State of Influencer 


Marketing 2021
State of Influencer 

Marketing 2021
DIGITAL IN 2020: NEW
CHALLENGES, NEW MILESTONES

The digital and social landscape is evolving so fast that it can be hard to stay abreast 

of all changes. 2020 was indeed a big year in every sense. Before we share the key
findings of our report, let’s look at some of the most significant events of the year that
affected the influencer marketing environment.

COVID-19 offers opportunities 
 Creators find new ways 


1 for influencer collaborations


2 to make money


According to Nielsen Insights, social Since many brands cut their ad spend due 

distancing and quarantining brought 
 to COVID-19, influencers had to change their
to the increased amount of content people business models and seek new ways to earn
consume worldwide. For brands, it can 
 money, including merchandise, direct-to-
be a good opportunity to create impactful consumer offers, and content production deals.
messages for their audience with the help Many influencers rushed to the OnlyFans platform,
of influencers. Being a part of the global which was originally designed to offer fans
social community, businesses can establish exclusive access to their favorite creators based
stronger relationships with consumers. on paid subscriptions.

Online shaming is spiking Influencers leverage their

3 during the pandemic


4 messaging for social good

Some influencers faced social media shaming If creators want to stay influential, they need
for not social distancing. Creators who to stand for a worthwhile cause. That’s why
posted content about their activities during some influencers work with nonprofits either
the quarantine received massive criticism at a discounted rate or for free, while others
from the community. Being accused of their post supportive content and resources related
irresponsible behavior, some influencers even to COVID-19.
said about cases of death threats.

Influencers reconsider their Online creators become an asset

5 content in the times of the BLM 6 for political campaigns


movement


It’s difficult to stay out of the conversation With social media only growing in prominence,
when you are an influencer. The social media getting support from influencers can 

community wants to engage with brands and be a powerful campaign tactic for political
creators that use their influence to discuss the candidates. And the strongest support may 

current climate. In 2020, the social media space come not from celebrities, but micro-influencers
has become a venue for Black Lives Matter who talk to smaller but more targeted audiences.
activism, and influencers adapt their content 
 People tend to view these creators as more
to address racism. trustworthy and therefore listen to their opinion.

TikTok was banned in India leaving many

7
creators without their main source of income



On June 29, India banned TikTok, which comes as an unpleasant

surprise to many Indian influencers. After the ban, several apps
took a shot to occupy the vacant spot, but none of them came
even close, according to creators. TikTok was set to be banned
in the US on November 12, however, TikTok creators managed 

to block the app ban with a lawsuit.

2
 4
Key Findings

6 Instagram

18 Tiktok

26 YouTube

34 COVID-19’s Lasting Impact 


on Influencer Marketing

35 Important Influencer Marketing 


Trends to Watch Right Now

36 Methodology

37 Contacts

3
Key Finding 1 | page 8

The Instagram Influencer Market Expected to Grow 15% in 2021.


The estimated global market capitalization in 2021 equals $5869.46M which implies

15% growth from $5095.51M estimated for the end of 2020.

Key Finding 2 | page 9

43% of Global Instagram Users are Aged between 25 and 34 Years.


More than half of global audiences are 34 and younger (80.9%), which makes

Instagram worthwhile for brands and marketing specialists.

Key Finding 3 | page 15

The Average Percent of Instagram Accounts Involved in Fraud Decreased by 8.14%


But the number of influencers involved in fraud is still very high (55.39%). Fake

influencers and engagement could cost advertisers millions of dollars each year.

Key Finding 4 | page 17

On Average, you will get $4.87 of Earned Media Value for each $1 you pay for

Instagram Influencers promotion. EMV or Earned Media Value is the accepted

advertising industry standard for measuring PR activities and influencer marketing

campaigns.

Key Finding 5 | page 20

More than half of TikTok users (66.9%) are under the age of 24 with 38% between 18

and 24, which makes people of this age the largest user group. In this age group,

24% of users are female and 13.9% are male.

Key Finding 6 | page 21

Over Half of TikTok Creators Are Nano-Influencers with 1,000-5,000 Subscribers. 


The TikTok influencer landscape differs from what we see on Instagram. Over half 


of TikTok creators are Nano-influencers (53.5%) who have from 1,000 to 5,000

subscribers.

Key Finding 7 | page 28

67.3% of YouTube users are aged between 18 and 34. However, the platform doesn’t

just appeal to grown-up audiences. Teenage users are the third largest group

accounting for almost 15% of all YouTube viewers.

Key Finding 8 | page 34

COVID-19 made its adjustments and slowed down the growth of the industry, but

Influencer Marketing didn’t suffer as much as other industries.

4
Active Social Media Users have

increased by 10.5%

The most significant boost received

TikTok with its 60% increase

  Social Media Users +10.5%

3960M

Instagram +12% 1082M

TikTok +60% 800M

YouTube users no changes 2000M

Q3 2019 vs Q3 2020. 


Figures are based on addressable advertising audience

and may not match the total number of active users

5
 of Marketing Specialists Consider

79
Instagram Important for Their

% Influencer Marketing Campaigns

When it comes to influencer marketing, Instagram is a perfect

place to reach new audiences and gain direct access to target

markets. Over 1 billion people use Instagram every month.

Instagram creators open up huge

opportunities for businesses looking 


to market their products and services 


in an authentic way. 79% of marketing

specialists consider Instagram important

for their influencer marketing campaigns,

which makes it the most popular social

media channel for influencer marketing.

