• by Colin Kirkland , April 2, 2025

Brands remain determined to increase spending on influencer marketing, according to a recent survey from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) among 73 respondents from 59 companies that are cumulatively spending over $120 billion on global marketing communications. 

The influencer marketing industry has grown over $22 billion since 2016 -- rising from $1.7 billion to $24 billion in 2024, based on reports by Sprout Social.

New WFA research shows that the industry will continue to rise, with 54% of multinational brand marketers saying they plan to boost ad spend in 2025, and 61% agreeing that influencer marketing will become more important in the future. 

Marketers have also begun working more closely with influencer-specific agencies, with the WFA citing a 20% increase compared to research it conducted in 2019.

Seventy-nine percent of brands are using influencer agencies as part of a suite of partners, with 54% looking to their social-media agency and PR agencies to take a role in almost 51% of cases. 

As the influencer marketing industry continues to rise in value and popularity, social-media platforms have been making it easier for brands to partner with influencers. 

Snap, for example, partnered with Later -- a company that manages social media and influencer campaigns -- allowing marketers to discover influencer profiles within Later’s influencer marketing platform.

And in February, Instagram expanded its Partnership Ads feature with “Testimonials,” which invite influencers to monetize via brief written endorsements that are shared as comments on a brand’s social-media posts and advertisements. 

In November, YouTube rolled out its own suite of new ad features to help brands better connect with influencers across buying formats and measurement on Shorts, as well as launching a new hub within Google Ads where brands can manage influencer partnerships, and a feature that allows influencers to send advertisers requests for potential partnerships. 

The WFA says major brands are also dedicating greater focus to risk management and reputational issues that can arise when working with influencers. 

Slightly more brands -- at 66% compared to 60% in 2019 -- have a policy in place on working with influencers, while 70% of brands -- up from 63% in 2019 -- are signing contracts with influencers. 

“While many brands are striving to set best practices, there is still work to do to raise the bar in terms of where the industry needs to be,” says WFA CEO Stephan Loerke.