social media influencer case study

11 Influencer Marketing Case Studies with Unbelievable Results

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Influencer Marketing Best Practices

Influencer marketing has grown exponentially over the past several years. What started as a novelty tactic for a select few digitally native brands has now become a multi-billion dollar industry and a mainstay for ecommerce startups and retail stalwarts alike.

In this blog, we’ll introduce you to some of those brands in several influencer marketing case studies and look inside the strategies that have helped them become household names in their respective fields. But first, let’s get familiar with some recent trends. 

Influencer marketing stats and trends you should know 

Influencer marketing is now nearly a $5 billion industry in the u.s..

Many brands increased their influencer marketing efforts this year as a cost-efficient way of driving sales and improving brand awareness amid a looming recession. In the U.S., influencer marketing spending reached $4.99 billion in 2022 . By 2024, that number is expected to grow to $7.14 billion. 

As of July 2022 , the most popular influencer marketing platforms by spending were as follows:

• Instagram : $2.23 billion
• YouTube : $950 million
• TikTok : $770 million
• Facebook : $740 million

Influencer rates are on the rise. 

According to a recent survey , nearly 300 veteran influencer marketers said that rising influencer rates was one of the most common trends in 2022. As a result, many have begun prioritizing nano and micro influencers over their macro and celebrity counterparts. 

Smaller creators’ generally lower rates and a higher likelihood of accepting free products in exchange for products make them ideal partners for beginner and enterprise brands alike. However, bootstrapped brands interested in partnering with all creator sizes have found success in an affiliate model—a commission structure that only requires brands to pay influencers who get results. 

See Also: Advanced Strategies for Supercharging an Affiliate Program

11 influencer marketing examples to inspire your next campaign

1. ichigo inc. .

ICHIGO Inc. is a startup from Tokyo, Japan. It provides consumers with a subscription box service meant to celebrate Japanese culture through candy, snacks, and kawaii merchandise. 

In early 2022, ICHIGO Inc. built out an affiliate marketing program to generate buzz for its TokyoTreat and Sakuraco boxes. By zeroing in on high-performing creators who genuinely love the Japanese culture represented in ICHIGO Inc.’s products, the company planned to nurture a strong community of influential fans who share their brand affinity with engaged audiences.  

Execution 

ICHIGO Inc. works with creators of all sizes and pays them a flat rate or commission based on the number of conversions pulled in for the brand’s Tokyo Treat and Sakuraco boxes. The program deploys creators on multiple social media platforms but focuses primarily on YouTube creators who can reach an audience in the 18- to 50-year-old age range. As an extra incentive for their audience, ICHIGO Inc. gives each creator an affiliate link to offer their followers $5 off a subscription box. 

With the help of GRIN’s intuitive affiliate marketing features, ICHIGO Inc. could execute multiple campaigns from start to finish and report on the success of each. As the brand continues to grow, ICHIGO Inc. relies on GRIN to nurture authentic relationships with niche creators and keep the brand love flowing. 

Within one year, ICHIGO Inc. was able to:  

• Increase its creator roster by 30x. 
• Recruit and retain creators with a deep appreciation for Japanese culture and the ICHIGO Inc. brand. 
• Execute multiple creator campaigns each month.

Check out the full case study .

2. Branch Basics

Branch Basics provides direct-to-consumer, non-toxic cleaning products. Each one comes with a concentrate that users mix with water in refillable bottles that are lighter on the wallet and the environment.

Branch Basics hoped to scale its influencer program to have an army of brand champions providing authentic product endorsements for its non-toxic cleaning products. In addition to having its creators post about the brand on their personal social media accounts, Branch Basics wanted to repurpose the highest-performing creator content across its entire marketing mix to get the most out of its partnerships.

@julesacree Use ‘JULES’ for 15% off @Branch Basics starter kits #ad #cleaningtiktok #cleaninghacks #minimalist ♬ autumn – Study Beats

Branch Basics executed its influencer marketing program in two tiers—affiliate and paid. Its affiliates work on a commission basis and receive links to share with their followers. When an affiliate performs particularly well, the company offers them a paid partnership. 

But before Branch Basics partners with a creator, it always sends the prospect a free product to ensure they genuinely like them and can learn how to use them properly. This leads to more authentic content that helps move the needle for their followers.  

Branch Basics counts on GRIN to help scale its influencer program while saving the team time it can use to build long-term relationships with creators. Branch Basics now maintains a large creator roster that genuinely loves the brand while still managing to reach out to roughly 300 new creators monthly.

With GRIN’s all-in-one Creator Management platform, Branch Basics effectively manages: 

• 100-150 affiliates per month. 
• 25 paid partners per month.

Inkbox is a Toronto-based semi-permanent tattoo and accessories company founded in 2015. With its Freehand Tattoo Marker, custom design platform, and more than 10,000 artist-created designs, millions of people in over 190 countries have used the company’s products to express themselves with their plant-based, cruelty-free technology called For Now Ink™ that lasts 1-2 weeks.

In October 2022, Inkbox ran a gifting campaign to drive awareness and build positive sentiment for the launch of the brand’s extended Freehand Tattoo Marker collection. The team sent products to 200 creators, emphasizing those who had used Inkbox before and enjoyed the experience, hoping they would fall in love with the new suite of Freehand Tattoo Markers and post about it organically and in a way that feels most authentic to them.  

