Influencer Ad Spending Expected to Grow 30 Percent

Personality-read or Influencer marketing spending in the US is set to grow more than 30% this year and surpass a key milestone. According to eMarkter's inaugural forecast on US influencer marketing spending, the category will exceed $3 billion in 2021 and will surpass $4 billion next year.

eMarketer defines influencer marketing spending as payments made to influencers or their representatives to promote products and services primarily on social media and other platforms featuring user-generated content. It excludes non-cash payments such as free products or trips and paid media.

Growth of influencer marketing spend was more modest in 2020 than in recent years. The category grew 14.4% last year, as the pandemic put a strain on many marketers’ budgets. In 2021, we expect influencer marketing spend in the US to grow 33.6% to reach $3.69 billion in 2021. 

“In the early part of the pandemic, many marketers temporarily paused their influencer marketing campaigns,” said Jasmine Enberg, eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence. “But as the pandemic also accelerated many new creator-driven social trends, including short video and social commerce, marketers quickly resumed and are now increasing their spending on influencer marketing, as they realize that influencers are their ticket to reach those audiences.”

The return of travel is another key element to this year’s strong growth, as it’s a category that invests heavily in influencer marketing.