And 62% of marketers say they’ve seen

an increase in sales when working with

social media influencers on an online

advertising campaign.

It comes as no surprise. Influencer

marketing on Instagram removes 


the barriers of traditional advertising

because customers get to know about

your brand from someone they trust. 


And it happens on an authentic platform

they use on a daily basis. When a creator

recommends a product or service, 


it comes across as a credible

recommendation, and this is 


a great advantage for brands.

6
Instagram Updates 2020: Reels, Automated
Closed Captions, Live Ads and Badges

Instagram
 Automatic 
 New Branded

Reels Closed Captions 
 Content 

for IGTV Videos Capabilities
Responding to the When uploading their IGTV Instagram announced
trending TikTok format, videos, Instagram creators several updates to Branded
now have the option to use Content to make it easier 

the platform added its “auto-generated captions” for creators to produce and
own Instagram Reels that which are generated by share their branded content.
allows users to record and automatic speech First of all, it added Branded
recognition. Although Content Tags for Reels and
edit 30-second multi-clip automatic captioning isn’t Live to expand its revenue
videos with audio and 100% accurate, it improves 
 options for creators. Also, 

effects. It provides great as more people use them 
 to help brands provide 

opportunities for and it increases accessibility a seamless shopping
overall.
experience, Instagram
influencers to express their introduced the ability for
creativity in a new format.. businesses to promote
branded content posts 

with product tags.

The Rights 
 Live Ads 
 Creators Can 


Manager is Extended 
 and Badges
Now Build AR 

to Instagram Effects with Music
Facebook’s Rights To give fans another way 
 Spark AR, Instagram’s
Manager is extended 
 to participate and show augmented reality
to Instagram, allowing their love, Instagram platform, now includes
users to protect and introduced badges that the option to add audio
manage their image viewers can purchase effects and makes 

content. The tool uses during a live video. it possible to create AR
visual search features and effects that alter photos
allows you to find any 
 and videos from the
of your copyrighted camera roll.
images across Instagram.
Influencers are most likely
to benefit from this
feature, as they are
typically those whose
content is used by others
without permission.

7
The Instagram Influencer Market
Expected to Grow 15% in 2021

The estimated global market capitalization in 2021 equals $5869.46M which

implies 15% growth from $5095.51M estimated for the end of 2020.

$5245M
$5095M
$5869M

2019 2020 2021

$5,245,364,060

reached the global market capitalization 


in 2019 with the estimated media count
equalling 6,851,332 sponsored publications

According to HypeAuditor, the Instagram Influencer Marketing market

reached $5095.51М by the end of 2020. It means that globally the
industry will not outgrow the year 2019, however, its decline cannot be
characterized as a drastic one.

The overall market capitalization is subject to change depending

on how fast advertisers will resume influencer marketing activities
and on the further development of the pandemic.

What is certain is that the speedy elimination of COVID-19-related

restrictions will allow many categories of content creators to restart
their work (e.g., travel, even-related categories) which will
subsequently boost the market recovery process.

8
43% of Global Instagram Users are
Aged between 25 and 34 Years

 FEMALE  MALE

4.01% 13-17 2.90%

17.65% 18-24 13.63%

20.41% 25-34 22.37%

3.75% 35-44 6.03%

0.58% 45-54 1.20%

0.19% 55-64 0.19%

User demographic data for Research reveals that

any social media you work
with is an essential element 
 Around 43% of global Instagram users
are aged between 25 and 34 years

of a successful influencer
marketing strategy. Knowing
20.4% of this age group are female
who’s on the platform helps
and 22.4% are male
businesses and brands better
research, analyze, and plan.
More than half of global audiences
(80.9%) are 34 and younger, which
makes Instagram worthwhile for
brands and marketing specialists

9
Distribution of Instagram Influencers
by Categories: Lifestyle Content
Takes the Lead

Change in 

Category
2020,%
2019, %
% points Change in %

Lifestyle
11.59
11.3
0.29
2.57%

Music
6.52
6.15
0.37
6.02%

Photography
5.58
5.34
0.24
4.49%

Beauty
5.22
5.21
0.01
0.19%

Family
4.34
4.29
0.05
1.17%

Humor & Fun & Happiness

4.24
3.8
0.44
11.58%

Modeling
3.28
3.14
0.14
4.46%

Fitness & Gym

2.95
2.74
0.21
7.66%

Shows
2.93
2.74
0.19
6.93%

Cinema & Actors/Actresses

2.28 2.14
0.14
6.54%

Most of the Instagram influencers If we look at 2019, we’ll see that the top 3
produce content related to:


categories remain the same. However, in
Lifestyle 11.5% 2020, interest in all the categories among
creators increased. The number of
Other popular topics include:


influencers who created content about
Humor & Fun & Happiness increased by
Music
6.5%
11.5%, which is the highest percentage.
Photography
5.5%

Beauty

5.2% The least competitive niches are:

Fitness & Gym
2.9%

Shows
2.9%

Cinema & 2.2%

Actors/Actresses

10
Trending Instagram Topics in 2020:
Music and Humor & Fun & Happiness
Showed Explosive Growth

HypeAuditor analyzed Instagram influencers’ accounts to see

the average yearly growth of followers and the average ER 

to identify the most trending Instagram categories in 2020.

Average Explosive growth:

Yearly
Category
Growth, % Music
623%

Humor & Fun 579%

Music
632
& Happiness

Humor & Fun & Happiness

579

Arguably, the Instagram audience

Literature & Journalism
340
consumed more entertainment
content in 2020 in order to provide
Cinema & Actors/actresses
200

some light relief to events going 


Travel 137
on across the world.