@joels.tattoodesigns tatted up thanks to @inkbox, so sick 😎 #inkbox , #tattooideas , #tattoomarker , #ad ♬ Hell N Back – Bakar

Because Inkbox sent products to so many different creators, the brand needed a way to track which ones posted about them organically. The brand also needed a way to perform outreach at scale, easily generate affiliate links, organize content, and secure necessary content rights.

With GRIN’s help, Inkbox has built a community of high-performing creators who love the brand—many of whom have transitioned into long-term partnerships as brand ambassadors. And with a growing content library generated from its recent gifting campaign, the rest of the Inkbox team has plenty of amazing content it can repurpose across the entire marketing mix. 

From October 18, 2022, to December 9, 2022, Inkbox accumulated:

• 70+ creators in the Freehand Tattoo Marker activation. 
• 800k+ reach from creator content. 
• 40% unprompted creator posting rate. 
• 2x content received from typical evergreen campaigns.

Check out the full case study . 

4. Cuts Clothing

Cuts is a premium clothing brand specializing in T-shirts, sweatshirts, bottoms, and hats. The company’s goal is to provide clothing that is professional enough for work and stylish enough for a night out without sacrificing comfort.

Cuts recently executed a product seeding campaign with nano and micro influencers with the goals of growing the creators’ social presence and increasing Cuts’ brand awareness on TikTok. Success for the campaign meant establishing a sustainable “content farm” of high-performing creators to collectively produce 20-30 pieces of content with a 10%+ engagement rate and <$120 cost per acquisition (CPA).

@cylussandoval #ad New Fall collection out now, link in bio to check out the rest of the collection. Use code CYSANDOVAL to save. #cutsclothing ♬ original sound – Marcos

The campaign assigned its creators 1-2 TikTok videos per month, each with a specific theme centered around a new product, collection, holiday, etc. New creators started on a one-month trial run, with the top performers invited for extended partnerships where they could become brand ambassadors and work more closely with the brand. 

While leveraging the GRIN platform, Cuts created a team of 15 micro influencers who produced professional-grade content with little to no lift from the brand’s end. 

The campaign generated:

• 30+ original TikTok videos.
• 10%+ post engagement rate. 
• <$120 CPA. 

5. Blue Wheel Media

Blue Wheel Media is an omnichannel marketing agency, helping beauty and wellness industry clients scale their ecommerce businesses by providing advanced digital marketing, content production, and marketplace advertising solutions. 

For a recent partnership, Blue Wheel helped a haircare industry client drive sales by leveraging a paid influencer program with more than 100 nano, micro, and macro creators on TikTok and Instagram. After contributing to the paid campaign, each high-performing creator had the option to stay on long-term and earn commission through an affiliate program. 

Blue Wheel needed the most efficient workflow possible to juggle the goals of its haircare partner, along with other clients relying on the agency to scale their influencer marketing programs. Blue Wheel also needed a way to provide a detailed overview of campaign success to prove their efforts were working. 

To keep everything running smoothly, Blue Wheel needed streamlined solutions for:

• Influencer payments.
• Communication.
• Link generation.  
• Content management. 
• Reporting success. 

GRIN’s leading Creator Management platform has all the tools required to help Blue Wheel’s haircare client reach their revenue goals and then some. 

With GRIN, Blue Wheel has access to:

• Personalized Email Sequences . One-off emails are a thing of the past. With GRIN, Blue Wheel can communicate with all its prospects and partners at scale and generate automated follow-ups. Organized Content Library . Blue Wheel has all of its creator content under one roof. 
• Ecommerce integration . GRIN integrates seamlessly with the ecommerce stores of Blue Wheel’s clients, making creating and assigning Affiliate Links a breeze. 
• Activations Dashboard . Blue Wheel can easily track deliverables, analyze content, and see which creators need to be paid, all from a single dashboard. 
• Reporting Dashboard. All the data Blue Wheel needs to report campaign success to its clients are automatically uploaded to GRIN’s intuitive Reporting Dashboard.

Nutpods is the #1 non-dairy substitute creamer brand on Amazon. The vegan, kosher, non-GMO, gluten-free, and Whole30® approved brand is constantly tweaking and expanding its popular flavors to meet the trends and demands of its customers. 

It didn’t take long for nutpods to grow a dedicated fanbase eager to work with the brand. With a solid core of about 50 brand advocates working with nutpods from its early days, the influencer marketing team’s main goal was to build out an army of equally passionate advocates willing to share the love for their favorite non-dairy creamer company.  

@nicole_thenomad #ad The BEST matcha, hands down 🙌🏽🍵 the @nutpods make all the difference! #nutpodspartner #matcha ♬ original sound – Nicole Renard

Nutpods decided to step up its game with an affiliate program in addition to its ambassador program. Nutpods gave its ambassadors free products in exchange for content, while its affiliates could earn cash in a traditional commission model. Either way, the brand targeted high-quality creators ready to share their love for all things nutpods.  

Nutpods relies on GRIN to run its product seeding and affiliate programs from end to end. Shortly after signing on with the world’s first Creator Management platform, nutpods grew its influencer roster to more than 250 creators and saw:

• 1,000+ link code conversions.
• 600+ orders fulfilled.
• 3,000+ pieces of new influencer-generated content. 

7. Organifi

Organifi is a superfoods supplement company. Its products are meant to power the mind and body with blends made with whole food, organic ingredients, and less than three grams of sugar. 

Organifi’s mission is to bring the benefits of superfoods into every North American household through its line of drink powder products. But Organifi wants to be known as more than just drink powders—the brand prides itself on connecting with its customer community and following their health transformations. Organifi works hard to foster a community among its fans and uses an influencer marketing program to help with that goal.

