Aspire2026年网红营销状况报告英文版

TheStateofInfluencerMarketing2026

TableofContents

Introduction

3

UnderstandingtheData

ThisYear’sKeyFindings

Pricing&Budget

23

AverageCostMetricsPricingDiscrepanciesPaidMediaKPIs

TheCurrentStateof

8

InfluencerMarketing

Let’sTalkBudgetCreatorRates

35

CampaignProduction

&Strategy

InfluencerMarketingisResilient,EvenUnderPressureAIisPoweringScale(ButNotReplacingTalent)

Hi-FiContentReturnstoOurFeeds

CampaignOverview

CampaignBreakdown

SocialChannelTrends

14

WhatChannelsareBrandsInvestingIn?

WhatChannelsareCreatorsInvestingIn?

AverageEngagementRatebyFollowerCountAverageEngagementRatebyPlatform

TrendsbyChannel

LookingForward

42

5BestPracticesfor2026Our2026Predictions

lntroducingAspire

2

Introduction

UnderstandingtheDataThisYear’sKeyFindings

InTroducTIon4

Thisyear,we’releveragingthisdatatodivedeepinto:

UnderstandingtheData

Averageengagementmetrics

Influencerpricingbenchmarks

Campaigntrends

Ourpredictionsfor2026

Andmuchmore

≈郾凸◎代

We’reexcitedtoshareourannualindustrybenchmarkreport,TheStateofInfluencerMarketing,forthe8thconsecutiveyear.

ThisreportusesstatisticsfromAspire’sinternaldata,aswellassurveysofnearly900marketersandcreators,torevealinsightsabouttheever-evolvinginfluencermarketingindustry.

ThroughourpartnershipswithMeta,Pinterest,andTikTok,wegainAPIaccesstodeeperaudienceinsightsfromourcreatorsacrossvarious

platforms.Hundredsofthousandsofcreatorsalsograntusaccessto

performancedatafromtheirofficialsocialaccounts,whichallowsustotrackreal-time,first-partydatasowecanshareourlearningsinreportssuchasthisone.

InTroducTIon5

Aboutthemarketerssurveyed:

Businesssizeofbrandssurveyed

74%

SMB

(<500employees)

16%

Mid-Market

(500-2Kemployees)

10%

Enterprise(>2Kemployees)

Programmanagementofbrandssurveyed

67%8%25%

In-houseAgencyMix

Industryofbrandssurveyed

Health,Wellness,&Fitness22%

Beauty13%

Fashion11%Home&Garden10%

Tech,Apps,&Gaming8%Travel&Hospitality8%Food&Beverage7%

Media&Entertainment5%Family&Parenting3%

Pets2%

Other11%

InTroducTIon6

Aboutthecreatorssurveyed:

Audiencesizeofcreatorssurveyed

63%

Nano

2.5K-25K

Followers

15%

Micro

25K-60K

Followers

16%

Mid-Tier

60K-250K

Followers

5%

Macro

250K-1M

Followers

1%

Mega

1M+

Followers

Primarychannelofcreatorssurveyed

68%

Instagram

26%

TikTok

4%

Youtube

2%

Other*

*Substack,Facebook,Pinterest,Snapchat,X

34%

11%

9%

6%

4%

4%

3%

2%

2%

1%

21%

Beauty

Fashion

Health,Wellness,&FitnessFamily&ParentingTravel&Hospitality Home&GardenPets

Food&BeverageMedia&EntertainmentTech,Apps,&Gaming

Other

Primarynicheofcreatorssurveyed

ThisYear’sKeyFindings

Don’thavetimetodiveintothefullreportrightnow?Herearethetoptrendsandmust-knowinsightsfromthisyear’sreport.

77%

ofmarketersrepurpose

creatorcontentinpaid

ads,withmostnegotiatingusagerightsupfront.

59%

ofmarketersuseAI

toimprovecreator

discovery,performanceanalysis,andcampaignspeed,but89%saytheywon’tuseAI-generatedinfluencerclones.

57%

ofbrandssellvia

TikTokShoptoday

orplantolaunchsoon.

74%

ofmarketersplan

toincreaseinfluencerbudgetsin2026,

despiteongoing

economicuncertainty.

$2.68

averageCPM

(-42%YoY)indicatesinfluencermarketing’sgrowingefficiency.

chart-line-upcircle-dollarmegaphonemicrochip-aitiktok

InTroducTIon7

TheCurrentStateof

InfluencerMarketing

InfluencerMarketingisResilient,EvenUnderPressureAIisPoweringScale(ButNotReplacingTalent)

Hi-FiContentReturnstoOurFeeds

Andtherearenosignsofslowingdown,even

amidtighteningbudgets.Nearlythree-quartersofmarketersplantoincreasetheirinfluencer

marketingbudgetsin2026,ascreatorscontinuetocapturebothattentionandaddollars.