Nevertheless, also grown

significantly

Literature & Journalism

340%
Average
Annual
ER, %
This suggests that people were also
Category

looking to social media to provide

Comics & sketches
5.86
reliable and timely information,
therefore subscribing to more news
Nature & landscapes
5.55
and media accounts.
Sports with a ball
5.43

Extreme Sports & Outdoor 5.37


Head the list in terms of ER:

activity

Comics & sketches

5.86%

Winter sports
5.28
Nature & landscapes

5.55%

11
Almost Half of Instagram Creators
Are Macro-Influencers

1K – 5K 18.74%

5K – 20K 47.39%

20K – 100K 26.82% We break down Instagram

100K – 1M 6.54% influencers into five main
over 1M 0.5% groups (influencer tiers)
according to the number 

of their Instagram followers.

The largest group of creators is Micro-influencers accounting

for almost half of all influencers (47.3%). This type of creator
has between 5,000 and 20,000 subscribers. The second most
popular group is mid-tier influencers (26.8%) with around
20,000-100,000 followers. Nano-influencers who have 

a relatively small audience account for 18.74%.

Macro-influencers and Mega-influencers & Celebrities

represent the smallest groups: 6.5% and 0.5% respectively.

12
Top Growing Instagram Accounts 

in 2020: Charli D'Amelio Grew Her
Account by 784%

2020
Instagram Followers' Followers'
Account
Followers
Growth
Growth, % ER (%)

instagram
382.8M
55.9M
17
0.14

cristiano
251.1M
53.7M
27
2.27

kyliejenner
207.4M
50.1M
32
4.45

arianagrande
214.2M
42.9M
25
1.9

therock
209.8M
41.8M
25
0.4

kimkardashian
197.6M
40.8M
26
1.57

virat.kohli
86.8M
39.5M
83
3.39

selenagomez
201M
35.5M
21
2.42

leomessi
174.9M
34.3M
24
1.82

charlidamelio
36.2M
32.1M

784
10.95

With an increase in social media content consumption Virat Kohli, an Indian cricketer, took 

during the pandemic comes an increase in followers. a huge leap in follower growth 

We looked at the top Instagram accounts, in terms of on Instagram, gaining 39.5M new
their follower growth in 2020. subscribers and growing his 

account by 83% last year.

Instagram’s own account heads the ranking The 16-year old dancer Charli
with the highest number of new followers D'Amelio has also thrust into the
who subscribed in 2020. However, if we look spotlight, becoming a social media
at the percentage growth, we’ll see that its sensation over the last two years.
audience grew by 17%, which makes it the The main driver of Charli's
slowest-growing account on our list. Instagram growth is largely due 

to her TikTok presence, in which
Two other accounts with the largest number 
 she set a record in becoming the
of new followers belong to Cristiano Ronaldo, 
 first person to gain over 100 million
a professional football player (27% followers subscribers. In 2020, Charli grew
growth), and Kylie Jenner, media personality her Instagram account by 784%.
and model (32% followers growth).

13
Nano-influencers Have Stronger
Connections with Their Audience
Showing the Highest Engagement Rate

Engagement Rate or ER is a commonly used benchmark of success on Instagram as it can determine

how well an influencer connects with their audience. Highly engaging content with many likes and
comments often stands a better chance of organically appearing on an Instagram feed.

2018 2019 2020

6%
5.6
5.0
4.8

2.4 2.9
2.1 2.0 1.9 2.0
2.2
1.6
1.7
1.2
1.4 1.2
1.3 1.3
1.6
0%

1K – 5K 5K – 20K 20K – 100K 100K – 1M 1M+ Average ER

Nano-influencers Micro-influencers Mid-tier influencers Macro-influencers
Mega-influencers
& Celebrities

ER on Instagram is calculated 

as the total number of likes and Likes Comments
X 100%
comments divided by the total Engagement Rate
number of followers, multiplied 

by 100%: Followers

Nano-influencers tend to have stronger The highest average ER for any

connections with their audience. Thus, their ER influencer tier was achieved in
is higher than the ER of other influencer groups: 2018. Since then, the average
5.6% in 2018, 4.79% in 2019, and 5% in 2020. ER has decreased significantly.

One of the possible reasons for the decline 
 2020 showed little growth
is a new Instagram feature — "hidden likes". compared to 2019, which 

Hidden likes were implemented in 2019, hiding is associated with an increase
public like counts on all photo and video posts 
 in time spent on social media
in several countries, including the U.S., Canada, due to the COVID-19
Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, 
 restrictions.

and Japan.
14
The Average Percent of Instagram
Accounts Involved in Fraud 

Decreased by 8.14%

Percentage of influencers involved in fraud by followers number:

71.15%

69.91%

80%
67.12%

65.68%

63.53%

60%
48.87%

60.74%

66.77%

58.87%

57.17%
40% 55.39%

41.87%

20%

0%

1K – 5K 5K – 20K 20K – 100K 100K – 1M 1M+ Average

Nano-influencers Micro-influencers Mid-tier influencers Macro-influencers
Mega-influencers &
Celebrities
2019 2020

Сompared to 2019, the average percent One of the reasons for the decrease 

of Instagram accounts involved in fraud is that Instagram imposed restrictions
decreased by 8.14%.
that banned The Follow / Unfollow trick.

But the number of influencers involved 


in fraud is still very high (55.39%). Fake
influencers and engagement could cost
advertisers millions of dollars each year.