@kelseylynnjones it’s good to eat green! 🥬🥑🌱🥝🥦 #plantbasedtiktok #wieiad #healthtok #fyp @organifi #ad ♬ Summer Background Jazz – Relaxing Jazz Nights

Organifi hones in narrowly on creators who most closely resemble their ideal customers. Using carefully crafted buyer personas, the team also pinpoints those directly aligned with the brand’s mission and values. The execution required a ton of creator outreach, but in the end, Organifi had a team of ambassadors who could truly represent the brand and what it stands for. 

Organifi leveraged GRIN to perform seamless creator outreach at scale and manage its entire influencer marketing program without a hitch. 

In just a short period of time, the brand managed to:

• Send 25k+ outreach emails.
• Build a roster of more than 250 creators.
• Generate 10k+ conversions. 

8. Mari + Gold

Mari + Gold is a full-service creative marketing agency specializing in the hospitality, tourism, and lifestyle industries. The agency helps its clients build their brands with tailored strategies involving everything from influencer marketing and organic social media management to public relations, website development , and more. 

Mari + Gold mostly partners with event-focused micro influencers who are most active on Instagram. Ideally, the partnerships last at least one year, so the creators have enough time to build brand affinity and generate the best possible results. 

A manual approach to influencer marketing isn’t feasible if Mari + Gold expects to dedicate ample time to each of its clients. The team needs a way to communicate with each creator at scale, fulfill product orders quickly, streamline attribution, and analyze and report on the success of each campaign. 

Results 

Mari + Gold’s team has all the capacity it needs to treat every client like its only client. 

From 2021-2022, GRIN helped Mari + Gold generate roughly:

• 4.5x increase in engagements
• 480+ new creator partnerships (27% long-term)
• 2,000% increase in link clicks
• An average of 88% of campaign emails opened + clicked

Tentree is an eco-friendly apparel and lifestyle brand with a mission of planting 10 trees for every item of clothing sold and eventually reaching 1 billion. So far, they’ve planted more than 42 million trees all over the world in places like Madagascar, Nepal, Haiti, the U.S., Canada, and more. 

At first, tentree invested in traditional sponsored posts using professionally crafted content. But with a growing community of passionate fans, the brand began reaching out to environmentally friendly nano and micro influencers to produce more realistic and relatable user-generated content that could help tentree reach its ultimate goal. 

@annevasea #ad @tentree 🌲 #seattlelife #seattlewashington #tentree #seattlethingstodo #seattlecheck ♬ Young – Vacations

Tentree reached out to numerous brand-aligned content creators who couldn’t wait to help the company fulfill its goal of planting 1 billion trees worldwide. Through the use of discount codes and affiliate links, tentree could track which creators drove the most sales for the brand and move its mission in the right direction. 

With GRIN’s robust Creator Management platform at its disposal, tentree quickly generated:

• 13x creator ROI.
• 1,000+ conversions. 
• 800+ pieces of influencer-generated content. 

10. MVMT Watches

MVMT is a Los Angeles-based retail brand selling high-quality, affordable watches, jewelry and accessories for men and women.

Well before Instagram dominated the social media landscape, MVMT’s team instinctively knew its goal should be to work with talented IG photographers and content creators as a content-sourcing strategy. Years before influencer marketing became an everyday buzz phrase, the brand’s young, hip identity made working with influencers a natural fit.

@lucabish Cook with us and then use code LUCA for 30% off @mvmt ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

MVMT began sourcing its iconic social media imagery by reaching out to Instagram creators with 30,000 to 500,000 followers willing to produce content in exchange for free products. As the content gained traction online, MVMT realized leveraging creator partnerships was ideal not only for content, but as a cost-effective solution for driving sales. 

Finding GRIN enabled MVMT to keep up with the rapid growth of its influencer program and become an indispensable tool in its workflow. 

With GRIN, MVMT has seen:

• 7x influencer growth. 
• 39k+ pieces of influencer content generated. 
• 100k+ affiliate and discount code conversions. 

11. Trifecta

Trifecta Nutrition provides athletes and health-conscious people with fresh and organic meals delivered right to their door. As one of the country’s largest organic meal delivery services. Trifecta feeds tens of thousands of people throughout the United States each day.

Because Trifecta’s product is perfect for elite athletes, the brand’s immediate goal for its influencer marketing program was to build relationships with pro athletes like UFC fighters, bodybuilders, and Crossfitters. Trifecta correctly assumed that the partnerships formed would provide invaluable social proof for the brand and help drive sales. 

@jeanlucdecoster Teaming up with @Trifecta to give you guys a discount on some SOLID meal prep 😮‍💨 use the code START40 tobsave 40% when trying it oht for the first time… link in bio! #trifecta #trifectapartner #mealprep #foodie #workouttips #fyp ♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

In addition to building relationships with professional athletes, Trifecta expanded its creator program to everyday health-conscious individuals who could generate relatable content and establish a community feel for the brand. Before long, Trifecta accumulated a vast library of quality creator content it could use across its marketing mix, getting the most mileage possible out of each post. 

Shortly after coming on board with GRIN, Trifecta managed to:

• Add more than 170 creators to its roster.
• Compose 1,500+ threads of organized email communication. 
• Produce 2,000+ pieces of influencer-generated content. 

Key takeaway: No matter your goals, influencer marketing can help take your brand to the next level. 

