Micro-Influencers, Instagram Stories, Ad-Hashtag: These are the Influencer Marketing Trends

The report examined the data sets of more than 12 million Instagram influencers from Q1 2018 to the end of Q1 2019. The Report provides insight into the current trends in influencer marketing as well as the most popular topic focuses of the influencer industry, which is expected to grow into a $5 billion to $10 billion market by 2020.

Key findings from the report:

• In North America, corporate-sponsored influencer posts increased by more than 150 percent from 2018 to 2019.
• Instagram Stories usage by businesses increased 21 percent from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019.
• The majority of all influencers today are micro-influencers, accounting for over 80 percent of influencers in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the U.S., the figure is over 75 percent.
• Influencers do not lose user engagement when working with companies. In Q1 2019, the interaction rate of sponsored posts versus regular posts was nearly identical (415 interactions per post on average with the promotional tag "#ad" versus 441 average interactions without the promotional tag).
• In the past year, the number of influencers using the hashtag "#ad" has more than doubled - The number grew 133 percent from Q1 2018 to the end of Q1 2019.
• Swedish watch brand Daniel Wellington is the frontrunner in terms of mentions from Instagram influencers (more than 20,000 mentions from 7,200 Instagram influencers from Q1 2018 to the end of Q1 2019).

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"Consumers are increasingly looking for reviews and trusted voices when making purchasing decisions. This creates a great opportunity for influencers and businesses to partner together to authentically connect with audiences," said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO, Socialbakers. "Our analytics show that brands that partner with authentic and relevant influencers increase their success from social media campaigns."