Influencer

50M+creators

globally

Marketingis

“

$480Bmarketsize

Resilient,EvenUnderPressure

Analystsexpectplatformslike

Instagram,TikTok,andYouTubetosurpasstraditionalmediainadrevenue.Thatshiftinaddollars

reflectswhereattentionhas

beenmovingforyears:toward

socialplatforms.Andattheheartofsocialplatformsarecreators.

-LindseyGamble,InfluencerMarketingConsultant&Advisor

by2027

Poweredbyover50millioncreatorsworldwide,theglobalcreator

economyisprojectedtodouble

$12.17B..

insizeto

$480billionby2027

.IntheUSalone,influencermarketingspendisexpectedtoreach

$12.17billion

in2026,up15.7%year-over-year.

+15.7%

THECURRENTSTATEOFINFLUENCERMARKETING9

THECURRENTSTATEOFINFLUENCERMARKETING10

Forbrands,thisshifthasclearperformanceimplications.

Creatorsdrivemeasurableimpactacrosstheentirefunnel,fromawarenessandengagement,toconversionsandlong-term

loyalty,pushinginfluencerprogramsbeyondone-offcampaignsintolong-term,multi-channelpartnershipsembeddedacross

paidmedia,ecommerce,andstorefronts.

“

Ourinfluencerprogramisoneofthecore

pillarsofouroverallmarketingmix.Creatorsfuelourentirecontentengineandsupport

broadermarketingneeds,fromcreativeR&Dtobuildingbrandsentiment.

SabrinaCheng-Wingate,SocialMedia

andInfluencerManageratPopSockets

Asmoremarketersdoubledownoncreator-ledstrategies,

influencermarketingiscementingitsroleasanindispensablegrowthenginethatdrivesbothefficiencyandinnovationforyearstocome.

THECURRENTSTATEOFINFLUENCERMARKETING11

AIisPowering

Scale(ButNot

ReplacingTalent)

AIisbecomingafoundational

layerofinfluencermarketing

in2026,butadoptionisn’tuniformacrosstheindustry.Creators

andmarketersareembracing

AIatdifferentrates(andfor

differentreasons),revealingbothenthusiasmandhesitationasthetechnologyevolves.

Automatedprocesses

59%ofmarketerssaythey’realreadyusingAIin

theirinfluencermarketingoperationstomaketheircampaignsfaster,smarter,andmoredata-driven.ThemajorityofthemareturningtoAI-powered

platformslikeAspiretoidentifybetter-fitcreatorsthroughautomatedfiltering,predictwhichcontentwillperformbestbasedonreal-timecampaign

data,andanalyzeperformancemoreefficiently.

Fastercontentcreation

Meanwhile,creatorsarealmostevenlysplit

onAIadoption:49%ofcreatorsuseitforcontentcreation,while51%donot.Thosewhodouse

AItreatitasacreativeandefficiencytoolforbrainstorming,scripting,polishingideas,andwritingSEO-optimizedcaptions.

MarketersarealsoincreasinglyusingAItools

likeChatGPTtohandlemuchofthe“behind-the-scenes”worklikedraftingoutreachmessages,

tighteningbriefs,organizingideas,andplanningcampaigns,allowingthemtomovefasterand

communicatemoreclearly.

CreatorsuseAIforcontentcreation

49%

59%

MarketersuseAIininfluencermarketing

THECURRENTSTATEOFINFLUENCERMARKETING12

Betteraddelivery

AIisalsoreshapingtheadecosystem,and

Meta’s

Andromeda

isleadingthecharge.Thispowerful

AIrecommendationengineanalyzesmillions

ofadsandbillionsofdatapointstodeliverthe

rightmessagetotherightpersonattherighttime.Tosucceedinthisnewlandscape,marketersneedbothvolumeanddiversityintheircreative.And

that’swherecreatorsshine,offeringtheagility,relevance,andefficiencythathelpAndromedaperformatitsbest.

…ButAIisn’treplacingtalent

EvenwithAI’sgrowinginfluence,humancreativityremainsessential.

89%ofmarketers

saytheywon’tbeworkingwithvirtualinfluencersorAI-generatedcreatorclones,underscoringthatauthenticity

andtrustarestillthekeyingredientstosuccess.Consumersconnectwithrealstories,emotions,andpersonalities—areaswherehumancreatorswillalwayshavetheedge.