From increasing brand awareness to driving conversions and sales, partnering with authentic content creators has been the answer for thousands of brands looking for a cost-effective approach to marketing. The industry has grown exponentially and shows no signs of slowing down, making now the perfect time to implement or expand your influencer marketing program.

Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101

Updated: June 2023

Frequently asked questions.

All types of brands have had success leveraging influencer marketing as a strategy. However, the most popular industries include:

• Beauty/skincare
• Sports/fitness

The U.S. influencer marketing industry reached $4.99 billion in 2022. By 2024, that number is expected to grow to more than $7 billion. 

Influencer marketing’s effectiveness relies on a brand’s ability to leverage authentic content creators to provide honest product endorsements. By identifying creators who share a brand’s mission and values, marketers access to an engaged audience that is willing to listen when their favorite creator recommends a product or service. 

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Written by Quinn Schwartz

Quinn studied journalism at the University of Kentucky and now lives in Portland, Oregon. He’s particularly interested in storytelling in digital marketing and cost-effective creator strategies for smaller brands. When he’s not writing, you can find him at a concert, dog park, or debating whether or not to go on a run.

All-in-one creator management platform helping ecommerce companies build more valuable brands through the power of creator partnerships.

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8 Insane (But True) Influencer Marketing Case Studies

2020 marks the start of a new decade, and influencer marketing is already making a name for itself in the Roaring Twenties. Our Instagram feeds are full of beautiful images promoting everything from lemonade to household cleaners.

But with all the hype, where’s the truth? How do you know influencer marketing ROI is realistic in such a crowded online space?

The thing is, 89% of marketers say their influencer marketing ROI is equal to or even better than their other channels.

Influencer campaigns are like marketing on steroids: not only go they put your brand in front of new audiences and boost your reputation, but they have a hard, measurable impact on your sales .

In other words: yes, influencer marketing is still effective. But if you want to drive your customers’ purchase decisions, you’ve got to do more than hire Kim Kardashian to sell diet pills. Influencer marketing is a tool, and like any other tool, you’ve got to wield it to get results.

Influencer marketing versus paid ads

But how does influencer marketing vary from other cool marketing tools, like Facebook Ads?

We love paid ads, but when ROI is on the line, influencer marketing is the way to go. The stats don’t lie:

• Influencer marketing is more influential than paid ads. 92% of consumers trust influencers more than ads , generating 11X the return on investment.
• Honestly, shoppers hate ads. 49% of your shoppers find paid ads annoying or irrelevant.
• Influencer marketing has a greater reach. 47% of your shoppers use ad blockers, but there’s no overlooking an influencer’s post on their social feed.

If you have the budget to do both influencer marketing and ads, we say go for it. But if it comes down to influencer marketing versus Facebook Ads, you’ll see more ROI with experienced influencers.

Still not sold? See how these 8 brands used influencer marketing to overcome sales hurdles, boosting their online presence and staking their claim in the world of eCommerce.

8 influencer campaign case studies that crushed it

Whether you’ve never tried influencer marketing before or if you’re stuck on how to create your next great campaign, don’t sweat it. Learn from the big brands that have come before you, taking the best pieces of their campaigns to refashion your own.

And if you need a little help persuading your boss to embrace influencer marketing, we’ve got just the remedy. Check out these 8 influencer marketing case studies to see how influencers affect the bottom line.

1 – Kettle + Fire

Kettle + Fire sells traditional, high-quality, grass-fed bone broths to health-conscious foodies. Voted one of the best Paleo brands by healthline.com, Kettle + Fire needed to deepen its brand reputation on social media.

But they were too busy handling the business side. Somebody had to cook all that bone broth, after all.

Kettle + Fire knew it needed help with social media marketing, but wasn’t sure how to make it happen. Doesn’t social media require a lot of work? A lot of content? Extra hands that they didn’t have? And how did influencer marketing fit in?

The Strategy

Kettle + Fire wanted to communicate the specific benefits of eating their product. They liked the idea of influencer marketing but wanted to keep the content curation on-brand.

That’s why they partnered with Trend. We made a list of targeted influencers who might be a good fit for Kettle + Fire’s bone broth products. After narrowing down the list, we selected influencers who could deliver the most powerful imagery.

The Results

A team of influencers followed Kettle + Fire’s brand requirements, creating dozens of beautiful, high-resolution Instagram posts for the brand.

Plus, Kettle + Fire used these curated images on their Facebook Ads to get more traction. In a two-birds-one-stone solution, Kettle + Fire got the beautiful imagery they always wanted, on top of a more effective Facebook Ads campaign.

The results were incredible. We tested their old creative against the new creative and found that Kettle + Fire earned $4 in revenue for every $1 spent in Facebook Ads.

If it comes down to influencer marketing versus Facebook Ads at your own business, Kettle + Fire shows it’s possible to succeed at both.

2 – Iceland Foods

Iceland Groceries may sound like a Nordic company, but it’s actually based in the UK. And this frozen food brand had a problem: its customer approval ratings had plunged to an abysmal 10%.

In the past, Iceland used big-name celebrities to promote its products, but these campaigns weren’t going well. They needed real influencer marketing ROI, stat.

Iceland realized the reason celebrity campaigns weren’t working is that they didn’t show real people. Iceland pivoted its campaigns to target everyday people, like mommy influencers.

Since customers are more likely to trust a micro-influencer over a celebrity, this proved to be a sneakily clever choice on Iceland’s part.

Iceland brainstormed a yearlong strategy where it partnered with regular-Joe food influencers to get some oh so good user-generated content .

