12 influencer marketing stats in Africa you should know before creating your marketing strategy

One might say that influencer marketing is not new. The idea of connecting a brand to an individual dates as far back as the late 1890s. Brands hadn’t started using celebrities to promote products so they created their own influencers - personas consumers could relate to. The earliest example is “Aunt Jemima” for Aunt Jemima syrup. In the 90s, Coca-Cola called on Bill Cosby to be the face of the New Coke.

Like many things happening online, influencer market is a reflection of what has always happened offline - albeit a faster, nimbler, more democratic version.

Over the past few years, influencer marketing has proven to be an effective method of advertising. Many more African brands are courting the kind words / body image of individuals and groups to impact the purchase decisions of a consumer(s). Looking at the success so far, influencer marketing should form a significant part of your next marketing budget.

If you are still contending this, here are 12 stats to give you perspective.

1. 60% of teens are more likely to believe and buy from YouTube stars than movie stars.

To put this in perspective, 60% of young people would sooner buy a product peddled by Emmanuella than one from Richard Mofe Damijo.

2. 8 out of 10 of the most influential personalities among teens are YouTube stars.

YouTube vloggers and personalities will influence teens to perform an action more than anyone else on the internet.

3. Influencer marketing is the fastest growing channel for customer acquisition with businesses.

Businesses makes on average $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. There’s a marginal profit of $5.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing.

4. More than a quarter of users buy a product that they have seen promoted by a celebrity.

More than a quarter users will buy a pair of Adidas sneakers because Olamide wore it.

5. Instagram influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers have a like rate of about 8 percent, while those with 1,000 to 10,000 followers have a like rate of 4%.

On social media, more followers often doesn’t mean greater engagement. Followers engage more with users they can relate with and feel connected to on a level.

6. Sharing content through influencers increases conversion by at least a 3x – 10x higher rate.

To put in context, if Toke Makinwa shared content about your beauty brand, it’ll lead to more conversions than if the brand posted itself.

7. Through online influencers brands can already reach over 60 million people throughout Africa.

If targeted broadly with influencers, a post has a wide reach of 60 million urban digitally-fluent people in Africa.

8. 51% of marketers believe they get better customers from influencer marketing as the relationship began with trust in the influencer.

Customers are spurred by a brand message shared by an influencer more than one shared by the brand itself.

9. 59% of marketers believe in influencer marketing so firmly that they plan to increase their ad budgets for it.

In context, influencer marketing brings immediate results and is profitable that more marketers are willing to explore it more in the foreseeable future.

10. 44% of social media savvy women say their buying decision is influenced by a trusted blogger.

One out of every two women would decide to buy a purse because Cassie Davies advised them to do so.

11. Social media recommendations have directly or indirectly encouraged 26% of purchases across 30 product areas.

In context, over a quarter of purchases across 30 product areas is based off social media recommendations.

12. 74% of consumers rely on social media to inform their purchasing decisions.

When people are looking for product inspiration, 74% of them look to social media influencers to decide what to buy.

How are you engaging influencers to push your brand message? Drop us a line in the comments.

Get your message out through influencers relevant to your business in Nigeria. Sign up and search on Influencers.ng to learn more.