Brands are paying influencers nearly 100% more than pre-pandemic rates

Back when the COVID pandemic first kicked in, the influencer marketing industry expected to see at least a 15% to 25% drop in creators’ earnings from sponsored content. By October 2020, things had changed dramatically: nearly three-quarters of brands were actually upping their influencer marketing budget—and, after a brief dip, creators were beginning to command more money, not less.

Now, influencer agency The Motherhood told Marketing Brew that creators saw a 44% raise in rates from 2020 to 2021. And in the first six months of 2022, rates have already risen a further 45% on average, it said.

The Motherhood, which says it works with “thousands” of influencers, got this data internally, from creators making content across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

It’s not the only entity arriving at the conclusion that creators are making more. Marketing Brew says nine other industry figures told it rates have risen since 2020. Those people credited the increase to two things: a seriously growing demand for influencer marketing, and more transparency about how much creators are being paid.

James Nord, founder of influencer marketing service Fohr, told Marketing Brew that since the start of the pandemic, there’s been “an explosion of transparency” when it comes to what creators can and should be demanding for sponsorships.

“Increased education and focus for influencers on what fair market value is, coupled with that demand, has driven those prices up,” he said.

But Annelise Campbell, CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Campbell Francis Group, warned that while creators are making more generally, that doesn’t mean everything is rosy.

“Because there isn’t much standardization in setting rates right now in this industry, there’s always going to be someone somewhere who will say, ‘Oh my god, yeah, I love this brand. I’ll do it for $100,’” she said. “And unfortunately, brands will take advantage of that.”