On top of that, they implemented social listening and paid ads to really get the message out there. The goal of the campaign was to deepen customers’ bonds with Iceland products, with the ultimate goal to sell more frozen food.

Iceland had to make frozen food sexy and appealing, which was no small feat.

But during its partnership with 50 micro-influencers, Iceland hit the jackpot. By showcasing a diverse range of everyday people using their products, Iceland saw :

• A 55% retention rate on Facebook videos (and a 59% rate on YouTube).
• Their approval rating increase from 10% to a whopping 70%.

And if this doesn’t drive home Iceland’s influencer marketing case study, we don’t know what will:

This campaign was so effective that Iceland piggybacked on this success, targeting a new batch of micro-influencers with a second influencer marketing campaign, The Power Of Frozen.

3 – Warby Parker

Nobody wants to wear thick, granny glasses. Bespectacled people want reliable, fashionable, and affordable eyeglasses. Warby Parker entered the eyewear industry in 2010 to deliver just that.

Today Warby Parker delivers direct-to-consumer glasses with plenty of spunk . The brand is known not only for its superhero-level customer service, but its creative branding decisions.

Warby Parker is by no means a new name on the block, but they still wanted to push more product awareness and engagement on Instagram. They wanted influencer marketing ROI and took a micro-influencer approach to get it.

Warby Parker selected 7 micro-influencers with decently-sized followings on both Instagram and YouTube.

Their “Wearing Warby” influencer campaign partnered with influencers who already had an affinity to Warby.

In fact, all of Warby’s influencers had already posted about Warby organically before this campaign.

This ensured Warby partnered with influencers who were in it for the love of Warby (the cash was just a nice perk).

“Wearing Warby” showcased Warby glasses in everyday life. One influencer might be baking while wearing her Warby’s while another painted his latest masterpiece. By targeting influencers in creative industries, Warby not only expanded its audience, but pushed itself as a lifestyle brand.

Warby’s influencers showed off their specs by doing the crazy, fun, creative stuff they liked to do already. And Warby got crazy influencer marketing ROI from this campaign:

Warby Parker’s hot designer shades can’t protect your eyes from this blinding truth: influencer marketing is a must for product brands.

4 – Health-Ade

Los Angeles-based company Health-Ade makes small-batch, cold-pressed kombucha. Known for its funky flavors, emphasis on health, and a brazenly unique voice, Health-Ade still needed help penetrating the market.

Facebook Ads were way too expensive and risky for the growing brand, which wasn’t sure how to get in front of new shoppers.

The thing was, Health-Ade needed to focus on their kombucha mothers, not wooing real mothers to try their products. How do you crank out the high-quality, branded content followers expect when you don’t have the resources to make it happen?

Health-Ade reached out to Trend for help. Our team leveraged our database of vetted influencers to find people who could promote the Health-Ade name to their followers.

Health-Ade ended up partnering with several influencers, who created 214 Instagram posts for the brand. Best of all, each post was chock-full of repurpose-worthy content that Health-Ade could reuse on its site, social media, ads, and a lot more.

Thanks to their influencer campaign, Health-Ade now has brand-specific creative they can use everywhere.

But we know that alone won’t convince your boss that influencer marketing ROI is real.

Since it costs $7 to get 1,000 impressions on Instagram, we generated $11,200-worth of impressions for an eensy-weensy fraction of the cost.

If Health-Ade had hired a full-time employee to do this (at a cost of $42,000 a year, give or take), that would have been over $30,000 more expensive.

Case in point: influencer marketing gets you the content you need, the impressions you want, and the savings that make your boss salivate.

The other influencer marketing case studies on this list showcase human influencers—but as any Instagram user knows, influencers also come in different shapes, sizes, and species. Pet influencers have a lot of pull on social media.

For brands like Dyson , pet parents are a perfect target audience. Since expanding its product line to specifically address pet cleanup, Dyson has been working overtime to increase its reach in the pet space.

Dyson created an influencer marketing campaign on Instagram with the goal of pushing product awareness.

Few pet owners realized Dyson was a reliable solution, and the brand wanted to change that. It also wanted to boost its Instagram engagement.

Dyson partnered with 5 pet influencers on Instagram, largely targeting dog owners. The brand gave influencers a very loose creative brief, giving pet owners creative control over the posts themselves. The posts simply had to be humorous and show how pet owners cleaned up after their fuzzy companions.

What worked with this campaign was Dyson’s willingness to give creative control to influencers.

It also targeted influencers based not on their following size, but on their audience. One Dyson influencer had a following of just 2,500 people —but it had the highest engagement rate out of any other influencer in the campaign.

Dyson was pretty darn brave to give influencers so much control, but it paid off. Dyson saw influencer marketing ROI that included:

That’s ROI we can howl about.

6 – Kalumi Beauty

Beauty is a $49.2 billion industry worldwide . Kalumi Beauty knew it needed a piece of that pie, but there was a lot of competition for beauty mavens’ business.

Kalumi needed to promote its line of BEAUTYfood bars, but didn’t like how its branded messaging looked staged, Photoshopped, and tone deaf to its shoppers.

Today, beauty shoppers want to see real images of products in use, which meant Kalumi’s internal team couldn’t crack the code on organic, engaging content its audience would love.

Kalumi partnered with Trend to create content mapped to the entire buyer’s experience, from unboxing to product use. The brand wanted to create a repository of trustworthy, unfiltered content to share with its audience.

