Revised February 9, 2023
Revised November 16, 2022
Revised December 13, 2021
Revised August 19, 2020
Interest in influencer marketing is skyrocketing. After bumping along at a low level for several years, searches for the term increased by a factor of seven over the past 18 months according to Google Trends.
Recent stats reported by Onalytica explain why marketers are rushing to incorporate influencer research and outreach:
- 84% of marketing professionals now use influencer marketing as a tactic.
- 59% of marketers planned to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2016.
- 31% of high-growth firms now have a formal employee advocacy program in place
- Why? Because “influencer marketing is more cost-effective than paid advertising and leads to more credible brand recommendations, which 92% of consumers are more likely to trust.”
But influencer marketing can be a waste of resources, or worse—actually damaging to a brand—if done wrong.