Influencer marketing spending will surpass $10 billion in the US in 2025, according to Emarketer – one year earlier than the firm previously predicted.
The company said: “We previously expected spending to reach the $10 billion mark in 2026. Last year, brands fully committed to influencer marketing. We now estimate that influencer marketing spending rose by 23.7%, which is an upgrade from our previous 2024 growth forecast of 16.0%. In 2025, another $1.37 billion dollars will be added.”
Jasmine Enberg, VP and principal analyst at Emarketer (pictured), said: “Influencer marketing is maturing and diversifying. The boom days of spending growth on social media sponsored content are largely over, but brands are directing more of their influencer budgets to paid social ads and non-social channels, from TV to digital out-of-home to podcasts, which is funnelling more money into the tactic.”
The company said there is still some uncertainty around the economy and TikTok, with the latter slowing influencer marketing spending growth on TikTok to 17.0%. That’s roughly on par with the growth rates for Instagram and YouTube, both of which attract over $1 billion more in influencer marketing spending. Enberg said: “The turmoil around TikTok’s future, as well as tariffs, are putting some pressure on influencer budgets. That pressure is likely to be relieved once brands gain more clarity on how these challenges will impact their businesses and have had some time to adapt.”
While engagement trends on TikTok remain strong, there has been a shift in perception among many brands, creators and consumers. “Fewer marketers are thinking TikTok-first,” Enberg said. “They’re hesitant to sign on TikTok-only creators in case the platform goes dark again. Creators are actively building their communities on other platforms, including those where they feel they have more control over their audiences, content and monetisation opportunities.”
Other social platforms are also courting TikTok creators, said Emarketer, which will lead to further diversification in influencer marketing platforms. Instagram and YouTube will benefit the most. In 2025, for the first time, the firm expects over half of US marketers to use influencer marketing on YouTube. “Influencer marketing is bigger than TikTok,” Enberg said. “Even prior to TikTok’s troubles, the conversation was growing around YouTube. As brands and creators prioritise more predictable content, longer-term relationships, and storytelling over trends and ad-hoc sponsorships, YouTube is quickly becoming the place to be for brands and creators.”
Emarketer defines influencer marketing spending as “revenues generated by US-based creators from payments made by brands to promote products on social media and video platforms that primarily host user-generated content (eg YouTube, Twitch).”