Trend helped Kalumi locate real product users and influencers. This way, the beauty brand was able to tell more authentic stories that would resonate with shoppers.

Trend’s team of content creators shot every piece of content, not only sharing the rights with Kalumi Beauty, but publicizing that content with their followers for even more traction.

If Kalumi had used in-house influencers, they would have spent upwards of $50,000 a year to manage the entire affair. A content studio would have run them $72,000 a year, and an agency would have been over $100,000.

Thankfully, Kalumi didn’t have to sign away their kidneys to do influencer marketing right.

They spent just $6,715 on their Trend campaign, garnering results like:

Who says beauty marketing has to be cutthroat? With Trend, Kalumi was able to make influencer marketing work while building a library of effective user-generated content.

7 – Palms To Pines

Palms to Pines is a social media management and strategy firm. The brand knew that influencer marketing and user-generated content would be a great fit for its client, KÖE Organic Kombucha .

Palms To Pines was hard at work helping KÖE launch with a key retailer. Problem was, there was little to no local recognition of the KÖE brand.

They had the genius idea of increasing local awareness with influencers, encouraging shoppers to go in-store to try KÖE’s kombucha. But to do that, Palms to Pines needed to source a lot of social media content from influencers—something that was a huge headache before Trend.

Pre-Trend, Palms To Pines had to spend weeks planning and executing just one campaign. And when they tried to get agencies involved? It was a nightmare, both for their wallet and email inbox.

Palms To Pines used Trend’s structured platform to connect with experienced content creators and influencers, using these steps:

• Step 1: The firm built its campaign out in Trend’s builder, requesting certain content styles, hashtags, and specifications.
• Step 2: Palm To Pine’s campaign went live and the applications started rolling in! They didn’t have to search for influencers at all—they got their pick of the litter with Trend.
• Step 3: After selecting a group of vetted pre-vetted influencers, Palm To Pines sent KÖE’s kombucha to the content creators. Trend took care of the addresses and shipping, which was a big time-saver.
• Step 4: Creators sent in their content, generating an immense library of licensed content for Palms To Pines.

Palms To Pines’ influencers had tremendous success with their first campaign. In one month, the brand was able to generate:

As a result, Palms To Pines significantly decreased hands-on time managing KÖE’s campaign, garnering not only a library of amazing content, but a trusted group of influencers to promote the brand with their followers.

8 – MOON Ultra

Taking your selfie game from weak to fleek requires awesome lighting. That’s why the folks at MOON Ultra created the Moon UltraLight, a mobile light accessory that connects to your smartphone.

They knew their product was a hit, but there was a problem: nobody knew about the product launch.

Plus, even if MOON Ultra managed to get the word out, there was no guarantee that shoppers would trust them enough to actually buy a Moon UltraLight.

That’s why MOON Ultra partnered with Trend. It needed social proof, stat, and our network of pre-vetted influencers was able to create some much-needed authentic content.

MOON Ultra partnered with Trend to make a splash on the market. We knew they needed a lot of horsepower, so our system matched the brand with trustworthy influencers who already had large followings.

(Oh, and the structure of our platform helped MOON Ultra keep costs low, too, by the way.)

With Trend, MOON Ultra completed its influencer campaign in a few short weeks, generating tons of high-quality content to use for its launch.

If MOON Ultra tried to source influencers itself, it would have spent over $100,000. But with Trend, the brand spent only $3,870 and got amazing results:

Instead of pumping money into something like Facebook Ads, MOON Ultra preserved its budget, generated a library chock-full of user-generated content, and put itself in front of thousands of potential customers.

Yes, influencer marketing has reached a fever-pitch in 2020. But just because something is popular doesn’t mean it won’t work for your brand. Au contraire , these 8 brands got influencer marketing ROI so insane we did a double-take at the numbers.

It’s time to try something different. Let’s make your next influencer marketing campaign a hands-free haven of ROI. Sign up for a free Trend account now to see how partnering with trusted trendsetters means more money in your pocket.

Trend is joining forces with soona. Learn what this means for the range of content you can now generate for your brand.

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3 influencer marketing case studies to learn from

Case studies , Collect content

Laura Georghiou

Global Customer Advocacy Manager

February 24, 2023

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We’re going to talk through three different influencer marketing case studies because regardless of what you think of influencers and creators, they’re fully embedded into the zeitgeist. Influencer marketing is too lucrative to go away, and brands are taking note. 89% of marketers say the ROI from working with influencers is comparable to, or better, than other marketing channels.

But with so many different types of influencer out there, not to mention the sheer volume of influencers, it can be difficult knowing how to put influencer marketing into practice. The best way to get ahead is by looking at case studies of those who have already achieved influencer marketing success.

According to our influencer research , there’s four types of influencer to work with:

• Subject matters experts are experts in a specific industry or topic
• Celebrities who have become known outside of what they’re famous for
• Social media stars are well-known with large followers, often paid to promote products
• Every day social media users like me and you who post authentic user-generated content

While different influencers have different influence for different audiences, it’s the everyday social media users who have the most sway with audiences. It’s easy to assume that more followers = more sway, but according to the 9,000 global shoppers we asked, that’s not the case.

So then when it comes to getting started with influencer marketing, where do you begin? Because there’s multiple avenues to go down. Let’s take a look at three of the best influencer marketing case studies we’ve seen, for the best strategies for you to emulate.

Top 3 Influencer marketing case studies

The following case studies all use influencer marketing, but all use a different type of influencer and a slightly different strategy. But they all have one thing in common: success.