89%

Marketerswill

notworkwithAI-

generatedinfluencers

Whatthismeansforbrandsin2026

sparkles

sparkles

sparkles

InvestinAIforscaleandspeed,notcreativityreplacement.

WinonMetabyfeeding

Andromedacreativevolume,

notover-optimizingaudiences.

Chooseplatformsthatconnectcreatordata,paidperformance,andcontentreuse.

THECURRENTSTATEOFINFLUENCERMARKETING13

Hi-FiContentReturnsto

OurFeeds

Overthepastfewyears,

lo-ficontent

hasbecometheheartofsocialmedia.

Butrecently,we’reseeingthependulumswingingbackasmorebrandsinvest

inhi-ficontent.

Hi-ficontent:

Polished,story-drivenvideowithelevated

visuals,intentionalediting,andclearcreativedirectionthatmirrorsthelookandfeel

ofacommercialorshortfilm,butisbuiltspecificallyfordigitalaudiences.

Forexample,Zola’svideoseries“Popthe

Questions”featurescreatorssharingtheir

wedding-planningjourneysthroughan

entertainingQ&Aformatthatnaturallyintegratesthebrand.Meanwhile,Reformation’sshortfilm

Followedtookacinematicapproachtolaunch

itscollaborativecollectionwithcreatorNara

Smith,blendingReformation’seditorialaestheticwithNara’spersonaforsubtle,high-impact

storytelling.

Whyishi-ficontentmakingareturn?

•Feedsaturation:

Hi-fihelpsbrandsstandoutinfeedscrowdedwithsimilarlo-fiformats.

•Creatorsasproductionpartners:

Today’screatorsactasdirectors,producers,anddistributors,deliveringcampaign-level

contentwithculturalrelevance.

•Platformevolution:

TikTokandInstagramincreasinglysupportlonger-formandnarrativeformats,which

enablesepisodicandcinematiccampaigns.

Lookingforward,weexpectmorebrandsto

investinhi-ficontenttocreatetentpolecampaignmomentsandlonger-termcreatorpartnerships.

Atthesametime,lo-ficontentremainsessentialastheday-to-daydriverofengagement,

conversation,andshares.Themosteffective

strategieswillbalanceboth:hi-fiforimpact,lo-fiforconsistentaudienceconnection.

Social

ChannelTrends

WhatChannelsareBrandsInvestingIn?

WhatChannelsareCreatorsInvestingIn?

AverageEngagementRatebyFollowerCountAverageEngagementRatebyPlatform

TrendsbyChannel

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS15

Whichchannelsdoyouplantousethemost

forinfluencermarketingin2026?

s

25%17%9%8%2%2%

Substack/Blogs

WhatChannelsareBrandsInvestingIn?

69%

92%

BasedontheactivecampaignsonAspirein2025,Instagramcontinuestoreignasthemostpopularchannelforinfluencermarketingamongbrands.

TikTokfollowscloselybehind,withbrandscontinuing

toincreaseinvestmentdespiteongoingchatteraroundits

Whichchannelsdoyouplantousetheleast

forinfluencermarketingin2026?

28%15%9%7%

Substack/Blogs

USoperations.Infact,TikTokcampaignactivityonAspirehadarecordyearin2025,withcampaignvolumeup189%year-over-year,signalingsustainedconfidenceintheplatform.

Lookingahead,thismomentumisexpectedtocontinue.ThemajorityofbrandssaytheyplantoinvestevenmoreinInstagramandTikTokin2026.

48%44%

73%72%

Atthesametime,brandsarebecomingmoreselectiveaboutwheretheyfocustheirefforts.PlatformslikeXandSnapchatarebeingdeprioritizedasbrandsconcentratebudgets

onchannelswithstrongercreatorecosystemsandprovenperformance.

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS16

Whichchannelsdoyouplantoutilizethemostin2026?

19%7%6%3%

Substack/Blogs

WhatChannelsare

41%

89%73%

CreatorsInvestingIn?

A斗X

Creatorsarelargelyalignedwithbrandsinwheretheyplantofocustheirenergyin2026,withInstagram

andTikTokremainingasthetoppriorities.

24%

Atthesametime,creatorsareleaningintoYouTubemorethan

brandsare.Thissignalsagrowinginterestinamixedvideo

62%59%41%

31%29%19%14%9%

Substack/Blogs

Whichchannelsdoyouplantoutilizetheleastin2026?

strategy,wherelong-formandshort-formcontentworktogethertodeliverdurablereach,strongerSEObenefits,andhigher

earningpotentialthroughadsandaffiliateprograms.

These3platformsoffercreatorsthemostreliablecombinationofaudiencegrowth,monetizationopportunities,anddiscoveryalgorithmsthatrewardconsistentposting.

