50% brands increased influencer marketing spends upto 10x in 2024

Not only is influencer marketing poised to become an industry worth Rs 10,750 crore by 2027, but more than 80% of the brands are expected to allocate upto 30% of their marketing budgets to influencer marketing.

According to the latest report by Influencer.in, the industry is estimated to be around Rs 5,500 crore in 2024-- which also makes it around 11% of the digital media industry.

Interestingly, 50% brands increased influencer marketing spends upto 10x in 2024. 85% of the brands interviewed by the platform said that influencers are an integral part of their digital marketing strategy.

Also, 64% of the brands allocate anywhere between 5% to 20% of their annual budget to influencer marketing. Meanwhile, over 58.5% of the brands partner with mid-tier to micro-influencers- while Instagram remains the dominant platform.

The report also noted that 90.2% of brands use influencer marketing.

LinkedIn has shown a notable rise being used by 19.5% of the brands now. This shows a growing influencer marketing trend on more professional and business-oriented platforms, highlighting LinkedIn's increasing relevance.

What do brands seek?

Brands are shifting from merely evaluating influencers based on follower count to valuing content quality and authenticity. The shift is also reflected in the growing preference for micro and nano influencers, who often offer more loyal and engaged audiences due to their niche focus.

What do influencers want?

Around 93% of the influencers increasingly seek long-term partnerships rather than short-term, one-off campaigns. This reflects a need for trust-building and sustained interaction.

43% expect more transparency and accountability from brands, driven by the growing importance of data-driven insights and sophisticated marketing tools.

43% also expect better budgets and alignment of monetary expectations from the brands to feel valued for their work.

Platform dominance

The report highlighted that 93.8% of the creators use Instagram today, 54.4% prefer YouTube, 28.1% use Facebook, and the rest use LinkedIn and Snapchat.

Meanwhile, 90.2% of brands prefer Instagram, 51.2% brands prefer YouTube and 19.5% brand prefer LinkedIn.

While LinkedIn sees low adoption among creators at 4.4%, 19.5% brands use it for influencer marketing. For brands prioritising LinkedIn, there is an opportunity to educate or onboard creators to this platform.

Although YouTube Shorts as a platform is one of the key drivers for brands to increase market penetration, it is still predominantly driven by long-form content.

According to the report, while 75% creators use short-form content like Shorts and Reels, 50% of brands have not even explored YouTube Shorts at all.

Influencer.in is an influencer platform and an initiative by Social Beat. The platform releases the 'Influencer Marketing Industry' report annually and this is the fourth edition of the report.

The Influencer marketing report presents a comprehensive look at the industry and the report for 2024 compiled over a survey of 100 plus brands and responses from over 500 plus creators and influencers.

With the creator economy in India experiencing significant growth, driven by a multitude of platforms and an expanding community of tech-savvy individuals, influencer marketing is becoming essential for brands, with the industry expected to grow by 25% annually.