According to HypeAuditor’s
internal research, only 55% 

Among the most popular gray of Instagram followers are
hat tricks are:
real people. This means the
Buying followers
other 45% consist of bots,
inactive accounts and mass
Buying likes and comments

followers.

Buying stories views

Comments Pods
15
The Most Talked About Brands 

on Instagram in 2020

Estimated
Brand username
Mentions
Influencers
Reach
1
liketoknow.it
609 895
21 514
5163M

2
instagram
223 821
60 785
2460M

3
zara
165 897
48 023
1346M

4
sheinofficial
136 961
30 881
1808M

5
fashionnova
132 589
27 038
11681M

6
tiktok
129 869
50 509
2461M

7
nike
118 267
42 357
2470M

8
spotify
109 056
46 994
2844M

9
hm
103 508
38 026
940M

10
prettylittlething
94 575
23 543
2559M

11
amazon
73 953
32 836
920M

12
pinterest
72 153
19 346
487M

13
target
69 659
27 136
910M

14
netflix
68 729
38 244
3935M

15
dior
56 181
23 204
1810M

16
revolve
53 469
7 080
2482M

17
gucci
52 573
23 782
1170M

18
anastasiabeverlyhills
52 252
16 365
548M

19
ubereats
50 675
9 245
320M

20 idealofsweden

48 466
16 767
145M

Instagram, with its huge, highly-engaged Instagram’s own account takes second
audiences who consume millions of pictures 
 place with 223,821 outperforming other
and videos daily, is a gold nugget for brands 
 social media networks like TikTok with
and marketers. 129,869 mentions (6th place), and
Pinterest with 72,153 mentions (12th
The most tagged brand by influencers 
 place).
is LIKEtoKNOW.it which provides 

a social-based shopping service allowing Of the twenty most mentioned brands,
users to purchase items that creators are ten are related to clothes, fashion, and
wearing or using in their Instagram post. beauty: Zara, Shein, Fashion Nova, Nike,
There were over half a million mentions H&M, Dior, Revolve, PrettyLittleThing,
of the LIKEtoKNOW.it account made 
 Gucci, and Anastasia Beverly Hills.
by 21,514 creators in 2020. This comes 
 Spotify was the most talked about music
as no surprise, due to users spending brand, surpassing Amazon, Target,
more time browsing on social media Netflix, and Ubereats, in terms of
platforms during the pandemic. mentions. 16
Instagram Integration Price and Earned
Media Value: the Average Min. and Max.
for Each Influencer Tier

$1 


you pay for Instagram 


$4.87 


of Earned Media Value

Influencers promotion you will get on Average

Average Post Average Post Average 
 Average 


Followers
Price from ($)
Price to ($)
EMV from
EMV to

1K - 5K
10
21
9
40

5K - 20K
15
35
35
123

20K - 100K
33
146
128
357

100K - 1M
165
804
1 155
3311

Over 1M
1 118

22 133

61032

EMV or Earned Media Value is the accepted advertising industry standard for
measuring PR activities and influencer marketing campaigns. HypeAuditor
EMV is based on a proprietary methodology and shows what it would have
cost to gain the same reach through paid social among the audience with
similar demographics.

To calculate the price we take into account several components, including

the influencer’s country, follower number, and ER, and use a machine
learning model trained on market values. The actual price may vary,
depending on several factors like production complexity, hours needed 

to produce, and assistant work.

Knowing the EMV of creators you work with can help you to better
understand how efficient your influencer marketing efforts have been.
On the chart, you can see the average minimum and the average
maximum EMV for each influencer tier.

17
TikTok Is the Most Prominent Social
Media Success Story of 2020 with
689 Million Monthly Active Users

TikTok was one of the most prominent social media success stories
of the year. As of October 2020, TikTok has 689 million monthly
active users; the average daily time on the platform 

is estimated at 45 minutes.
The social media network is rapidly gaining new users. 

In the first quarter of 2020, there were 315 million TikTok installs
worldwide, which is the highest amount of downloads an app has
ever received in a given quarter.

66.95%
of TikTok users are aged
TikTok is different and unique from the
existing social media platforms, giving
both brands and influencers fresh
opportunities. TikTok began as a dance
between 13 and 24 y.o. and music app for teenagers.
However, it has grown significantly, and now many adults,
businesses, and brands have a presence on the platform too.

18
TikTok Updates 2020: Stitch, Voiceover
Tool, New ‘Well-Being’ Feature
The platform is developing new features and functionalities 

to inspire creativity and help users better engage with content.
Here are some major TikTok updates that 2020 brought.

New Stitch Editing Feature New Layouts for Duet

A new editing feature called Stitch Duet, an original TikTok feature, gained
allows users to clip and integrate four new layouts: left and right layout,
scenes from another user's video. You react layout, top and bottom layout,
can cut scenes from other videos and and three-screen layout, which opens
use them as part of your own video, even more creative opportunities.
which provides more opportunities 
 Creators can find new ways to create
to create engaging stories, educational and reinvent existing video content
tutorials, recipes, and more. across TikTok.

New Voiceover Tool Refreshed Community

With the voiceover tool, creators can Guidelines and New
add their voice to any video they make ‘Well-Being’ Features
to engage with their audience in a new
way like adding their voice to a song 
 TikTok announced a new set 

or narrating their story. A voiceover of Community Guidelines with details
adds a new dimension to content and about what’s allowed on the platform.
gives brand-new possibilities for 
 The main goal is to strengthen its
the creation process.
existing policies in areas like violence,
dangerous acts, and harassment. Along
with it, TikTok added four new features
focused on the community’s wellbeing
as well. By updating its policies the
platform aims at providing a positive
and meaningful TikTok experience to its
users and empowering its community.