Conversely,creatorsplantospendsignificantlylesstimeonXandSnapchat.

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS17

Nano

Micro

Macro

25K-60Kfollowers

4.33%Mid-tier

60K-250Kfollowers

3.71%

250K-1Mfollowers

1.80%

6.29%

2.5K-25Kfollowers

5.77%

Averageengagementbyfollowercount:

Mega

1M+followers

AverageEngagement

RatebyFollowerCount

Influencerscomeinallsizes,fromnanotomega.Butaseverysavvymarketerknows,follower

countisnolongerthesolemeasureofimpact.

Infact,ourinternaldatashowsthatnano-influencers

consistentlyachievehigherengagementratesacrossplatformscomparedtomacrocreators,highlightingthevalueofauthentic,close-knitconnections.

Smallercreatorscontinuetodrivethehighest

engagementrates,butoursurveydatahighlightsan

interestingshift.While54%ofmarketersprimarilyworkwithnanoandmicrocreators,agrowing32%brands

areinvestinginmid-tierinfluencersforboththeir

strongengagementandbroaderreach—theperfect

mixforcampaignsthatneedbothauthenticityandscale.

Whatistheaveragefollowing

oftheinfluencersyouworkwith?

2.5K-25Kfollowers

2%Mega1M+followers

12%Macro

250K-1Mfollowers

32%Mid-tier

60K-250Kfollowers

27%Micro

25K-60Kfollowers

27%Nano

54%

ofmarketerstodayareworkingwithnano-andmicro-influencers.

Macroandmegacreatorsremainimportantforselectinitiatives,particularlythosefocusedonmassawarenessorhigh-profile

activations.Butimpactatthislevelisn’tdrivenbyfollowercountalone.It’sdrivenbyfit,story,andauthenticity.

Evenwithlargercreators,fitandstorymattermorethanfollowercount.The

bestpartnershipshappenwhenthey

authenticallyuseourproductsorwhen

there’saculturalmomenttheycanhelp

bringtolife.Weaimforco-creationinsteadofatransactionalbrief,becausethat’swhentheircontentfeelsreal.

SabrinaCheng-Wingate,

SocialMediaandInfluencerManageratPopSockets

“

In2026,brandswillcontinuetodiversifytheirinfluencer

portfolios,combiningthehighengagementofsmallercreators

withthescalablereachofmid-tierandmacrotalenttomaximizecampaignperformance.

18

AverageEngagementRatebyPlatform

Analyzingthousandsofpostsonourplatform,weaggregatedtheaverageengagement

ratesinfluencersreceivedacrosstheirsocialchannelsin2025.

Consistentwithtrendsfrompreviousyears,YouTubecontinuestoleadinengagement.

YouTube’shighengagementcomesfromtheintentionalnatureofitscontentconsumption.Unlikethepassive

scrollingtypicalonInstagramandTikTok,watching

aYouTubevideorequiresadeliberateaction.Eachviewcountsasanengagement,whichmakesupalarge

portionofinteractionsonYouTube.

4.80%2.15%

YouTubeTikTokInstagram

Averageengagementratebyplatform:

23.16%

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS

19

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS20

TrendsbyChannel

InstagramInstagram

AccordingtobothAspire’sinternaldata

andsurveyresults,Instagramremains

themostpopularplatformforinfluencer

marketinggoinginto2026.It’salsoone

ofthemostwidelyusedsocialmedia

appsglobally,recentlysurpassing

3billion

monthlyactiveusers

.

Butuserbehaviorisshifting.WithmorepeoplenowengagingwithinDMsintheappthantheyarewithfeedposts,Instagramisnowprioritizingcontent

thatencouragessharing—somuchsothattheappnowdisplayssendcountspublicly.

Lookingaheadto2026,shareswillbeakey

visibilitymetric,signalingtothealgorithmhow

wellyourcontentresonatesandspreadsthroughprivatechannels.

饴?允會

TheGiftTheMirrorTheIdeaTheGossipTheMood

“Thisissoyou.”“Thisissous.”“Shouldwe“Omg,haveyou“Literallyme.”

gohere?”seenthis?”

↓↓↓↓↓

ContentContentthatContentthatContentContentthat

thatshowsreflectsasharedsparksactionthatfuelsexpresseshow

thoughtfulnessdynamicorplansconversationsomeonefeels

5frameworksforcreatingshareablecontentaccordingtoindustryexpertRachelKarten

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS

tiktokTikTok

Despitelingeringuncertaintyaroundits

USoperations,TikTokshowsnosigns

ofslowingdown.Marketersareadjusting

budgetsasclarityemerges,but

projections

stillshowcontinuedrevenuegrowth

through2027,signalingstrongconfidenceintheplatform’sperformance.

