Companies are increasing their influencer marketing budgets. Here’s what they’re looking for.

Influencer marketing has blown up, with brands projected to spend $10.52 billion on creator partnerships in 2025. According to eMarketer and Spotter, 77% of companies have increased their influencer marketing spend this year.

With so much money being devoted to influencer marketing, its important for creators to know what brands expect out of those partnerships. That’s where eMarketer and Spotter’s latest report comes in. The two firms teamed up to produce new research that shows where advertisers’ priorities lie when they wade into the influencer marketing waters.

eMarketer and Spotter presented their findings days after the latter company put on a star-studded upfront presentation featuring pitches from several prominent creators. The event showed that YouTube’s biggest stars are ready to take their operations to the next level, and the new report provides some guidelines to help ensure copacetic relations between influencers and their marketing partners.

Most notably, advertisers are looking for the right fit. Among the 139 marketers who were surveyed for the report, 43.9% said that “finding the right creators” is the biggest challenge they face amidst their influencer campaigns. “Creator discovery has largely been solved, but identifying the right partners remains a top challenge,” said eMarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg in a statement. “In an era of algorithmic social feeds and where ROI matters more than ever, relying on gut feeling or vanity metrics like follower counts just doesn’t cut it.”

Instead of adhering to those “vanity metrics,” advertisers are keeping up with recent findings by prioritizing creators who are adept at fan engagement. When analyzing the performance of influencer partnerships, the number of conversions that can be directly attributed to the campaigns are the most prized number. 27.1% of eMarketer and Spotter’s respondents described those conversions as the “most valuable” influencer marketing metric, with no other stat earning even half as high of a percentage.

Seeking out long-term partnerships with creators (37.4% of respondents) and working with microinfluencers (33.1%) are two “emerging creator marketing tactics” advertisers are using to strengthen relationships with the voices who can best convert for their brands. And nearly a third (31.7%) of eMarketer and Spotter’s cohort cited more effective ROI management tools among the “priorities for your creator marketing program this year.”

The bottom line is clear: Influencer marketing is changing. Partnerships that were once plug-and-play are now being fine-tuned to ensure that creator partners can send authentic and trustworthy messages to their respective fanbases. Engagement is everything — and advertisers are keen to work with creators who can provide it.