One question that bothers many business owners is how much do influencers really cost?

In the age of social media, influencer marketing is incredibly effective for reaching your target audience. That's why an ever-growing number of businesses are investing their marketing budgets in influencer collaborations.

In 2021, the influencer marketing market grew 42% year-over-year to reach $13.8 billion. And, it is further projected to become a $15 billion market by the end of 2022.

To be honest, there's no definite answer to this question.

Influencer marketing costs can vary wildly depending on your business goals, industry, the platforms you target, and the influencer you pick. You may have to pay anywhere between $500 to $1 million for one sponsored post.

Wondering how to determine how much you should expect to pay an influencer and how to find one that best suits your business needs?

Don't worry. I'm here to help!

In this article, I'll cover everything you need to know about:

  • What key factors affect influencer marketing pricing?
  • How influencer costs differ by channel.
  • How to find the right influencer for your campaign.

Keep reading to understand why it's important to not just look at an influencer's follower count when deciding what price point they're worth. I'll also guide you through the process of finding an influencer who suits your needs.

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

Who is an Influencer?

An influencer can be defined as anyone who has the power to impact others' purchasing decisions. It could be a celebrity, blogger, or even your mom!

Most influencers have a large following on various social media channels like Instagram and Twitter.

But what actually makes them an influencer is not their followers but the ability to persuade their followers to take some sort of action, whether that's buying a product or service, signing up for a newsletter/event, or even changing how they perceive a brand.

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However, the influencers you choose to work with should be:

  • Relevant to your brand and industry
  • Have similar audience demographics as your brand's target audience
  • Aligned with your brand values
  • Have high engagement rates

If you're wondering how to find the right influencers for your influencer marketing campaign, I recommend using Tagger.

Investing in this influencer marketing platform will give you access to valuable influencer data and help you connect with influencers who can deliver the highest engagement rate and best possible ROI.

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Why Should You Leverage Influencer Marketing?

When done correctly, influencers can be a great way for businesses to increase brand awareness and generate sales. By partnering with an influential social media star, you can promote your products and services to a larger audience.

If you're not using influencer marketing yet, you are missing out on a lot of business opportunities.

You should invest in influencer collaborations to:

  • Get more exposure for your products or services by reaping the benefits of an influencer's engaged audience.
  • Generate high-quality leads through persuasive content created by influencers, who are mostly expert content creators.
  • Create a brand evangelist base who will be more than happy to promote your products or services for free (or at a discounted rate) in exchange for some form of acknowledgment or reward from you.
  • Drive more sales and better ROI than traditional marketing channels.
  • Build brand awareness to help people find your products and services.
  • Grow your social media following and reach.
  • Tap into new target markets.
  • Drive more social traffic to your website.
  • Build trust and credibility for your brand.

Here's a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of influencer marketing. Be sure to check it out before you plan your campaign.

Now that you're ready to find and work with influencers, let me answer the tough question for you. How much do influencers really cost?

I'll help you learn and understand how to determine influencer pricing for different types of collaborations, content formats, platforms, and other key pricing defining factors.

What Factors Influence the Collaboration Cost of an Influencer?

There are a lot of different factors that go into how much influencers cost. In this section, we'll explore how you can calculate influencer costs and how to know if they're worth it.

The Scope of Work

The first thing that you need to take into account is the type of work you want the influencer to do. This may vary from product unboxing videos to sponsored posts on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Will you provide the content to post? Or, will the influencer create posts on their own? Do you want them to create full-fledged video clips or just a couple of images?

How much an influencer charges will also vary based on the quality of the posts they normally create. If you partner with someone who does average quality work, they may charge less than what a pro content creator will.

Obviously, someone who creates and delivers superior, HD-quality videos reviewing your product or telling a story about your brand will charge more.

The scope of work also includes other campaign requirements like:

  • How often do you want the influencer to post?
  • How much content do you want them to post?
  • The total duration/length of work needed.
  • The quality of service.

