People enjoy sharing their photos, videos, and stories with their followers. But did you know you can also earn money from spending time online? Influencers have used and continue to use their popularity to cash in their presence on the web.

Check out these influencer marketing statistics to learn more about the state of the influencer marketplace in Australia.

10 Influencer & Micro-influencer Stats and Facts:

  • Micro-influencers data shows they make up more than 40% of Australia’s total number of influencers.
  • Micro-influencers are the second largest group in terms of engagement rate.
  • Almost 80% of micro-influencers are keen content creators.
  • Australian micro-influencers can earn up to AU200$ per post.
  • Most Australian brands that work with micro-influencers come from the fashion and cosmetics industries.
  • Many consumers trust micro-influencers more than macro-influencers.
  • The market share of micro-influencers continues to grow.
  • Micro-influencers don’t only get paid with money.
  • Almost 50% of consumers have purchased something because of influencers.
  • The age group most likely to buy something because of influencers are young adults.

General Influencer Marketing Statistics

1. The social media influencer landscape in Australia consists of 5 groups.

(Hype-Journal)

Depending on the number of followers they have, influencers can be:

  • mega-influencers (over 1 million followers)
  • macro-influencers (from 100k to 1 million)
  • mid-tier influences (from 20k to 100k)
  • micro-influencers (from 5k to 20k)
  • nano-influencers (from 1k to 5k followers)

2. Macro-influencers can have five times more followers than micro-influencers. 

As previously mentioned, micro-influencers on Instagram can have 5k-20k followers, as opposed to macro-influencers, who can have anywhere from 100k to 1 million.

3. Micro-influencers data shows they make up more than 40% of Australia’s total number of influencers.

(SmartCompany)

The majority of Aussie influencers are micro-influencers. In 2020, they made up 46.1% of the total number of influencers in the Australian social media landscape.

4. Almost 80% of the Australian population are active users of social media.

(Genroe)

According to statistics from 2021, 79.9% of Australians have social media accounts. 18.2% of these users (aged 16-64) stated they follow influencers or other experts online.

5. Facebook statistics in Australia show Facebook is the best platform for Australian influencers.

(Starngage, Statista)

According to Australian social media statistics of influencers who currently work with brands, 32% stated Facebook is the best platform, followed by Instagram, preferred by 24% of influencers. 

6. Nano-influencers have an engagement rate of over 4%.

Based on data from 2020, Australian social media influencers rates are higher than the global average. With an average engagement rate of 4.51%, nano-influencers take the lead. Micro-influencers come next with an average engagement rate of 2.01%, followed by macro-influencers with 1.53%. Australian mega-influencers have a slightly better engagement rate of 2.22%, considerably higher than the 1.36% global average.

7. Influencer marketing allows big brands and small businesses to attract more customers.

(Engaiodigital, Power Digital Marketing)

Thanks to influencer marketing, big brands get more customers, and small businesses can get more visibility. Some businesses that benefit from influencer marketing are real estate agencies, health insurance companies, broadcasting networks, beverage companies, tourism boards, and many more.

8. Instagram stories are the second most used format by influencers, followed by YouTube.

(Big Commerce)

2019 data shows that with 78%, Instagram posts rank as the most effective format for influencer marketing, followed by Instagram stories (73%). After this come YouTube videos (56%) and Instagram videos (54%). The least used format is Twitch Livestream (5%).

Stats and facts about Influencers in Australia

9. In 2019, Instagram was the most important social media channel for influencer marketing, followed by YouTube.

89% of influencers used Instagram, making it the most widely-used social media channel. YouTube takes second place with 70%, followed by Facebook with 45%.

10. Micro-influencers are the second largest group in terms of engagement rate.

(SmartCompany) 

As stated before, the average engagement rate of micro-influencers is 2.01%, making them the second-largest group amongst influencers in engagement rate, right behind nano-influencers with 4.5%.

11. Most micro-influencers spend less than 5 hours on social media.

(Marketing Dive)

According to a study done on over 100,000 influencers, 80% of micro-influencers spend at least 3 hours a day using social media, 47% of which spend more than 5 hours influencing.

12. Almost 80% of micro-influencers are keen content creators.

The same study shows 77% of micro-influencers publish content on a daily basis. Of these, 48% post content at least twice a day. 84% of them recommend products at least once a week, while 37% do it every day.