19
More Than Half of TikTok Users Are
Under the Age of 24

 FEMALE  MALE

20.34% 13-17 8.62%

24.07% 18-24 13.92%

10.18% 25-34 15.31%

1.57% 35-44 4.03%

0.37% 45-54 1.05%

0.22% 55+ 0.32%

56.75% Overall 43.25%

Two-thirds of TikTok users (66.9%) are under the age of 24 with 38% between 18
and 24, which makes people of this age the largest user group. 24% of users are
female of 18-24 years old and 13.9% are male of the same age.

Female
56.75% Overall, female TikTok users outnumber male users,
accounting for 56.7% and 43.2% respectively. But
interestingly enough, in the age group between 25
and 34, we see a tilt towards male users: 15.3% male
Male users versus 10.2% female users who are 25-34 y.o.

43.25%

In terms of age, we see a distinct tail off among older users: 45-54-year-old users
account for less than 2%, and users older than 55 account for a mere 0.5%.

20
Over Half of TikTok Creators 

Are Nano-Influencers with 

1,000-5,000 Subscribers

1K – 5K 53.51%
5K – 20K 28.03%
20K – 100K 14.22% The TikTok influencer landscape
100K – 1M 3.98% differs from what we see on
over 1M 0.26% Instagram. Over half of TikTok
creators are Nano-influencers
(53.5%) who have from 1,000 

to 5,000 subscribers.

The second and third largest groups are Micro-influencers (28%)

with 5,000-20,000 followers and Mid-tier influencers (14.2%) with
20,000-100,000 followers. There are less than 4% of Macro-
influencers and less than 1% of Mega-influencers & Celebrities 

on TikTok.


Working with nano- and micro-influencers is a good way 

to build a brand on TikTok, especially for small and medium
businesses. These creators have fewer followers, however,
they usually have much niche audiences. Their message
better appeals to the audience, as people tend to trust
them, while some mainstream influencers have been
accused of using their influence to make money.

21
TikTok Nano- and Micro-Influencers
Have the Highest Engagement Rate

1K – 5K 17.895% To calculate ER on TikTok, we

5K – 20K 16.103%
use a slightly different formula.
20K – 100K 13.869% The total number of likes,
100K – 1M 13.481%
comments, and shares is
divided by the total number 

over 1M 13.77%
of views, multiplied by 100%:

Likes Comments Shares

X 100%
Engagement Rate

Views

If we look at the ER of TikTok influencers, we’ll see that

Nano-influencers and Micro-influencers have the highest ER: 

17.89% and 16.1% respectively. Even though they cannot boast 

a large follower base, creators with small audiences, especially
nano-influencers, usually give the feeling of being a ‘guy next door’
whose recommendations come across as authentic and genuine.

The ER of Mid-tier, Macro-, and Mega-influencers/Celebrities

slightly differs and accounts for around 13.8%.

High ER can be explained by the fact that user behavior on TikTok

differs from how people interact with other platforms. TikTok was
built for users to easily create and interact with content. This
encourages them to post videos, like and follow frequently and
increases engagement.

22
TikTok Integration Price: the Average 

Min. and Max. for Each Influencer Tier

Average Post Average Post Average Post

Followers
Price from ($)
Price to ($)
Views

1K - 5K
4
10
735

5K - 20K
12
20
1948

20K - 100K
29
49
5252

100K - 1M
197
531
37382

Over 1M
2631

557 188

To calculate the price per TikTok integration, we apply several

criteria, using machine learning trained on market values:

influencer country,

follower number,

ER,

the overall audience quality.

The actual price may vary, depending on other factors

like production complexity, hours needed to produce 

a piece of content, and assistant work.

Even though many influencers charge brands for their talents,

creativity, and audience size, integration prices on TikTok vary 

a lot, even among creators with the same number of subscribers.

12
23
Top Growing TikTok Accounts 

in 2020: Bella Poarch Grew 

Her Audience by 5,915%

2020
TikTok Followers' Followers'
Account
Followers
Growth
Growth, % ER (%)

charlidamelio
101.6M
78.2M
336
15.78

addisonre
73.7M0
60.4M
455
16.24

bellapoarch
51.6M
50.7M
5,915
15.67

justmaiko
43.8M
39.2M
867
17.34

dixiedamelio
47.9M
38.9M
433
16.95

jasonderulo
42.1M
34.7M
469
14.98

spencerx
50.8M
31.9M
170
13.14

kimberly.loaiza
33.6M
31.4M
1,441
20.34

willsmith
46.2M
31.3M
212
14.95

jamescharles

33.2M

25.3M

323
20.37

Similarly to Instagram, the highest The fastest-growing account belongs

growing TikTok user is Charli D'Amelio, to Bella Poarch, who grew her
a dancer and social media personality, audience by as much as 5,915%. 

with over 78 million followers on TikTok As of November 2020, her lip-syncing
in 2020. video was the most-liked video on the
platform. The last position on the list 

is held by make-up artist James Charles.
Of the ten fastest-growing TikTok stars,
six post content related to dance,
To see the full list of the top
lip-sync, and music videos. Accounts 

growing TikTok accounts, you
of two celebrities who are well-known
can check our blog.
beyond TikTok are also gaining traction :
Jason Derulo and Will Smith.