All of these factors can have a very definite influence on how much an influencer collaboration costs your business.

The Size of the Influencer's Following

Obviously, the larger the fan base of an influencer, the higher the prices will be.

However, you also need to take into account how engaged that following is. An influencer with 100,000 followers who only gets a handful of likes on each post isn't nearly as valuable as an influencer with 50,000 followers who regularly receives hundreds or even thousands of likes and comments.

Based on the number of followers they have, influencers fall into certain categories:

  • Celebrity or mega-influencers: 1 million+ followers
  • Macro-influencers: 500K-1M followers
  • Mid-tier influencers: 100K-500K followers
  • Micro-influencers: 10K-100K followers
  • Nano-influencers: 1K-10K followers

Partnering with a mega-influencer or celebrity influencer like Kim Kardashian may cost you $1 million for just a simple post on Instagram like this:

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But if you've got the budget, it's totally worth it as her posts get millions of likes and thousands of comments, which means great exposure for your brand.

While mega-influencers charge millions of dollars per post, nano-influencers or “newbie” influencers may often be happy to promote your business in exchange for you sending them a free gift.

Here's an example of an influencer, Harriet (<10K followers) promoting Razzl Dazzl's hair curling wand that she received as a gift from the brand.

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Even when a nano-influencer asks for monetary compensation, it's usually close to $10-$100 per post.

And the best part?

Nano-influencers have noticeably higher engagement rates than influencers with larger followings.

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However, for the majority of brands, it is best to stick to micro-influencers. They tend to have fewer followers but their audiences are like-minded and are primarily influenced based on similar interests.

Because they have smaller audiences, collaborating with them costs less. They have stronger relationships with their audiences, which means their brand recommendations resonate longer.

Let's take a closer look at the average price of an influencer post based on the size of their following.

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Follower Engagement Rate

Influencer rates also vary based on how much engagement an influencer generates on their posts, according to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub.

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And, the engagement rates of influencers with a fewer number of followers are generally higher than that of influencers with larger followings.

When determining influencer pricing, you should look closely at how much the influencer's audience engages with their content. The higher the engagement rate, the higher the chances of people heeding their recommendations.

The Number and Type of Posts to Be Created

The answer to how much an influencer really costs also depends on the number and type of posts you want the influencer to create.

For example, if you want them to post a video, it will cost nearly 50% more than the price per post for an image. Whereas, creating a Story will cost the least amount of money because a Story requires less time to make and lasts only 24 hours.

Influencers with larger followings and higher engagement rates will charge more for video content than influencers with fewer followers.

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Along with the type of posts, influencer pricing is also affected by how many posts you need. You need to multiply the cost per post by the number of posts you want an influencer to create for your brand during the campaign.

If the number of posts is high, you may ask the influencer for a discount on the cumulative package of posts, Stories, or other forms of content.

Exclusivity and Usage Rights

Influencers make money by promoting various businesses but some businesses may not want their influencer to work for any of their competitors.

In this situation, you can ask your influencer to sign an exclusivity clause as part of their influencer marketing contract. This will prevent them from promoting any of your competitors for a certain period of time.

But, as you're prohibiting them from accepting sponsorship opportunities, it is obvious that you should expect to pay more for exclusive access to their content for a certain duration.

You can also ask an influencer to give you the right to repurpose the content they create for your brand promotions. Again, you'll need to pay more for usage rights.

Direct Partnership vs. Collaboration Through an Agency

All of the associated costs should be considered along with the costs involved. If you find your influencers on your own and negotiate your own contract, you will probably spend less.

Influencer marketing agencies will likely charge an agency fee when you hire them to find the right influencers for your brand. You will spend even more if you opt for their end-to-end campaign planning and management services.

Influencer Niche

Some influencer niches are higher priced than others.

Let's take a look at the highest-priced influencer niches on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube respectively.

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The same 2022 influencer marketing report by Collabstr also shared the average price for content posted in the top 10 niches.

