve never tested the performance of influencer
content in relation to brand created content

16%0%

9 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

25%

!

50%

Why don’t you repurpose influencer content in other marketing channels?

We intend to but haven’t yet

59%

I’d like to, but another team owns thefunction where content would be repurposed

26%

11%

Other

I don’t see value inrepurposing influencer content

I have tried to repurpose influencercontent and haven’t seen good results

4%0%0%

20%40%60%

POSH JOURNAL FOR OIKOSTOPKNOTS & PEARLS FOR AVEENO

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SPRINKLE SOME FUN FOR GERBERTHE SOUTHERN THING FOR KIMBERLY CLARK!

2018 Influencer Marketing Trends
When asked which influencer marketing trends they plan to adopt in 2018, 52% of marketerscited running influencer marketing programs that leverage multiple types of influencers(celebrities, top-tier, micro-influencers) as part of an integrated strategy. 44% plan to use
influencer content to improve the performance of other channels and 36% plan to integrate
influencer content with e-commerce to drive product sales. Nearly a third (32%) of marketers will
shift from one-oﬀ, tactical campaign execution to an "always on" influencer strategy while 29%
plan to contract exclusively with influencers to be brand ambassadors.

Which of the following influencer marketing trends are you planning to adopt in 2018?
Running influencer marketing programs thatleverage multiple types of influencers

52%

Using influencer content to improve
the performance of other channels

44%

Integrating influencer content with ecommerce to drive product sales

36%

Shifting from one-off, tactical campaign
execution to an "always on" influencer strategy

32%

Contracting with influencers exclusively
to be ambassadors for my brand29%

Using AI to improve the performanceof our influencer marketing programs

16%

Integrating influencers into ourCRM and loyalty programs

15%

Using celebrities and famous
influencers in chatbots

7%

I don't plan to evolve my influencer
marketing strategy in 20187%

Virtual influencer marketingthrough augmented reality

4%
3%

Other0%11 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

20%

40%!

60%

TOP INFLUENCER MARKETING CHALLENGES OF 2018
76% of marketers are still struggling to determine the ROI of influencer marketing and cite it as
the number one challenge of 2018. As the industry matures, marketers need to take a serious lookat their measurement methodologies and hold their influencer marketing programs to the samemeasurement standards as their other media investments.
Marketers are also concerned that changing social algorithms will make organic influencercontent less visible, as Facebook requires that influencers tag all sponsored content on Facebook
and Instagram via their branded content tool. 42% of marketers ranked changing socialalgorithms as the second biggest challenge of 2018. In addition, 35% of marketers are looking todecrease the amount of time that it takes to manage influencer marketing programs and 26% cite
vendor selection as a top challenge.

What do you see as the top influencer marketing challenges in 2018?
Determining the ROI of myinfluencer marketing programs

76%

Social network algorithm changes will makeorganic influencer content less visible

42%

The amount of time it takes to manage
influencer marketing programs

35%

Choosing which influencer marketingprovider(s) to work with

26%

Determining where influencer marketingfits in my marketing mix

24%

Rapidly changing consumer behaviors makeit difficult for brands to stay relevant

20%

Escalating FTC enforcement of regulations
governing sponsored content

11%
1%

Other0%12 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

25%

50%

75%!

100%

Keeping up with FTC Regulations
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) exists to protect consumers from unfair businesspractices both on and oﬄine.
ine. When it comes to influencer marketing, the FTC Endorsement
Guides have become increasingly stringent, requiring that influencers clearly disclose sponsoredposts if they received monetary or in-kind compensation.
87% of marketers report that they require influencers to disclose sponsored content and comply
with FTC regulations. 71% say they are up-to-date with the current guidelines, up from 55% in
2016, indicating that marketers are taking these guidelines more seriously in the wake ofescalating enforcement.

Do you require that influencers disclose sponsored content to comply with FTC Regulations?
Yes

87%

No

13%
0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

75%

100%

Do you know what the most recent FTC disclosure guidelines are?
Yes

71%

No

29%
0%

25%

50%

The current FTC guidelines require that sponsored social media posts include the hashtags“#sponsored” or “#ad” as close to the beginning of the content as possible and before any links
leading back a brand’s landing page. In a blog post, the disclosure statement must be clearlyvisible and come above the “fold” or “scroll” ahead of any brand links. For video and audio
sponsored content, there must be either an audible verbal disclosure or a written disclosure on aclearly legible title card at the beginning of the file.

13 © 2017 Linqia, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Conclusion
As influencer marketing matures, marketers are starting to use the channel strategically toimpact lower funnel metrics like clicks, conversions, and product sales. They are also
integrating influencer marketing with other digital channels and leveraging influencer
content beyond the initial program to improve the performance of their paid, owned, andearned media. Marketers are beginning to benchmark the performance of influencer
content against brand-created assets, and social networks that make content easily
discoverable and repurposable are taking a larger part of the influencer media plan.

SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS
181 marketers participated in The State of Influencer Marketing Survey across a variety of industries,
including CPG, Food & Beverage, Media, Retail and their agencies. This survey was conducted inOctober and November of 2017.

About Linqia
Linqia combines the science and accountability of online media with award-winning service to deliver guaranteed
influencer marketing results for our clients. Our AI-driven platform and team of experts are leading the transformationof influencer marketing into a scalable media channel. Linqia Performance Platform also serves as a social content lab,
where marketers can organically test and amplify the best performing influencer content to drive greater ROI from theirpaid, owned and earned media.
Founded in 2012, Linqia works with over 300 leading national brands including Kimberly-Clark, McDonald’s, NBC, Nestle,Unilever, Viacom and Walmart. Linqia is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with oﬃces in New York, Chicago,and Bentonville.

CONTACT US:
Email: hello@linqia.com
Phone: 415.913.7681
Website: www.linqia.com
San Francisco
77 Maiden Lane, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108

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