Influencers are playing an increasingly important role in the global advertising market, according to the Statista Advertising & Media Outlook. The number of people influencers reach is constantly expanding in all countries, but some places still exhibit faster growth.
The U.S. and China have more established influencer marketing markets, both with their distinct ecosystems of social networks and app. The Indian market, on the other hand, is not yet very established compared to the country's large number of inhabitants. Its development is therefore expected to be marked by rapid growth until at least 2026, when the reach of Indian influencers is expected to almost approach that of the already massive Chinese market.
In the U.S., on the other hand, growth is only progressing slowly at this stage, from 269 million people reached by influencers in 2018 to a projected 323 million - almost the entire U.S. population - by 2026.
Influencer marketing is a strategy in which high-reach online opinion leaders are used for marketing and communication purposes. The aim of advertisers is to benefit from the large online communities influencers have already established and to take advantage of the followers’ previously established trust in the influencer.
