CreatorIQ Study Finds Marketers Are Diverting Digital Advertising Budget to Creator-Led Marketing

Advanced measurement solutions help 94% of brands attribute sales to creator-led efforts, which are consistently outperforming traditional digital channels such as search and email

CreatorIQ, the end-to-end creator marketing platform powering efforts for over 1,000 brands and agencies, today released survey findings showing brands are diverting digital advertising budgets to creator-led marketing initiatives.

At a top-line, 67% of surveyed marketers report increasing their investment in influencer marketing from 2022 to 2023. Of those brands whose budgets increased, only 24% are working with a net-new budget and 76% are diverting the funds from other marketing activities, including digital ads.

The majority of marketers cite the advancements in measurement for this shift to creator-led marketing efforts, which are enabling them to understand both top- and bottom-of-funnel ROI down to the dollar. Not only can 94% of organizations attribute sales to creator content on social media, but marketers also report that creator-led efforts are consistently outperforming traditional digital advertising channels.

“Over the past few years, advancements in measurement solutions have enabled creator marketing to be compared alongside traditional digital channels,” said Conor Begley, Chief Strategy Officer at CreatorIQ. “Now, at a time when macroeconomic factors are constricting ad budgets, brands and agencies have continued to double down on creator-led efforts, which have actually proven to be more efficient for driving impressions, engagement, conversions, and other full-funnel KPIs.”

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Some additional findings include:

• When it comes to creator compensation, the most frequent methods for paying creators include pay-for-content (60%), affiliate commissions based on sales (45%), and performance based on clicks (33%).
• Of the marketers surveyed, 77% reported actively transforming creators who share organically about their organization into brand partners, which allows them to yield authentic content from individuals with a pre-existing passion for their brand’s products or message.
• The main reasons marketers attribute to creators converting are Authentic and Relatable (48%), Aspirational and Instructive (21%), Entertaining, (15%), Easier To Reach Consumers (15%).

The report surveyed 132 marketers who directly engage in influencer marketing, with 68% from brands and 32% on the agency side. This includes organizations of all sizes, with 37% of respondents from companies with more than 1,000 employees.

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