Creators attract bigger paychecks as brand interest soars; influencer marketing grows: Report

Influencer marketing industry is growing.

It is a good time to be an influencer in India especially when it comes to pay scale, said a recent report by services firm Ernst & Young (EY).

As many as 12 percent of the 9.3 lakh content creators who are monetising their content earn between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh in a month currently.

In the past two years, 77 percent of influencers reported income growth and 86 percent of influencers expect over 10 percent increase in their income over the next two years, said the report titled 'The State Of Influencer Marketing in India' done in association with Indian talent management firm Collective Artists Network’s Big Bang Social.

"There are 3.5-4 million influencers in India. There is a huge chunk of influencers who are sitting on the brink of content monetisation. We see a huge chunk coming in terms of influencers monetising their content in the next two years. We surveyed 600 influencers and many of them have seen their income increasing upwards of 10 percent," said Amiya Swarup, Partner, Marketing Advisory, EY India.

The total number of influencers in India going up to 4 million includes content creators who are not yet monetising their content.

But the scenario is changing as higher number of brands are increasing their advertising dollars for influencer marketing, resulting in more influencers being able to monetise their content.

The influencer marketing industry is estimated to reach Rs 3,375 crore by 2026, growing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 18 percent. The industry is expected to grow by 25 percent in 2024, reaching
Rs 2,344 crore from Rs 1,875 crore last year. India’s influencer market size stood at Rs 1,500 crore in 2022.

Influencer marketing industry.

Influencer industry

The 12 percent influencers who earn between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh a month include macro and micro influencers, said Swarup. "Micro and large majority of nano influencers are estimated to earn below Rs 1 lakh. When it comes to mega influencers, their income is very difficult to peg as they involve celebrities," he added.

Influencers or content creators are categorised based on their following on social media. A mega influencer is someone who has over a million followers, a macro influencer has followers in the range of a lakh to one million and micro influencers are those who have 10,000 to 1 lakh followers. The last category is of nano influencers who have 100 to 10,000 followers on social media. While nano influencers have lower social media following, they have the highest engagement rate at four percent.

Engagement rate is referred to as the percentage of the audience who like or comment on posts (engage with the content) on social media.

There are over five lakh nano influencers in the country. Macro influencers, which are around 92,000 in the country, have the lowest engagement rate at 1.5 percent. Around 7,000 mega influencers in India record two percent engagement rate while 3.3 lakh micro influencers have an engagement rate of 2.5 percent.

The report noted that out of the 100 brands surveyed, 47 percent of brands preferred driving influencer campaigns with micro and nano influencers due to the lower cost per reach.

"I see the transaction base of macro and nano influencers increasing significantly. Initially, influencer marketing was for startups and D2C (direct-to-customer brands). In the last 2-3 years, larger brands and multinational companies have taken to influencer marketing. So now, the base of talent has to increase because the big guys (brands) have entered the market," said Vijay Subramaniam, Group CEO and Founder, Collective Artists Network.

Influencers attracting bigger paychecks.

Brand interest

The EY report noted that 75 percent of brands are expected to consider influencer marketing as part of their marketing strategy. As many as 56 percent of the brands invested more than two percent on influencer marketing. Many brands are expected to increase it by up to 10 percent.

"We surveyed over 100 brands out of which 40 percent of brands have less than 2 percent budget allocated. Another 35-40 percent have a 2-10 percent budget allocated for influencer marketing. About five-six years back, brands would allocate sub-2 percent for digital marketing which now has gone up to 20 percent. That’s where influencer marketing will have to be intertwined with digital marketing. Between 2-10 percent is where the swindle should move for influencer marketing," Swarup said.

While lifestyle, fashion and beauty will drive the growth of influencer marketing, Subramaniam said that BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance), auto and sustainability are emerging as big spenders on influencer marketing. Fintech is picking up a lot, he added.

Automobile, e-commerce and FMCG brands are expected to increase spending on influencer marketing the most, the report said.

When it comes to platforms where influencers are creating the most amount of content as well as where content is consumed the most, Instagram and YouTube top the chart.

"It is a tough market. Post the TikTok ban there is no alternative. We are in a duopolistic market," said Subramaniam.