Influencer marketing statistics: Revenue and cost

13. Brands spend over US$100 per influencer-generated content.

(Influencer Marketing Hub, Forbes)

Brands spend around US$174 for each piece of content promotion that influencers post. Since it is expected that the brand’s investment in the influencer industry will only rise, this average might increase as well. Brands are expected to spend US$15 billion on influencer marketing in 2022.

14. Australian micro-influencers can earn up to AU200$ per post.

Micro-influencers, who make up the majority of Instagram influencers, can earn anywhere between AU$20 up to AU$200 per post. Of course, this mostly depends on their engagement rate.

15. Micro-influencers don’t only get paid with money.

(Impact.com)

Sponsored posts on feeds are great income ideas, and depending on the content niche, or product they are reviewing, micro-influencers can receive payment in the form of gifts, rewards, trips, store credit, etc.

16. Around 60% of fashion and beauty brands have an influencer marketing strategy.

(Social Law Co, Starngage)

A further 21% of fashion and beauty brands plan to invest in an influencer marketing strateg over the next 12 months. Some Australian brands that work with micro-influencers are Spell & The Gypsy, Lahana Swim, Culture Kings, Bondiboost, Eco Tan, Happy Way, and many others.

Influencers demographics

17. Almost 85% of influencers are women.

(Statista) 

According to a 2019 analysis, 84% of influencers that created sponsored posts on Instagram were women.

18. 31% of influencers are younger than 25

(Statista)

According to another study from 2019, 31% of influencers creating sponsored posts were between the age of 18 and 24, 54% are between the age of 25 to 34, and 11% are aged between 35 and 49.

Micro-influencers effects on consumers

19. Macro vs Micro: Many consumers trust micro-influencers more than macro-influencers.

(Inbeat agency)

Micro-influencers are more trustworthy and relatable than macro-influencers. Micro-influencers network is very close since they create authentic and personalised content, often sparking honest conversations with their followers.

20. Almost 50% of consumers have purchased something because of influencers.

(Digital Marketing Institute) 

What is the impact of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour?

Influencers have a big impact on consumers;  49% of them actually depend on influencer recommendations, while 40% have purchased something after seeing it on Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

21. The age group most likely to buy something because of influencers are young adults.

(Influenceonline)

Those aged 15-21 are most likely to be convinced to make a purchase by influencers. They are open to influencer content, which makes them a valuable target audience.

22. More than 80% of women follow influencers for shopping advice

(Digital Marketing Institute)

According to a statistic, 86% of women follow influencers for shopping advice, and more than half of these have actually purchased something due to the influencer posts.

23. More than 50% of influencers were involved in fraud in 2020

A great number of Instagram mega-influencers with more than 1 million followers across the world were involved in fraudulent activities to increase their engagement and follower numbers. The average number of influencers that were involved in fraud in 2020 was 55.39%.

24. The market share of micro-influencers continues to grow.

(Influence Marketing Hub)

The micro-influencer market is expected to grow even more in 2022. Experts predict that smaller industries will choose to work with micro-influencers because they are more authentic and reliable than other influencers. From an 89% share in 2020, their market grew to 91% in 2021, and it continues to grow.

(Sellfy)

Some niches in which micro-influencers were popular in 2021 include:

  • traveling
  • beauty
  • fashion
  • health and fitness
  • parenting
  • business
  • music
  • food.

26. The Covid-19 pandemic helped give rise to micro-influencers.

(Hurrdat Marketing)

In 2020, many brands have turned to social media influencers and digital content creators for marketing during the pandemic. As a result, influencer marketing in Australia experienced market growth, and the share of micro-influencers in the influencer market grew immensely. 

Bottom line

Micro-influencer marketing has increased a lot during the last couple of years. Hopefully, these influencer marketing statistics from Australia will show you how much the market has changed, and why it is important.

Big Commerce

Digital Marketing Institute

Engaiodigital

Forbes

Genroe

Hurrdat Marketing

Hype-Journal

Impact.com

Inbeat agency

Influence Marketing Hub

Influenceonline

Marketing Dive

Power Digital Marketing

Sellfy

SmartCompany

Social Law Co.

Starngage

Statista