4
2
The Most Talked About Brands 

on TikTok in 2020

Total Influencers
Account
Brand
Followers
mentions
number

shein_official
SHEIN
1.2M
9.22k
4.32k

netflix
Netflix
11.7M
4.79k
3.65k

barstoolsports
Barstool Sports
12.5M
2.58k
2.18k

dunkin
Dunkin'
2M
2.61k
1.64k

ttdeye
TTDeye
312.4k
2.84k
1.53k

bangenergy
Bang Energy
1.1M
6.78k
1.33k

fashionnova
FashionNova
2M
7.15k
1.23k

fortnite
Fortnite Official
3.3M
1.92k
1.16k

McDonalds
mcdonalds
628.8k
1.26k
1.08k

Netflix en netflixenespanol

4.6M
1.38k
1.07k

Español

TikTok is gaining more power as an effective The most mentioned account belongs 

platform for promoting your brand. Since to SHEIN, an online clothes store, with 

consumers have been spending more time on over 9,000 mentions. While 2020 forced
social media in times of COVID-19, creators could brick-and-mortar retail to struggle to keep
provide brands with a quick, easy-to-produce, up due to the pandemic, e-commerce
and effective way to promote their offering. gained an additional boost, as people 

were shopping online more frequently
during the quarantine.

The top three most mentioned brands also Among the most mentioned brands 

include Netflix (3.65K mentions), streaming on TikTok are food brands (Dunkin’,
entertainment service, and Barstool Sports McDonald's), energy drinks (Bang Energy),
(2.18K mentions), a digital media company online fashion stores (Fashion Nova), 

that produces content mainly focused on an online video game (Fortnite), and,
sports and pop-culture. COVID-19 brought surprisingly, colored contact lenses
up new opportunities for digital content (TTDeye).
creators, as its consumption increased
during the pandemic. Since its start, daily The Spanish account of Netflix made
online content consumption globally it to the top 10 of the list with around
doubled on average from 3 hours 17 1,380 mentions.
minutes to 6 hours 59 minutes.

25
56% of Marketers Name YouTube Videos 

the Most Important Type of Content 

for Influencer Marketing

YouTube remains a highly engaging visual medium that boasts 


a massive viewer count with 2 billion logged-in monthly users. 

On average, each visitor spends 11 min 24 sec per day 

on the platform.
Influencer marketing on YouTube can bring impressive results if done
right. Working with creators can help brands and businesses reach
out to large audiences: 22,000 YouTube influencers have more than 

1 million subscribers.

YouTube creators have more time

to genuinely connect with their
fans and have their message 

be heard.

56%
of marketers say that YouTube
videos are the most important
type of content format for
influencer marketing.

26
TikTok Updates 2020: Stitch, Voiceover
Tool, New ‘Well-Being’ Feature
The platform is developing new features and functionalities 

to inspire creativity and help users better engage with content.
Here are some major TikTok updates that 2020 brought.

New Automatic Watch Now

Customization disclosure 
 Sticker for 

Experience in of paid product Stories

YouTube Studio placements

YouTube provided Starting September 2020, YouTube replaced the
creators with the ability 
 any video marked as “Watch Later” sticker
to customize the look 
 containing paid promotions with the “Watch Now”
and feel of their channel (paid product placements, video sticker. This new
by managing its layout sponsorships, and video sticker links viewers
and branding. It’s the first endorsements) will show directly to a video
time the platform gave users a disclosure saying whereas the previous
creators such control over that the video contains sticker prompted them 

their channels and an paid promotions. to add it to a Watch Later
opportunity to stand out. playlist.

New YouTube Video Chapters

Veri cation olic
fi P y

At the beginning of the year, YouTube YouTube introduced ideo hapters

V C

made a few major changes to the to help users better navigate longer
verification process for channels. videos. reators can add chapter
C

Previously, if your channel had over markers breaking down their videos
100,000 subscribers, you could get 
 into different chapters so that viewers
a verification badge. But that’s no can easily jump forward to a specific
longer the case. YouTube will now section of the video or rewatch a
examine each channel that gained portion of the video.

100,000 subscribers and decide

whether to grant them its 

verification badge.

27
67.3% of YouTube Users Are Aged
between 18 and 34

 FEMALE  MALE

8.96% 13-17 5.97%

17.86% 18-24 16.28%

11.74% 25-34 21.44%

3.13% 35-44 7.98%

1.22% 45-54 3.40%

0.51% 55+ 1.53%

67.3% of YouTube users are aged between 18 and 34. However, the platform
doesn’t just appeal to grown-up audiences. Teenage users are the third largest
group accounting for almost 15% of all YouTube viewers.

Male
56.58%
11.11% of all users are aged between 35 and 44. Older
groups use the platform less than younger audiences.
We see declines in numbers as we climb through the
age categories: the 45-54 age bracket account for
Female 4.6%, while the 55+ user group accounts for only 2%.

43.42%

In terms of the gender split, male users outnumber female viewers: 56.6% and 43.4%
respectively. The gender imbalance is most pronounced in the 25-34 age category:
21.4% male users and 11.7% female users. However, if we look at younger viewer
groups, we’ll see that YouTube is a bit more dominant among female users: 8.9%
versus 5.97% in the 13-17 age group and 17.8% versus 16.2% in the 18-24 age bracket.