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Previous Campaign Performance

Another factor that can help you determine how much to pay an influencer is how their previous campaigns have performed.

  • Were they able to generate a good ROI for the partner brand?
  • Did they drive relevant traffic and leads?
  • Was their branded content loved by their audience as much as their organic content?
  • Was the campaign with good results similar to what you're planning?

A well-defined target audience and a proven track record of results would justify an influencer charging more money. But someone with no significant results would have to compromise on their pricing.

You should consider all of these factors to determine how much an influencer costs.

However, that's not all.

The cost of influencer marketing campaigns also depends on the social media platform you want to run it on. What I mean to say is that Instagram influencer pricing will likely differ from YouTube influencer pricing.

In the next section of this article, I'll walk you through the influencer marketing cost for different social media channels.

How Much Do Influencers Cost for Different Social Media Channels?

Influencers on different social media platforms charge different amounts for sponsored content.

For example, Snapchat charges brands $750 per day to have a geo filter featured on the app, while Instagram generally charges between $25 and $75 per post.

TikTok influencers can make up to $10,000 per post. Whereas, YouTube influencers often charge by the number of video views.

Another interesting fact is that although Instagram remains the most popular platform for influencer collaborations, the average price of influencer-posted content on Instagram is lower than that on TikTok.

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Let's take a look at the average influencer marketing costs for each of the top social media platforms.

Instagram Influencer Marketing Cost

Instagram allows users to upload photos and videos, follow other people's accounts, like or comment on content they enjoy, and share their own content with followers.

As a result, it is no surprise that brands are looking at how they can leverage the power of this outlet in order to promote their businesses online. Instagram has become the preferred platform for influencer marketing for 96% of marketers.

I've already given you a rough idea of how much an influencer may charge per post based on the size of their following. Next, let me show you the average costs for different types of Instagram packages.

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Top celebrity Instagram influencers charge millions of dollars.

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YouTube Influencer Marketing Cost

YouTube influencers have also gained popularity for creating product unboxing videos and testing product features. Many of them have become celebrities by creating interesting content that went viral.

So, how much does a YouTube influencer collaboration cost?

YouTube influencers typically charge $20 for every 1000 subscribers they have on their YouTube channel. This means that an influencer with 1 million followers will probably charge $20,000 per post.

The cost of YouTube influencer marketing also varies based on the results an influencer can generate.

For example, you may expect to pay $50-$100 for every 1,000 views.

Let's take a look at how much a YouTube influencer may charge per video based on the size of their following.

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Twitter Influencer Marketing Costs

The pricing for Twitter influencers varies depending on how many followers they have, but in general, it tends to be more affordable than other platforms.

For example, an influencer with 20K-50K followers will likely charge anywhere from $20-$100 per tweet while someone who has 100K-500K followers will usually charge at least $100 per tweet.

TikTok Influencer Marketing Cost

TikTok has become a major challenger for video content sharing social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram. You can find all types of influencers on TikTok who are working with brands to create video ads that have the potential to go viral.

But how much does a TikTok influencer cost?

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When you compare TikTok influencer marketing pricing with that of YouTube, you'll realize that it's far more affordable.

Snapchat Influencer Marketing Cost

Follower count isn't publicly visible on Snapchat. So, the easiest way to determine how much an influencer is worth paying is to look at the views their post gets.

Influencer posts with 1,000-5,000 views may charge up to $500 per post on Snapchat. Whereas, for posts with 50K-100K views, you may expect to pay somewhere between $10K-$30K.

Pinterest Influencer Marketing Cost

Influencers with a large following on Pinterest can also demand hefty prices, but smaller influencers may only cost around $20-$50 for sponsored Pins and promoted Pins.

How to Find an Influencer Who Fits Your Influencer Marketing Budget and Campaign Goals

Business owners who want to become part of the influencer community should be able to do research and choose influencers who support their brand identity.

