Influencer Marketing

“We’re talking about at least $21 billion going into the pockets of US-based creators in 2026. [We’re] looking at a pile of money that nearly doubled between the years of 2022 and 2025. And what we see, and we indicated in the headline, is that effectively half of the money in 2026 is going to go to nano and micro influencers.”

“celebrities have given way to influencers and creators and soon might be replaced by AI agents”

“In 2026, I expect affiliate creators to become an even bigger share of the marketing mix. We're seeing a clear shift toward creators who influence culture and … In short: Creator marketing is non-negotiable in 2026, with Instagram as the dominant stage and micro-influencers as the MVPs.”

“Influencer marketing becomes more performance-driven – As the market matures, brands will prioritize measurable outcomes over vanity metrics, with creator marketplaces proliferating across platforms, media companies, and even retailers... Growth is going to be slower, and we think brands are going to be more intentional about how they’re spending their dollars... There’s going to be a lot more conversations about measurement.”

“I think we’re going to continue to see more investment coming into influencer marketing... I still think there’s a lot to be worked out. But overall, I think the sentiment toward influencer marketing will remain strong and the dollars will continue to follow.”

“For marketers, it should have been a call to arms to rethink how their brands show up on social, where total spend on paid, brand-authored content still dwarfs spend on influencers.”