28
Distribution of YouTube Influencers
by Category in 2020

#
Category
%

1
People and Blogs
8.9
10%
2
Entertainment
5.6

3
Music
5.3

4
Video Games
4.3

5
Education
2.8

6
Movies and TV
2.2

7
How-to & Style
2.1

8
Technology & Science
1.2

9
Sports
1.1

10 News & Politics

1.0

In terms of content topics, the top three Content in the People and Blogs category includes
most popular categories are People and lifestyle videos, celebrity talks, website promotion,
Blogs, Entertainment, and Music: YouTube reviews, and things related to people and blogs.
creators who post videos related to these Entertainment is another popular category that
topics account for 9%, 5.6%, and 5.3% includes a wide range of topics, such as fun, drama,
respectively.
dance, story, and more.

Gaming is continuously increasing and Education videos are usually tutorial, knowledge
related videos tend to have high guide, learning, and academic classes, while how-to
monetization potential. 4.3% of creators content (How-to & Style category) focuses on how 

post content about video games like to perform a specific action or use a certain product.

game reviews, live playing, game hacks,

and tips.
The least popular categories are Technology &
Science (1.2%), Sports (1.1%), and News & Politics (1%).

29
The Most Trending YouTube Categories
in 2020: Movies and TV Is in the Lead

#
Category
Average Yearly subscribers growth, %

1
Movies and TV
279.5
300%
2
Entertainment
180.6

3
Pets
178.0

4
People and Blogs
49.6

5
Video Games
43.2

6
Music
42.4

7
Technology & Science
42.1

8
Education
39.1

9
News & Politics
35.8

10 Sports

29.3

A big part of success is understanding the type 
 As we can see, the most trending
of content that does well on YouTube and appeals 
 categories are not necessarily the same
to the viewers. We analyzed YouTube channels 
 as content categories that are popular
in our database and looked at the average yearly among YouTube influencers.

growth of their subscribers to identify the most

popular types of YouTube videos in 2020.

The most trending category of 2020 was Movies and TV with 280% yearly
subscribers growth which includes movie trailers, scenes, full movies, movie
making behind the scenes, TV shows, and other related content.

The second and third places belong to Entertainment (181%) and Pets
(178%). There’s a lot of video content about pets on the internet, including
both real animals and animated ones. People love seeing cute and funny
animals, it is no wonder that this category remains one of the most popular.

30
Top Growing Channels 

growing YouTube accounts 

in 2020:
2020
Vlad and Niki Grew Their
Channel by 84%

2020
YouTube Subscribers Subscribers
Account
Subscribers
Growth
Growth,% ER (%)

tseries
169.5M
42.2M
33.23
3.61

checkgate
103.4M
31.1M
43.05
0.78

setindia
94.1M
29.9M
46.58
1.48

Vlad and Niki

61.7M
28.2M
84.24
0.69

Kids Diana Show

73.3M
27.8M
61.16
0.61

BLACKPINK
56.1M
23.1M
70.14
11.38

MrBeast6000
52.3M
22.8M
77.34
5.26

Like Nastya
68M
21.4M
45.94
0.74

AddictedA1
28.6M
19M
199.88
16.35

BANGTANTV

43.9M

18.8M

74.91

20.91

With an increase in social media content consumption

during the pandemic comes an increase in followers.
We looked at the top YouTube accounts, in terms 

of their subscribers growth in 2020.

T-Series is India’s largest Music Label and Two other accounts with the largest
Movie Studio. T-Series’s channel heads the number of new subscribers belong to
ranking with the highest number of new Cocomelon (checkgate) - educational
subscribers in 2020. However, if we look channel with 3D animation for children,
at the percentage growth, we’ll see that (43% subscribers growth), and Set India, 

its audience grew by 33%, which makes 
 24 hour Hindi Entertainment channel 

it the slowest-growing account on our list. (46% followers growth).

Among the 10 channels that gained the

largest number of subscribers, 4 channels
produce children's entertainment content
(checkgate, Vlad and Niki, Kids Diana
Show, Like Nastya)

31
How Much Does YouTube
Sponsored Video Cost?

Views
from($)
to($)

1k-5k
60
793

5k-20k
168
1240

20k-100k
389
1859

100k-1m
1306
4061

1m+

7332
∞

To calculate the price we take into account

several components, including:

the average video views

audience location

audience attitude

other factors

The actual price may very, depending on several factors

like production complexity, hours needed to produce,
and assistant work.

We see that the more followers influencers have the

higher the average price. Obviously, mega-influencers
earn much more than nano- and micro-influencers.
Most social media creators charge brands for their
creative vision and the size of their audience. However,
the final price is a matter of multiple factors. The cost 

of influencer marketing varies from creator to creator.

12
32
The Most Talked About Brands
on YouTube in 2020

YouTube
Brand username
Account type
Channels
Mentions
Views

1
playstation.com
marketplace
16964
23530
165.3M

2
steampowered.com
marketplace
11012
14813
455.3M

3
etsy.com
marketplace
9688
12085
284.3M

4
roblox.com
marketplace
7005
9772
419M

5
wordpress.com
marketplace
6871
8284
169.6M

6
aliexpress.com
marketplace
6126
8048
224.3M

7
flipkart.com
marketplace
5855
6693
522.3M

8
ebay.com
marketplace
4672
5810
138.5M

9
epicgames.com
web
4725
5456
282.1M

10
microsoft.com
web
4632
5397
109M

11
carrd.co
marketplace
4951
5244
258.7M

12
shein.com
web
4542
5232
199.6M

13
itch.io
marketplace
3694
4549
204.8M

14
apkpure.com
marketplace
3486
4081
34M

15
banggood.com
marketplace
2839
3712
121.6M

16
skillshare.com
marketplace
2910
3654
348M

17
uptodown.com
web
3194
3562
29.7M

18
zoom.us
web
2987
3366
21.2M

19
udemy.com
marketplace
2412
3233
27.7M

20 zara.com

web
2722
3178
91.1M

YouTube attracts all sorts of brands that aim to Steam, a video game digital distribution
promote their business to large audiences. Let’s service, takes second place getting
take a look at the brands that made the most of 14,813 brand mentions, which is
YouTube advertising in 2020.
probably due to the release of the
long-expected video game named
The most mentioned brand of the Cyberpunk 2077.