However, finding an influencer who is the right fit for your brand can seem daunting. But it doesn't have to be.

To help you with influencer discovery and vetting, I've put together a few tips on how to find an influencer that meets your budget and campaign goals. Check them out below!

Set Clear Goals for Your Influencer Partnerships

If you want to find the right influencers for your brand, it's important to pay more attention to your influencer marketing strategy and campaign goals than the amount you're paying for it.

Ask yourself:

  • What goals do you want to achieve from the campaign?
  • Which audience demographics are you targeting?
  • Which influencers can help you reach and engage those people?
  • What types of content does your target audience engage with the most?
  • How can you gain followers quickly and easily?
  • Will your product sales increase?
  • How will your brand gain more market recognition?

You should consider all of these points when deciding on a suitable influencer partnership for your next influencer marketing campaign.

Setting clear boundaries and goals can help you prioritize your budget and prevent unexpected expenses.

Set a Budget for Your Campaign

While your budget might heavily depend on the details of the campaign, it is a good idea to have the baseline prices or starting points to work from.

Make sure you set a rate that meets industry standards and then look for influencers who fit within that pricing range.

There are many influencer marketing platforms that let you see the average price per post charged by different influencers for sponsored content.

Prioritize Authenticity Over Audience Size

Remember that not all influencers are right for every brand, even if they have a large following.

You should make sure to take the time to find the perfect fit for your business. It's best to find an influencer who is actually interested in what your company offers. It can be difficult but it will pay off!

You should prioritize authenticity over the size of an influencer's audience. After all, an influencer with a smaller, but more engaged following can be more valuable than an influencer with a large, but less engaged following.

Evaluate Influencer ROI When Pricing an Influencer

When determining influencer pricing, you should also consider the ROI an influencer can generate for your brand. There may be influencers who charge less but they may also be the ones who deliver less valuable results.

So, considering the ROI an influencer can generate from your marketing investment is very important. The right influencer should be able to return at least 50% to 60% of the cost. The higher, the better!

Wondering how to evaluate the ROI an influencer might generate for you?

You should check how your target influencer handles similar projects with another company and find out what results they drove. Case studies and influencer media kits can be great sources for this information.

Another way to find influencers who are worth partnering with is to use Tagger, an influencer marketing platform that is known to help businesses maximize their campaign ROI through every stage of influencer marketing.

The Cost for Different Types of Influencer Partnerships

There's no one-size-fits-all influencer marketing pricing.

You need to take into account factors like the number of followers, engagement rates, campaign length, partnership requirements, niche standards, and other specifics to determine how much to pay an influencer.

One major factor that can impact influencer marketing pricing is the type of collaboration you do with a particular social media influencer. In this section, I'll discuss some common types of influencer partnerships and how much they cost.

Let's get started.

Brand Affiliates

As a brand affiliate, the influencer promotes a product or service using a unique URL or promo code offering consumers a discount. Once a person makes a purchase using that link or promo code, the affiliate/influencer gets a pre-decided amount or percentage from that sale.

Mostly, brands offer a commission of 10%-15% when they give affiliate links or codes to their influencers.

When you offer an affiliate commission, you may reduce the basic pay per post of your influencers. This strategy will not only help you reduce influencer marketing pricing, but will also encourage your affiliate influencers to generate more sales for your business.

Daniel Wellington partners with many nano-influencers and micro-influencers using this affiliate pricing model. It has helped the brand reach the masses and boost sales significantly.

Here's a screenshot of one such post promoting 15% off with an affiliate discount code:

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Affiliate influencer marketing programs can be a real win-win solution for both businesses and affiliates (and customers receiving the discount).

Micro-Influencer Partnerships (10K-100K Followers)

Micro-influencers have smaller but very engaged followings. They usually succeed at retaining far more followers than top influencers and they can also help you reach a more targeted consumer segment.

Micro-influencers not only charge less but also deliver better engagement rates and influencer marketing ROI than mega-influencers or celebrities.

