Since it didn’t really debut in the West until 2018, TikTok has spent the past four years playing catch-up in the influencer marketing space. Despite its status as a cultural hub, it has not generated as much spending as its rivals so far. According to data from Insider Intelligence (formerly eMarketer), advertisers spent $774.8 million on influencer marketing on TikTok in the United States this year. This figure is higher than that generated by Facebook and is close to YouTube’s cake share. Although YouTube generated $948 million from influencer marketing between January and July this year, Insider Intelligence estimates that TikTok will soon overtake competitor Google on this axis. According to the report, this change is expected to occur in 2024.
Instagram may be worried about the threat TikTok poses to its business, but in the short term, it’s still far ahead when it comes to influencer marketing dollars spent on its platform in the United States. According to a new analyst report, Instagram is on track to capture nearly 3x the amount of influencer marketing spend compared to TikTok in 2022: $2.23 billion spent on Instagram compared to $774.8 million. dollars spent on TikTok. However, while Instagram is doing well against TikTok on this front, Meta’s other app, Facebook, is not so lucky.
The new data, which comes from analysts at Inside Intelligence, indicates that TikTok is now on pace to overtake Facebook in influencer marketing spend this year and will overtake the No.2 platform, YouTube, by 2024. Currently, YouTube records $948 million in influencer marketing spend on its platform in the United States, ahead of Facebook’s $739 million. Additionally, TikTok has already overtaken YouTube in usage by influencer marketers, the report said.
Instagram has been steadily adjusting its algorithm and feed to highlight content from creators, recommended posts and advertising, despite complaints from users who want to see more photos and videos of their friends. But as Instagram tweaks the way content is categorized in its main feed, some creators have worried that their reach will be affected by the constant changes. Instagram last week agreed to roll back some recent updates, which saw the app transform into TikTok with a full-screen home feed and increased number of recommended posts, after two of the Kardashians posted a complaint on their Instagram profiles. Of course, mega-influencer celebrities like the Kardashians could stand to lose if Instagram changes its algorithm to feature more small creators.
But if Instagram has so much more influencer marketing power than TikTok, why is it trying to copy its young rival?
According to Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, the answer to this question concerns small and medium-sized influencers. TikTok is seeing a surge in popularity for influencer marketing, but it’s still a far cry from Instagram in terms of spend or marketer adoption. This is partly due to the higher prices Instagram’s creators charge for content, but also its wide range of content formats, most of which are now purchasable. Nonetheless, Instagram is trying to be more like TikTok in order to appeal to smaller creators, which is what TikTok is known for. This is essential for Instagram to maintain its lead in the influencer marketing space, especially since many creators on TikTok now boast a follower count that rivals or exceeds that of Instagram and YouTube,” Enberg said.
The report also points out that this could be Instagram’s eventual plan, adding that the mix of influencers benefiting from this form of monetization has shifted over time. Specifically, Instagram’s feed tweaks would allow small “micro” and “nano” influencers, as they’re called, to take a big slice of the cake, the report says. Nano-influencers are defined as people with between 1,000 and 4,999 followers, while micro-influencers are people with between 5,000 and 19,999 followers. These influencers are already profiting from TikTok, which has been part of the app’s appeal to creators.
The report also notes that marketing spend related to partnerships with smaller influencers has grown rapidly. This year, analysts predict that spending by “nano” influencers will increase by 220.5%, while spending by “mega” influencers will grow by only 8%. Mega-influencers have at least 1 million followers, as defined by the firm.
Marketers may also prefer working with smaller creators for a variety of reasons, including because their rates are lower, but their posts may have higher engagement rates. artificially increase through the use of fake views or bots.
For what it’s worth, TikTok is often accused of inflating view counts and is known to have lower limits on what counts as a view for marketing purposes. TikTok is said to count a view as soon as the video is broadcast and replays are counted as views. Additionally, some think it’s debatable to what extent TikTok itself might be complicit in the views bloat, given that its owner ByteDance got directly involved in creating fake accounts in an earlier app that was a kind of precursor to TikTok.
One thing is for sure, while all of these platforms are competing to see which can get the most money for influencer marketing, they are all winners in the long run. The industry has grown by leaps and bounds since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and Insider Intelligence estimates that 74.5% of US marketers will use influencer marketing in 2022 and influencer marketing spending will increase 27.8% to $4.99 billion this year.
Source: Insider Intelligence
And you?
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