Instagram leads creator marketing boom, TikTok gains ground, and Snapchat surges

The news: Creator marketing hit record levels in 2024, with brands on the CreatorIQ platform generating 486.6 billion impressions through creator partnerships, up 184% from the previous year.

Key stats:

• Brands worked with 197,800 unique creators to generate 3.1 million posts.
• Creator payouts reached $79 million, increasing 47% YoY.
• The average creator payout reached $4,206 per transaction across all tiers, from nano-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers) to mega-influencers (1 million+ followers), typically disbursed on 30- to 60-day cycles.
• Engagement rose 159% to 23.4 billion interactions.

Why it matters: The CreatorIQ analysis draws from its database of over 1,200 global brands and agencies. The company's scale and market position provide a representative view of creator marketing trends, with data normalized to account for platform growth and adoption rates. The findings reflect broader industry patterns rather than company-specific performance metrics.

Platforms and formats: Dynamics continue to shift across major social players.

• Instagram remains the leader with 1.7 million creator campaign posts.
• TikTok saw 72% growth in unique posts and a 63% increase in creator participation.
• Following its Creator Discovery API launch, Snapchat saw post volume surge 221% YoY, as automated creator discovery and campaign management capabilities replaced manual processes.
• Short-form video continues to dominate, with Instagram Reels leading at 520,000 posts.

Notable shifts:

• Multiplatform campaigns continue to become standards, with 60% using more than one platform, up from 57% last year.
• Long-term partnerships are increasing, as 40% of creators participated in multiple campaigns.
• Brands are prioritizing creator attributes (17.7%) and audience demographics (10.70%) over follower counts.
• Brand safety has become a critical consideration in creator partnerships, with one in five brands citing it as a key factor in creator selection.

Our take: Creator marketing's explosive growth shows no signs of slowing, but the strategy is maturing.

• Brands are moving away from follower-focused metrics toward more sophisticated measures of creator value, while increasingly adopting multiplatform approaches and building longer-term partnerships.
• The emphasis on brand safety and strategic creator attributes suggests the industry is evolving from experimental campaigns to more strategic, integrated marketing efforts.

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