Two years ago, we surveyed our network of influencers to gain better insights into compensation preferences. The result was the 2021 Intellifluence Influencer Compensation Report featured in Business Insider, PRWeek, and Social Media Today. Previously, there had been little to no elaborate public reporting focused on influencer compensation, leaving many markers having to resort to the “penny per follower” approach to compensation, which doesn’t translate well across social platforms.
Since that report, inflation has taken off and the economy continues to become more volatile. With layoffs in tech and threats of a recession, we want to revisit the topic to see how things have changed in terms of how influencers are looking to be compensated.
While we love creating fancy bar graphs and infographics with the data, we don’t stop there. Last summer, we implemented a new feature based on the data we received from influencers mixed with internal transaction data: Intellifluence Pricing Guidance. Now, brands have a starting point when setting up their campaign and wondering how much cash to offer influencers. Similarly, when pitching an influencer we will show you an estimated compensation amount. Obviously, there are a lot of variables to consider when coming up with a compensation strategy, but we feel like our Pricing Guidance tool and periodic Influencer Compensation Reports will put you ahead of the game when it comes to what you offer influencers.
Without further ado, here is the 2023 report!
Methodology and social channel focus
The following report contains the results of a compensation questionnaire we sent out to our Influencers based in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom towards the end of 2022. 1,700 Influencers completed the questionnaire, and the graphs show the mean compensation expectations, grouped by follower/subscriber counts.
In this edition of the Compensation Report, we went beyond simply asking what influencers think they’re worth today. We were curious how compensation expectations change in the minds of influencers as they grow their following and become more prominent within different social networks. To that end, we asked influencers on each network what they think they would charge as they grew their followings.
What we found was brands representative and digital marketers aren’t the only ones struggling to establish influencer pricing – influencers find it challenging as well! We see this in the fact that influencers with smaller audiences tend to hypothesize that they would charge a lot more for a post if they had a larger following than the influencers who are actually at those levels. In other words, aspirations run into reality as audiences grow. Furthermore, the survey results for compensation amounts aren’t always linear relative to audience size. When there are inconsistencies, we will point them out.
For 2023, we polled bloggers as well as influencers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. Let’s kick it off with bloggers!
Blogs
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Get Started NowIntellifluence was created by a team with deep knowledge and background in search engine optimization (SEO), so it is only natural that the platform includes bloggers. In fact, Intellifluence is now home to over 16,000 trusted bloggers from all over the world and across 57 unique product/service categories.
While some are dedicated bloggers, others are social media creators who also manage blogs, blurring the lines between bloggers and influencers. This is why one of our slogans is: Influencers Drive SEO. There are many ways you can utilize bloggers and blogger influencers to elevate your marketing campaigns. For example, a YouTuber with a blog can create a custom video for you and then embed it in a blog post that they write.
In this year’s survey, we asked bloggers what they currently expect to receive on a per-engagement basis (a typical 500-800 word blog post), along with what they expect to receive 12 months from now, to account for perceived growth and current economic realities. Rather than organizing by follower/subscriber count, as we do with most social platforms, blogger groups are organized by Domain Authority.
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages (SERPs).
How much cash do you expect to be paid currently for a 500-800 word blog post? Organized by Domain Authority (DA)
DA 1-10: $161.35
DA 11-24: $250.20
DA 25-49: $193.04
DA 50+: $260.15
How much cash do you expect to be paid next year for a 500-800 word blog post? Organized by Domain Authority (DA)
DA 1-10: $250.20
DA 11-24: $269.02
DA 25-49: $292.10
DA 50+: $387.76
Key point: On average, bloggers expect to charge 40.6% more to create and publish blog posts in 12 months compared to what they currently charge.
Most bloggers expect to charge close to 50% more for their work next year, but those who have blogs between DA 11-24 only expect to charge around 10% more.
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We are home to nearly 75,000 Instagram influencers, narrowly edging out Facebook influencers. While TikTok has made great gains in short-form video, Instagram continues to boast a loyal audience and is the 8th most visited website in the world with 4.25 billion total visits per month, according to Hootsuite.
The following are the compensation expectations of our Instagram influencers:
Less than 1000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $89.41
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign if you had 1,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $251.76
… if you had 10,000 followers? $1318.79
… if you had 100,000 followers? $7119.29
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $19,950.26
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $497,545.18
1000-9,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $134.69
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign if you had 10,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $491.98
… if you had 100,000 followers? $2424.55
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $13,100.88
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $93,691.29
10,000-99,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $404.41
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign if you had 100,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $2076.70
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $13,591.35
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $82,065.35
100,000-1,000,000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $1022.22
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign if you had 1,000,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $7222.22
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $16,666.67
Key point: Instagram influencers with smaller followings would hypothetically charge much more for a post if they had one million followers than influencers who actually have a million followers.
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Trailing just behind Instagram (in terms of popularity) on our platform is Facebook. While it is safe to say that Facebook has lost a little allure with younger people in recent years, the fact remains that 81% of adults in the U.S. have a Facebook profile, according to SocialPilot. Furthermore, Americans use Facebook for 33 minutes per day on average, which puts it ahead of Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, according to Sprout Social.