Have you ever spent a lot of money on a piece of furniture only to stop loving it after a year or two? A lot of customers have. Which is why they turn to companies like Bemz to update their pieces. Bemz is a Scandinavian design company that specializes in creating made to order, high-end covers for IKEA furniture so people can update pieces in their homes to reflect their personal style better.

Over the past year and a half, Bemz has been populating its marketing channels with more visual user-generated content (UGC) to show potential customers what its products look like in real-life homes. A crucial part of Bemz’s strategy is its use of influencers. The brand relies on them to create evergreen content that Bemz continually collects and integrates into marketing programs.

But, the way Bemz partners with influencers is a little different than some of the other brands out there. 

A unique partnership

Bemz mainly works with influencers in its core markets , like Sweden, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. However, it doesn’t go after the biggest names in interior design like you may think it would. 

Instead, Bemz chooses to work directly with influencers that already have an Ikea product in their homes to make for a more natural collaboration and build trust with customers. Many of the influencers it works with are in the interior design space, but it also goes after those in other sectors like fashion and beauty. 

“We pick influencers on a case-by-case basis depending on what the profile looks like, if we can get content out of it that matches our brand aesthetic, if they have great engagement, or if are really relevant in a certain sector,” said Alexandra Öhrlund, Social Media Manager at Bemz. 

Seeking out influencers who already own Ikea products is a more natural fit for Bemz. The brand ensures that its covers are shown repeatedly when the influencer posts photos of them hanging out at home on the couch, even if it’s not a Bemz sponsored post.  

Capturing the authenticity movement

In some cases, Bemz will work with influencers who don’t match the brand’s aesthetic . For example, the brand doesn’t showcase shabby chic looks or farmhouse interiors on its own site and channels. But they still choose to work with a leader within an influencer’s sector to build brand awareness and trust within that influencer’s community.

“It’s not necessarily something that we then incorporate into our content strategy, but we work with them because they have a great profile. They’re very genuine within their field,” said Öhrlund. 

This strategy works because it taps into the rising authenticity movement. 72% of shoppers now choose products based on a brand’s reputation. Consumers are fatigued by insincere, fake, untrustworthy content and crave authentic UGC from real people — partly why they consider every day social media users the most trustworthy influencer.

Bemz has found that this kind of content resonates much more with its followers. The brand continues to collect this evergreen content and display it on social media, which has seen click-through rates increase by 41%.

You can read the full Bemz influencer marketing case study here to learn more.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, global fashion brand Quiz primarily focused on the in-store experience at its 250 brick-and-mortar locations. However, when stores started to close, Quiz knew it needed to focus more on its social and e-commerce strategies to increase engagement. 

To start, the brand began posting more user-generated content (UGC) images from customers on its social feed, because those types of posts have always had a very high engagement rate for Quiz.

The team also knew that they needed to make these images shoppable to guide interested consumers from the social feed to product pages on Quiz’s site. But they didn’t stop there. 

A micro and macro strategy 

One unique aspect of Quiz’s new social media strategy is its use of micro- and macro-influencers to increase engagement.

• Micro-influencer: Has a social media following between 1,000 and 100,000
• Macro-influencer: Has a social media following over 100,000

For a recent winter party collection, Quiz put together a list of micro- and macro-influencers it wanted to get UGC from for that collection. Then, Quiz shipped those influencers outfits from the new collection, and the influencers took photos of themselves in the clothing and tagged Quiz in the images.

“As soon as the collection is live, we can look through our gallery feed and pull the strongest images into the homepage gallery to showcase different influencers,” said Megan Ashurst, Senior Social Media Executive at Quiz. 

Quiz uses a mix of micro- and macro-influencers to maximize the impact of campaigns. Macro-influencers have a lot of followers, so their posts see a wider reach. But micro-influencers have smaller fanbases, so their followings are typically more loyal and tend to engage more with posts. Instagram’s own research of 8000,000 accounts supports this:

“We tend to find that we do get really valuable content and engagement from smaller influencers as much as we do from the big influencers,” said Ashurst. 

Quiz’s use of influencer content — on its website and social channels — led to a 276% increased time on site, a 23% higher average order value, and a 154% increase in conversion rates, making them one of the great influencer marketing case studies we’ve seen.

You can read it in full here .

There’s only one thing better than an influencer marketing strategy: an Influenster marketing strategy. The Influenster App is a community of over 7.5 million every day creators, eager and willing to create authentic content about your brand.

Actually, they’re already creating this content. You just need to activate the community, which is exactly what British beauty brand Rimmel London did.

Rimmel activated the Influenster community through a hyper-targeted sampling campaign, where samples of products are sent to community members in exchange for honest reviews, product imagery, and social posts.

Because of the ability to choose a highly-specific audience, Rimmel was able to send products to an audience of 18-30 year old beauty enthusiasts in key markets. Recipients were asked to share their thoughts and feedback through reviews and social media posts.

The campaign led to over 1,200 product reviews and 15.7 million impressions on social, driving brand awareness and sales along the buyer journey. Incidentally, the campaign led to a 44% higher sales lift for the featured products.  

Learn more about how the campaign led to increased advocacy, brand awareness, and a 69% higher sales lift for the product categories in which the sampled products compete by reading the full case study here .

Become an influencer marketing case study

Play your cards right and it could be your brand featured here amongst the other successful influencer marketing case studies. We continue to see the rewards our clients have from working with influencers and content creators, so we know it’s the way forward.

