Christopher Hughes
Research expert covering Australia and New Zealand
Influencer marketing in Australia - statistics & facts
The utilization of social media influencers for marketing purposes has been rising exponentially worldwide over the last few years, increasing by more than fifteen times since 2016. A recent survey revealed that a quarter of global marketing agencies and brands spent a quarter of their budget on influencer marketing alone, illustrating how integral to the industry it has become. In the Asia- Pacific region, around 90 percent of consumers follow social media influencers in China, India, and Malaysia, although comparatively, this drops to just under 40 percent in Australia.
The Australian market
In Australia, the influencer marketing market size has grown significantly since 2016, when it was worth 1.6 billion Australian dollars. In 2022 however, the market was worth 16.4 billion Australian dollars, and it is predicted that budgets will see continued growth in the coming years. In confirmation of this, nearly 70 percent of respondents to a 2023 survey said they planned to increase their influencer advertising budget.Brands and influencers
The leading brands in terms of Instagram reach in Australia are, mostly, retail brands, including K Mart, Bunnings, and leading supermarket chain Woolworths. The exception is news outlet Channel 9, which has the highest reach at 13.2 million. When it comes to brand spending, the majority of brands spend less than 10 thousand Australian dollars on influencer marketing, However, just over ten percent said they spent more than 500 thousand Australian dollars. Notably, over 60 percent of brands said they intended to maintain a working partnership with existing influencers, rather than finding and working with someone different, despite less than half offering monetary compensation as payment for work.