The following are the compensation expectations of our Facebook influencers:
Less than 1000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $109.78
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign if you had 1,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $170.52
… if you had 10,000 followers? $977.40
… if you had 100,000 followers? $1605.67
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $15,189.97
1000-9,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $117.07
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign if you had 10,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $257.24
… if you had 100,000 followers? $1508.12
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $9489.29
10,000-99,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $229.74
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Facebook campaign if you had 100,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $789.74
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $7460.52
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $69015.79
Key point: Facebook influencers with smaller audiences rival Instagram influencers in terms of how much they are looking to be paid, but those with larger audiences charge far less than their Instagram counterparts.
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You’ve probably been following the news about Twitter over the last year and a half or so. Despite the noise and opinions surrounding this network, one-quarter of American adults use it, according to Hootsuite. When it comes to getting a message or piece of content out quickly, few networks can rival Twitter. Recent changes have expanded capabilities for influencers that subscribe to the service, including a 4,000-character limit that far surpasses the 280-character limit for regular users (I am old enough to remember when it was 140!).
The following are the compensation expectations of our Twitter influencers:
Less than 1000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $61.30
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign if you had 1,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $142.42
… if you had 10,000 followers? $564.75
… if you had 100,000 followers? $3009.12
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $27,555.35
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $2,151,232.86
1000-9,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $78.40
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign if you had 10,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $393.04
… if you had 100,000 followers? $1503.16
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $22,430.00
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $1,648,295.64
10,000-99,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $131.53
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Twitter campaign if you had 100,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $403.64
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $6,107.88
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $41,487.27
100,000-1,000,000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $425.00
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical Instagram campaign if you had 1,000,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $2,433.33
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $10,166.67
Key point: We have seen a noticeable rise since 2021 in terms of what influencers estimate their Tweets/Retweets are worth.
TikTok
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Ah, TikTok. The social network confounds elder Millennials such as myself and continues to make headlines, sometimes for the wrong reasons. In the last year and a half, Intellifluence has more than doubled its network size of TikTok influencers. When it comes to engagement and time spent on the app – TikTok is hard to beat. According to Sprout Social, the average user spends 95 minutes each day watching TikTok videos. Furthermore, these videos have an average engagement rate of 7.11%, which is 6 times higher than Instagram Reels, according to Socialinsider.
Many brands have found TikTok to be a network that demands more thought and creativity, to avoid coming across as too formal or salesy. As marketer Neal Schaffer points out, Chipotle is a great example of a brand that is using TikTok to generate sales in a natural manner: “Chipotle does not bombard TikTok users with countless professional video ads, designed to make your mouth water for Chipotle products. Instead, Chipotle places a focus on being relatable and friendly, featuring fan content, and employing humor to engage with followers and people of all ages and backgrounds.”
The following are the compensation expectations of our TikTok influencers:
Less than 1000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $94.38
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign if you had 1,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $221.86
… if you had 10,000 followers? $884.01
… if you had 100,000 followers? $9513.02
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $42,421.28
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $217,324.40
1000-9,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $160.11
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign if you had 10,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $514.08
… if you had 100,000 followers? $3187.24
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $20,191.33
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $70,426.53
10,000-99,999 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $205.83
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign if you had 100,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $813.16
… if you had 1,000,000 followers? $4368.92
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $31,801.39
100,000-1,000,000 followers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $1244.79
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical TikTok campaign if you had 1,000,000 followers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $4454.17
… if you had 100,000,000 followers? $21,250
Key point: The expected compensation amount jumps exponentially after a TikToker surpasses 100,000 followers!
YouTube
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YouTube continues to dominate – in fact, it’s the second most visited website in the world, behind its parent company, Google. Almost one-quarter of our influencers have a YouTube channel, and our brands continue to have success acquiring quality video reviews of their products and services.
As we discussed in our last report, the reality is that YouTube content costs more. What’s interesting is this year we saw a dip in expected compensation for creators between 1,000 and 9,999 subscribers when compared to those with less than 1000 subscribers. Most of the feedback we received from YouTubers was reminding brands just how much effort and investment it takes for them to create quality video content for the network.
The following are the compensation expectations of our YouTube influencers:
Less than 1000 subscribers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $202.37
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign if you had 1,000 subscribers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $356.76
… if you had 10,000 subscribers? $1843.84
… if you had 100,000 subscribers? $6597.81
… if you had 1,000,000 subscribers? $45,117.11
… if you had 100,000,000 subscribers? $500,560.42
1000-9,999 subscribers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $169.40
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign if you had 10,000 subscribers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $1235.95
… if you had 100,000 subscribers? $4626.05
… if you had 1,000,000 subscribers? $50,896.67
… if you had 100,000,000 subscribers? $158,171.74
10,000-99,999 subscribers:
As of today, how much cash do you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $555.56
Hypothetically, how much would you expect for completing a typical YouTube campaign if you had 100,000 subscribers? (Enter an amount in US Dollars:) $3150.00
… if you had 1,000,000 subscribers? $12,000.00
… if you had 100,000,000 subscribers? $62,500.00
Key point: Once again, we see influencers with smaller accounts estimate charging significantly more if they were ever to reach the 100,000,000 subscriber threshold than creators with larger subscriber bases.
Conclusion
We have presented you with a ton of influencer compensation data, which we believe will be very helpful, but you may be wondering what to do with it. How much an influencer wants to be paid is only one part of the process. Before pitching an influencer, you want to determine their true value, to ensure you get the most out of the collaboration. Below we provide more articles and resources that will help you as you create campaigns, pitch influencers, and grow your business. As always, we would love to hear what you think of this report, along with any feedback or things you would like to see in future studies!