previous year was PlayStation with

23,530 mentions and over 165 million Etsy, an e-commerce website focused
views on YouTube on 16,964 YouTube on handmade or vintage items, got
channels. In 2020, the company ran a 12,085 brand mentions. Interestingly,
large-scale promotional campaign, which even though Steam and Etsy received
was followed by the release of their new less mentions than PlayStation, both of
game console PS5 in November. these brands got more views on the
platform: over 455 million and over 284
million respectively.
33
 COVID-19’s Lasting Impact 

on Influencer Marketing

The phases of the COVID crisis

1 Shock and Adjust 2 Reconnect and Engage

3 Revenge Spending 4 New Normal

Shock curve “Normalisation” Descent

Higher communication
risk threshold
Consumer sentivity

Lower risk threshold

We are here
Brands have
Brands have continued to A “new
reacted to the crisis communicate 
 communication”

and customer to “normalise 
 is expected: towards
concern the situation” new audiences, habits
and reality

Influencer marketing has been markedly

impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and,
like many other industries, facing a period “In a time of disaster, people
of unprecedented uncertainty.
rely more on social services.
Many businesses experienced a significant We are seeing surges in traffic,
reduction in demand, thus they have especially in areas most
become more modest with their affected. People want to stay
Mark connected while being asked
advertisement budgeting.
Zuckerberg
to maintain social distancing
during 

COVID-19 made its adjustments and a conference call and eliminate loneliness.”

slowed down the growth of the industry,

but Influencer Marketing didn’t suffer as
much as other industries.

The use of social networks is also growing, and therefore the amount of advertising
money that was redirected from offline to online is also growing.

Brands and advertisers are searching for the most effective ways to share their
message to the masses online. As one of the few viable ways advertisers can
connect with audiences online influencer marketing will continue to grow.
34
Important Influencer Marketing 

Trends to Watch Right Now
Brands shift ad
1 Performance-based
2 More brands will 

3
spends towards influencer marketing be using TikTok as 

influencer marketing is the future a marketing platform
COVID-19 slowed down 
 Many brands used to rely on Brands approach TikTok
the growth of the industry, more predictable and reliable carefully, due to its young
however, influencer channels seeing influencer audience, provocative
marketing didn’t suffer 
 marketing as a tool for driving content, and difficulties in
as much as other industries. brand awareness. However, choosing the right TikTokers.
The number of active social today more marketers have 
 However, if the app won't 

media users is growing. So 
 a better idea of how their be banned in the USA, it will
is the amount of ad budgets money works and take 
 definitely continue to gain
that are being redirected the guesswork out of their traction. TikTok shows
from offline, as brands are influencer marketing strategy.
record growth. We believe 

looking for the most effective it will have 65 million
ways to share their message We expect influencer monthly US users in 2021.

with their audiences online. marketing budgets to increase

Being one of the few viable significantly as more

ways brands can connect companies will work focusing

with audiences online, on individual performance and
influencer marketing will ROI of influencers.

continue to grow.

The popularity 
 4 Brands and 5 The importance 
 6

of micro-influencers influencers will 
 and relevance 

will continue 
 be more attentive 
 of virtual influencers
to grow to content they post
is on the rise
Small brands have always During the pandemic, there Digital characters are
used micro-influencers. 
 were many cases of influencer gaining popularity each year,
Big companies have, shaming because of especially in Asia. Their
however, recently turned 
 inappropriate content and engagement rate remains
to micro-influencers too.
behavior. The audience has high. As we analyzed virtual
become more sensitive about influencers on Instagram, 

In 2020, 46.4% of brand content they consume. People we noticed that they have
mentions with #ad hashtag now take more interest in the almost three times the
were made by Instagram influencer’s personality, 
 engagement rate of real
accounts with 1,000-20,000 so creators have to carefully influencers. The virtual
followers. We expect more filter what they say. Brands,
 influencers trend continues
businesses to start in turn, will approach the to grow, as fictional
collaborating with influencer selection process characters play a big 

micro-influencers with their more carefully. role in the discussions 

share in payment placement of diversity, eco-friendliness,
growing to 50%, in terms of and acceptance 

the number of paid posts. of technology.
35
Methodology

The report uses data from We have collected and aggregated open
a wide variety of sources, data from a variety of sources: social
including market research platforms, catalogs, websites,
crowdsourcing, and many more. After that,
agencies, the internet, we processed the data by anonymizing,
social media companies, sorting and structuring, cleaning and
news media, and our removing any irregularities, and enriching
internal analysis. the data.

Then we transformed the data into

intelligent estimations by using best-in-class
estimation and machine learning algorithms
developed by our team of leading data
scientists and influencer marketing experts.

36
Loved that data?
Put it to use with HypeAuditor analytics

info@hypeauditor.com

www.hypeauditor.com

37