Chinese, US, and UK Brands Generate Two-Thirds of Total Influencer Ad Spending, Worth $30.8B in 2023

Published May 30, 2023

The influencer advertising industry has skyrocketed by a massive 330% over the past five years, becoming one of the leading online marketing channels. With budgets growing fast and marketers seeing strong returns, the entire market is expected to increase by another 17% year-over-year and hit a $30.8bn value in 2023. Most of that value will come from only countries.

According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, Chinese, US, and UK brands will generate around $22.7bn or 73% of total influencer ad spending this year.

Chinese Brands to Spend a Whopping $16.7B on Influencer Ads this Year, 2.8X More than US and UK Companies Combined

The influencer marketing industry boomed over the past five years, enabling brands to boost their reach, improve search ranking and build customer trust and loyalty. The Statista survey showed that between 2017 and 2022 the annual spending on this type of ad increased four times, jumping from over $6bn in 2017 to $26.3bn last year. According to Statista, companies and brands are expected to spend $4bn more on influencer ads this year, and by 2027, the entire market is set to reach a $47.8bn value.

In global comparison, China is the world’s largest and fastest-growing influencer advertising market. Statistics show Chinese brands are expected to spend a whopping $16.7bn on influencer ads this year, 18% more than last year and 2.8 times more than US and UK brands combined.

As the second-largest market globally, the United States will see close to $5bn in influencer ad spending or 16% more than in 2022. The United Kingdom follows with just over $1bn worth of influencer ads and a 15.3% year-over-year growth.

Almost 40% of Brands Work with Up to Ten Influencers

The world’s largest celebrities have massive power over public opinion, which is why brands are willing to spend millions of dollars for them to sell their influence. Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated this phenomenon by moving two bottles of Coca-Cola out of shot during a pre-game press conference before encouraging people to drink water and wiping off $4bn of the soft drink giant’s market value.

According to social media marketing platform Hopper HQ, the megastar footballer was the highest-paid influencer last year, raking in an average of $2.4 million per sponsored post. Many other celebrities were also able to earn millions from a single post.

The heavyweight influencer Kylie Jenner earned $1.84 million for such posts, while Lionel Messi made up the top three with an average fee of $1.78 million last year.

The State of Influencer Marketing 2023 report by Influencer Marketing Hub also showed that most brands, or around 40%, work with up to ten influencers. Another 21% of respondents stated their organizations worked with between 10 and 50 influencers, while 12% said they worked with over a thousand influencers.

Jastra Kranjec

Jastra is an editor, writer, and PR specialist with years of experience in news, research, and report writing. Over the years, she has covered different topics and markets, including social media, digital content, the creator economy and the entertainment industry.