In the vibrant world of digital marketing, influencers have quickly carved out their own niche, transforming the way brands connect with consumers. The transactions that power this industry, known as influencer payments, have evolved significantly over the years. In this post, we'll journey through this evolution and peek into the future of influencer payments.
Historical Perspective
Influencer marketing is not a new concept. From the early days of product endorsements by celebrities, the idea has always been to leverage the reputation of well-known individuals to promote a product or service. However, the advent of social media gave rise to a new breed of influencers, resulting in an industry worth billions today. Alongside this growth, the ways influencers are compensated have also evolved, from free products to various monetary models.
Current State of Influencer Payments
A report by Influencer Marketing Hub shows that the most common method of payment is by giving a percentage of the sales (53%), followed by payments based on product level (21%), flat rate (19.6%), and tiered incentives (6.9%). When comparing with 2022, it is interesting to see that the flat rate payment system dropped by almost 20% and payments based on product level tripled its popularity.
It was only in 2023 that monetary compensation (42%) became the preferred way to pay influencers, surpassing gifting compensation (30%).
Different brands and agencies have their ways of compensating the influencer for their work, and even though there has been a big improvement in compensating with money, the short difference of 12% shows that there is still a long way to go until influencers are always paid for their collaborations.
Technological Innovations Impacting Influencer Payments
Technological advancements are shaping the future of influencer payments. AI and data analytics are increasingly determining influencer payment rates by assessing an influencer's reach, engagement, and audience demographics. Simultaneously, due to the raising demand for high-volume influencer payments, there are fintech solutions like Gigapay developing solutions that help to solve problems that other traditional invoicing/accounts payables solutions struggle with.
These unmet needs start to have an impact on the big players this year, showing a decreased preference by the influencer marketing managers in using systems such as Paypal (-5%) or Wise (-7%) to pay their influencers.
The Future of Influencer Payments
Looking ahead, several trends are emerging. Performance-based payments are gaining traction, tying compensation more closely to results. Equity partnerships are also on the rise, with influencers receiving a stake in the brands they promote.
When it comes to gifting as a compensation method, it is expected a big shift in how governments perceive it. Giving gifts as a form of compensation has been in a grey area when it comes to taxation, but countries like Sweden are already working on changing that. It is expected that other countries in the EU follow the example.
The influencer marketing industry is poised for a transformative phase, with emerging technologies and innovative payment models reshaping the landscape. As influencers continue to shape consumer behavior, the mechanisms that compensate them will undoubtedly evolve in tandem. With Gigapay you can navigate the influencer payouts in a smooth way by taking advantage of the latest technology to pay your influencers faster and with less administrative work. Book a meeting with one of our growth specialists today and discover how you can take influencer marketing to the next level.