Sponsored Content

This is the most common form of influencer collaboration where you ask an influencer to create and publish a brand-related post on their social media profile.

In some cases, brands create the content and simply ask the influencer to publish it. This type of sponsored collaboration will cost less than the one in which the influencer creates branded content for you.

But influencer-created content is more authentic as they know what their audience will like and engage with.

The cost per sponsored post may vary based on:

  • The size of the influencer's following
  • The experience an influencer has
  • The quality of content they create
  • Their engagement rate
  • Influencer marketing ROI of their previous campaigns

Here's an example of a sponsored post where a baby products brand, Baby Brezza, partnered with an influencer account to promote their feeder.

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Product Gifting

You don't necessarily need a huge budget to run an influencer marketing campaign. Many small businesses use influencer collaboration tactics like sending free gifts or product samples to new, less established influencers.

These influencers don't charge hefty amounts to promote your post. In many cases, they will promote your product without asking for any monetary compensation.

For example:

Check out the post below where a nano-influencer showed gratitude to VIVAIA, a sustainable shoe brand, for sending a pair of flats.

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Brand Ambassadors

Brand ambassadors are people with a passion for your product or service. They may agree to create promotional content at discounted rates for your company in order to help you reach a new audience.

You can also offer products or services to your ambassadors as thank-you gifts for their continued support. This will show your appreciation and encourage them to continue promoting your brand.

Last but not least, make sure that you keep track of your ambassador program's progress and results. You can use this information to reward your top ambassadors who are very effective at converting people into paying customers for your business.

However, you should choose your brand ambassadors wisely because they will become the face of your brand over time. If they get into a scandal, it may be very harmful to your brand's image as well.

Here's a post by Cherry Blossom Tree Ltd. to find brand representatives:

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FAQs

1. How much should I pay for influencers?
You should determine influencer pricing by looking at factors like:

  • The scope of work
  • The size of the influencer's following
  • Follower engagement rate
  • The number and type of posts to be created
  • Exclusivity and usage rights
  • Direct partnership vs. collaboration through an agency
  • Influencer niche

2. How much do Instagram influencers cost?
Instagram influencers with 500-5K followers usually charge $50-$150 per post (image, video, and Story posts). This pricing may rise up to millions of dollars if you partner with a mega-influencer like Kim Kardashian on Instagram.

3. Are influencers worth paying?
Yes, the right influencer collaborations are worth paying for because they can help your brand get more visibility and almost triple the number of people who follow your brand.

Not only this, but influencers can also help you generate new leads and sales if partnered effectively.

If you don't know whether an influencer would be worth paying or not, ask yourself:

  • What is the goal of this collaboration? Can they help you achieve it?
  • Do I have a target audience that this influencer can reach effectively?
  • What type of content will we create together? Is it the content you need?
  • Is the influencer's following engaged and interested in what they share?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then a collaboration with this influencer could be worth paying for!

4. How much do influencers charge to promote?
Influencers charge different amounts of money to promote your product or service on different platforms. Influencer pricing varies wildly based on the number of followers, the types of posts to be created, your niche, and many other factors discussed above.

5. What is the most expensive social media channel for influencer marketing?
YouTube is the most expensive social media channel for influencer marketing. Mainly because the platform is dedicated to high-quality videos, which take a lot of time and effort to create.

Final Thoughts

Considering how many influencers exist, how much they charge, and how easy it is to find them online, there should be no question as to how much influencer marketing costs.

But the truth is that we don't know how much influencer marketing costs because there are too many variables.

Influencer marketing costs differ based on your business, content goals, social media platform, reach, engagement, and much more. Please read this post thoroughly to ensure you choose the right influencers and pay the right price to partner with them.

You can also reach out to my team of experts to help you find influencers and run end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns for your business.

I have helped businesses like ZBody Fitness Inc. get a 3.5x ROI from influencer marketing and I can help you achieve similar results. If interested, connect with me today!

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