Influencer Report – Data and analysis of what influencers want

THE SURVEY METHODOLOGY & FLOW

The survey was completed by 604 influencers located in both Canada and the US. While nano, micro, and macro influencers participated, it is skewed more towards nano (under 10k followers) and micro (10k-100k)influencers, reflecting the type of influencers brands primarily engage with.

The design of this report is crafted to follow an influencer’s experience from their initial search for clients to the wrap-up of a campaign, providing insight into influencers’ preferences and expectations at every stage.

WHERE ARE INFLUENCERS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES?

As the influencer industry has grown, influencers have been given more choices on how they go about securing partnerships. So where do they look for partnership opportunities?

We asked influencers their preferred method of finding work -Through a talent agent*, an influencer marketing platform**, or flying solo?

*Talent agent: An agency or manager who handles all communications and proactively searches for business opportunities for their roster.
**Influencer marketing platform: A company where opportunities are provided with a set budget and influencers can apply through a platform.

We discovered that influencers are four times more inclined to work with an influencer marketing platform than a talent agent. Nearly half (49%) of respondents prefer working with an influencer marketing platform. This information, coupled with additional findings we’ll delve into further within our report,
indicates influencers’ inclination towards efficiency. This efficiency applies to brands too.

The second most popular method of finding opportunities is working alone, with 39% of influencers choosing this option. Influencers are entrepreneurial by nature, so this comes as no surprise. Lastly, talent agents were the least popular choice at only 12%. But if we look at our report’s demographics, a small percentage
of respondents are macro influencers, with whom talent agents make the most sense.

For brands, if you are looking to activate a large group of influencers, an influencer marketing platform would be your best option. If you are looking to work with a small group of influencers, reaching out directly can be equally successful. And if you’re looking to engage with high reaching micro and macro influencers or influencers who have a TV presence, talent agents are a great solution.

WHAT ARE THE INDUSTRIES THAT TYPICALLY GET INTEREST?

What your brand offers can make your influencer search process simpler or harder, because not all industries are viewed equally by influencers. Our survey found that beauty and fashion brand are the two favourites, followed by food and beverage. Travel and wellness sit in the middle and at the bottom is not-for-profits and tech brands.

Breaking that down, non-profit will find it 30 times more difficult to source influencers to partner with than a beauty brand. Similarly, if you are a tech brand, it would be 20 times more difficult to source influencers than a beauty brand. The industry verticals that typically get the most interest are beauty, fashion, and food & beverages.

TIPS FOR NOT-FOR-PROFITS & TECH BRANDS

The charts doesn’t mean if you are a nonprofit or tech brand you shouldn’t explore influencer marketing; It just means that you will need to tweak your expectations. You can tap into influencers who cover your niche industry. These influencers may have lower numbers of followers, but they often have higher engagement and can reach your target demographic more directly.

And nonprofits, don’t forget to look at your own community. There may be some amazing nano influencers who can speak from real-life experience, which provides extra authenticity to your messaging and brand.

WHAT ARE THE DETERMINING FACTORS WHEN DECIDING TO WORK WITH A CLIENT?

Having established where influencers look for opportunities and the industries they prefer, it is time to look at what can make or break a deal. Here’s what influencers ranked from what matters the most to them to the least when deciding to work on a campaign:

1. Client/Brand aligns with your brand
2. The amount of money or product you will receive as compensation
3. The product is something you would use or a cause you believe in
4. The required deliverables are fair and reasonable
5. Client/Brand reputation as easy to work with

“To understand that hiring an influencer is the same as hiring an entire production team, including business managers, writers, actors, camera operators, editors, marketers – and they come with an engaged audience that the brand doesn’t yet have access to! This deserves fair compensation.” – Nora Dunn @theprofessionalhobo

WHAT ARE THE COMPENSATION MODELS THAT WORK BEST?

Each influencer was asked to rank different forms of compensation such as gifted, paid and affiliate and combinations of each from strongly dislike to love. Our survey found as soon as you offer a combination of two different forms of compensation, interest increases.

• PAID ONLY: 97% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through financial payment
• PAID + GIFTED: 100% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through financial payment and gifted product
• GIFTED ONLY: 61% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through gifting
• GIFTED + AFFILIATE: 65% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through gifted product and affiliate marketing
• AFFILIATE ONLY: 24% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through affiliate marketing
• PAID + AFFILIATE: 94% of influencers like or love receiving compensation through financial payment and affiliate marketing

INSIGHTS FOR SMALLER BRANDS

Smaller brands, who have limited budgets, should not be deterred by the fact that financial compensation is the preferred form of payment. Rather you should look at the popularity of the combined forms of compensation, such as paid and gifted. By having two forms of compensation on the table there is flexibility.

As well, leverage elements of your product to tap into special markets, for example, reach out to local influencers to harness community pride around your brand. If your product is newly on the market, amp that element up. This may be an opportunity to get creative and in the process expand your audience.

HOW INFLUENCERS RESPOND TO AFFILIATE MARKETING?

One area our team looked further into is affiliate marketing, because the affiliate marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $15.7 Billion globally by next year (Influencer Marketing Hub) and experts predict that this trajectory will only continue to increase.

When looking at payment models, our study found that influencers are 12 times less likely to agree to a brand collaboration if they are only being compensated through affiliate payment as compared to brands
offering a paid collaboration. But once you pair payment with affiliate compensation, influencers are three times more likely to agree to a campaign and when you add affiliate compensation to gifting payment, interest doubles.

Canada vs. United States

American influencers were more partial towards affiliate marketing with 78% stating that they loved compensation through affiliate and monetary compensation, while 66% of Canadian influencers feel this way.
This may be a reflection that affiliate marketing has been around longer in the US and Canada is in an earlier stage of adopting it.

SIDESTEP PET PEEVES WITH A BRIEF

Reduce Revisions
A brief will significantly decrease the need for revisions, saving your team time and will minimize the risk of collaborating with an influencer who isn’t a good fit and subsequently creating a campaign that will restrict their creative expression.

Positive Point of Contact
Having clarity from a brief will limit the need for your team to push back on the influencer’s content, which can increase the chances of friction. Your brand and team’s reputation are impacted by your behaviour, so playing nice helps to ensure your brand’s safety.

“What I do not like is when there is no content brief and then adjustments are requested (e.g. no kids or pets or press kit items in video) that would have been easily avoided if it was stated in the first place.” -Holly Hunka @chandeliers.and.champagne

HOW TO WRAP UP AN INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

Often overlooked, a great way to solidify a positive relationship with influencers is by providing post-campaign insights. 79% of influencers feel positively about brands sharing their feedback on their experience post campaign. 2/3 of influencers feel positively about brands sharing campaign results post-campaign (eg. sales numbers, traffic to the website)

This is a missed opportunity. Influencers want this and very few brands provide this. If you plan to work with this influencer again, your feedback can help your next campaign. If you don’t have plans to work together in the near future, it still would be helpful and an influencer won’t forget that.