MuchofthisoptimismstemsfromTikTokShop’s

explosiverise,fueledbycreator-ledlivestreams

andshoppablevideos.Infact,TikTokShopisnowoneofthetop10beautyretailersinthecountry.

Andoverthe2025BlackFridayandCyberMondayweekendalone,TikTokShopsales

exceeded$500

million

.

Oursurveydatareflectsthisgrowingimpact:32%ofbrandsnowsellthroughTikTokShop(upfromjust17%lastyear),withanother25%planningto

startsoon.ThebrandsthatdosellviaTikTokShopattributeanaverageof16%oftheirtotalsales

totheplatform.

Withcreatorsatthecenterofproductdiscovery,TikTokcontinuestoblurthelinebetweencontentandcommerce,andthatmomentumisn’tslowingdownanytimesoon.

DoyousellviaTikTokShop?

32%

Yes

25%

43%

No,and

wedon’t

planto.

No,butwe

plantosoon.

ofbrandsareselling

onTikTokShop

orplantosoon.

SOCIALCHANNELTRENDS22

youtubeYoutube

WhileYouTubehaslongbeenknownfor

itslong-formvideoformat,theplatform

isquicklyemergingasashort-form

powerhousewith

62%ofbrands

reportedlyuppingtheirShortsadspend.

Recentplatformupdatesareacceleratingthistrend:

•Monetizationforcreators:

Shortscreatorscan

nowearnfromapppromotions

throughco-

brandedPartnershipAdswithcustomCTAs.

•Shoppableproductstickers:

Creatorscantag

productsdirectlyinShorts

,makingiteasierforviewerstoshop.

•GoogleLensintegration:

Userscanvisually

searchproductsorlandmarksdirectlyfrom

Shorts

,enhancingdiscovery.

AndbypairingYouTubeShortswithTikTok

andInstagramReels,brandscanconnectwithaudiencesacrossmultipletouchpoints,fuelingcommunity,engagement,andsales.

Formarketers,YouTubeisapowerfulone-two

punch.Shortssparkawarenessandattractnewaudiencesatthetopofthefunnel,whilethe

platform’slegacylong-formcontentbuildsdepth,trust,andconversions.Usedtogether,thetwo

formatsprovideboththescaleofshort-formandtheimpactoflong-form.

Thisyear,YouTubehasinvested

heavilyincreator-ledadformats,newtoolstohelpbrandsfind

creators,andanopenAPIforthirdparties.Thisisgoingtoopenup

alotofnewwaysforbrandstopartnerwithYouTubecreators.

LindseyGamble,

InfluencerMarketingConsultant&Advisor

“

62%

ofbrandsare

increasingtheirShortsadspend.

40%

oftheYouTube

campaignsonAspire

wereShortscampaigns

Pricing

&Budget

AverageCostMetricsPricingDiscrepanciesPaidMediaKPIs

Let’sTalkBudgetCreatorRates

PRICING&BUDGET24

AverageCostMetrics

Averagecostperengagementperchannel*:

$0.197

CostPerEngagement(CPE)

$0.072

Cost-per-engagement(CPE)isthepricingmetricthatdigitalmarketersusetodeterminehowmuchthey’repayingforeachuserinteractiononapieceofcontent,suchaslikes,comments,andshares.

$0.002

$0.066

*ThisCPEdataisbasedontotalcreatorinvestment(

e.g.cash

payments,

productcost,shipping)relativetototalorganicengagementsinthelastyear.

PRICING&BUDGET25

Cost-Per-Mille(CPM)

Cost-per-mille(CPM)isthecostanadvertiserpaysforonethousandviewsorimpressions

onaninfluencer’spost.

Acrossallplatforms,theaverageinfluencermarketing

CPMin2025was$2.68*,reflectinga42%year-over-yeardecrease.Thiscontinueddeclineunderscoresinfluencermarketing’sgrowingcostefficiency,enablingbrands

toreachhighlyengagedaudiencesatsignificantlylowercoststhantraditionalchannelslikeTVordisplay,whereCPMsoftenreachdoubledigits.

Thisefficiencyisdrivenbyashifttowardsustained,

multi-postcreatorpartnershipsandalways-onprograms.Ascreatorsdelivermorecontentpercollaboration(oftenrepurposedacrosschannels),brandsunlockgreater

exposurewithoutaproportionalincreaseinspend.

Asaresult,influencermarketingisbecomingoneofthemostcompetitivechannelsinthebroadermediamix,

withcreatorpartnershipsdeliveringstrongpe