Influencer marketing is poised to become a major component of advertising media budgets as 70% of marketers said they plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2018, according to a end of the year 2017 survey conducted by influence marketer WHOSAY and featured in eMarketer.

The survey revealed that 89% of marketers believe that influencer marketing can positively impact how people feel about your brand.

"Influence marketing performs better than comparable forms of media and advertising with more than 2x industry average engagements rates and 3x better video view-through rates on Facebook," said Steve Ellis, founder and CEO at WHOSAY.

"With influencers being the most trusted voices on the internet, it’s no wonder brands are doubling down in 2018."

In addition, 82% of marketers agree that influencers are a form of media and their media performance is measurable.

"The industry has made some serious strides over the last year, and we now effectively leverage creative influencer content campaigns in tandem with paid targeting," said Ellis.

The study also revealed that 71% percent of people surveyed agree that finding the right influencer talent for a brand campaign is challenging.

The good news is WHOSAY Match is available for free to help marketers find the right talent influencer based on their followers’ affinity for a particular brand among other metrics/data.

"WHOSAY Match makes it easier for a marketer to match their campaign to influencer talent at every level that has the highest affinity with their brand," said Paul Kontonis, Chief Marketing Officer at WHOSAY. "When you know that an influencer has a high affinity with your brand plus professional and brand safe, you are taking big steps in improving overall campaign performance." 

Study Sentiment per Study Statement

• Influencer marketing budgets will increase in 2018. Agree (Mean Score 0.85)

• Influencer marketing can positively impact how people feel about your brand. StronglyAgree (Mean Score 1.16)

• Finding the right influencer talent for your brand campaign is challenging Agree (Mean Score 0.74)

• Influencer fraud is holding back the growth of influencer marketing. Neutral (Mean Score 0.38)

• Influencers are a form of media and their media performance is measurable. Agree (Mean Score 0.74

• The future of effective advertising is better creative. Agree (Mean Score 0.74)

Score scale: Strongly Disagree (-2), Disagree (-1), Neutral (0), Agree (1), Strongly Agree -1)