Commentary

Snap Is Losing Influencers, While Instagram Gains Them

For Snap, a slew of new features doesn’t appear to be stemming the tide of influencers leaving the platform.   

Over the past year, 86% of marketers and 89% of influencers reported using Snapchat less for influencer-marketing campaigns, according Activate.

Along with subpar tracking tools, Snap is suffering from what Activate calls “a lacking influencer ecosystem.” Translation: Not enough influencers.

By contrast, 92% of marketers and 88% of influencers report using Instagram more often for such campaigns, according to the influencer-marketing firm formerly known as Bloglovin’.

Specifically, 43% of marketers are using Instagram’s Swipe Up features for campaigns, while about one-fifth (21%) are using Story Highlights.

YouTube and Twitter also appear to be losing their appeal with influencers, according to Activate, which based its insights on polling of 800 influencers and 100 marketers.

Facebook is apparently faring better than one might in expect, given its maturity and recent spate of bad news.

Maybe that’s because influencer marketing is doing well in general. In fact, 62% of marketers say they are growing their influencer-marketing budgets, this year. Some 61% of influencers say they saw an increase in sponsored partnership opportunities from 2016 through 2017.

Still, video-heavy platforms like YouTube appear to be suffering because quality content requires greater production skill and expensive equipment.

Also of note, influencers and marketers are increasingly opting for steady campaign partners, Activate reports. Indeed, about half of marketers are now working with influencers for an average of six months or longer, while, about 40% of influencers are reporting long-term brand partnerships.

Influencers and brands don’t always see eye-to-eye, however. For example, influencers don’t seem to understand how highly marketers value brand awareness and sales conversions.

Only 29% of influencers report being asked about brand direction, which appears to be a missed opportunity.

Next story loading loading..