Last year, influencer marketing spend jumped from $3.69 billion to $4.14 billion in the U.S alone, according to HubSpot . It’s past time to get started with influencer marketing. But whatever avenue you choose, you’ll first need to know how to reach out to influencers and get a yes in return .

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Influencer Marketing Case Studies (2024)

Artem Dogtiev | May 1, 2024

Influencer marketing is a branch of digital marketing, its campaigns are essentially endorsements by social media influencers of certain products or services and their introductions to various audiences. In this day and age, the demand for this kind of marketing exists in so many branches of the economy. It gives a level of trust that other kinds of marketing can not match.

In this article, we want to review a number of case studies to demonstrate what marketing objectives can be achieved with influencer marketing, and its potential for app marketers.

Discover the Magic: Unleash Growth with Influencers

We uncover your app’s potential, converting downloads into devoted, engaged users. Let Moburst reveal the secrets behind the trick.

Influencer marketing is deeply personal, it’s about a human touch, a connection between an influencer and people who trust her or his opinion. Influencers need to be creative, artistic, and authentic for an influencer marketing campaign to succeed.

Case Study #1 EA Sports

EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Being one of the oldest and the most well-known on the planet, the Electonic Arts video game company was launched in May 1982. Over the years, the company launched a number of labels such as EA Worldwide Studios, EA All Play, EA Sports, and others. In this case study we’re focusing on how influencer marketing was applied to the promotion of its EA Sports label.

Brent Rivera promo video for the Apex Legends game from EA Sports label

Source: Brent Rivera TikTok video

Influencer Marketing campaign objective

EA Sports marketing team was looking for new channels to reach gamers and boost their new title Apex Legends popularity.

Featured Influencer Marketing Companies

At that moment, the prime channels to reach gamers were Twitch and YouTube but, after considering TikTok as a new channel to try, the decision was made to run an influencer marketing campaign with influencers who are popular with gamers’ culture on TikTok. Such games-related TikTok hashtags view number as 29.5 billion for the #fortnite hashtag spoke clearly – there was a potential to tap a young, tech-savvy audience that will enjoy a new title from the world-famous EA Sports.

The influencer marketing campaign was run with several influencers, including Brent Rivera (see the TikTok video screenshot above), his hilarious video generated 900k likes.

Switching from the world of mobile games to educational apps to learn English, next up is the Cake app.

Case Study #2 Cake app

With the free Cake app, non-English or non-Korean speakers have great English or Korean learning experiences worldwide. The app offers to learn a new language via daily free content to introduce new expressions, wrapped in daily situations to show them in context.

Cake app influencer marketing campaign on YouTube

Source: Carina Fragozo video

By the moment the Cake app team approached an influencer marketing agency, they had been using YouTube as a platform to introduce the app via a series of short videos explaining the app features. The team was looking for help to reach out to people in South America who were looking for apps to learn English.

An influencer marketing agency that was hired by the Cake app team got in touch with five influencers in Latin America to run a 2-week ad campaign to raise awareness of the app and demonstrate the app’s both educational and fun elements. The influencers promoted the app on their YouTube channels, being creative in demonstrating the app’s features and benefits.

The key element of this campaign’s success was that all influencers introduced the app from an educational angle, showing people how they will be able to use the app to learn English efficiently. The total reach for the app was 1.2 million viewers.

Influencer marketing companies buyers guide

Download our Influencer marketing companies buyers guide to learn about the best companies on the market to hire. The guide covers what is influencer marketing, why it’s important, how it works, what exactly influencer marketing companies do, as well as provides a complete list of top influencer marketing companies.

Moving on, jumping from learning languages to short-form video apps launched on the wave of TikTok’s popularity.

Case Study #3 Huddles app

Huddles app, formerly known as Clash app, is a short-form video app that was launched in 2020 on the rise of the short-form format popularity sparked by TikTok. The app was developed by a team of Don Hofmann, the author of the famous Vine app that for a brief period of time got its moment of a glory after being acquired by Twitter in 2012, but later shut down in 2017 because it never managed to click with a big audience of users. Essentially the Clash app it’s Don’s second attempt to create a short-form video hosting service.

Rapper Elijah Daniel’s endorsement of the Clash app

Source: Getty Images

In this case, an influencer marketing campaign aim was to support the app’s launch in 2020. It was the moment when the TikTok app was facing a ban in the US and many TikTok users were considering switching to another app and so the core idea of the ad campaign was to leverage that uncertainty as much as possible.

An influencer marketing agency team that was hired for this task reached 50+ influencers to run an influencer marketing campaign on Twitter and Instagram.

The campaign resulted in more than 20 million impressions on Twitter and Instagram combined, 250k downloads of the app, app’s ranking of #17 on the App Store.

From video-sharing to creating unique visual stories to post on social media apps.

Case Study #4 Instories app

Instories is a mobile app to create reels and visual stories right on a smartphone, using an extensive library of templates, and publish them later on Instagram or TikTok. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms and supports all TikTok and Instagram video formats.

Influencer promo video for the Instories app

Source: Bold Creators Club

The Instories team hired an influencer marketing agency to run a promotion to increase the app market share in Brazil and introduce the latest update for the app.

The influencer marketing agency that took the task hired 15 influencers who launched ad campaigns on Instagram with reels.

The campaign achieved a high level of engagement, reaching 9.1% on average, which allowed the app to skyrocket to the top positions on the App Store, and secured the app’s high visibility in the target market. Plus to the significant jump in the app’s downloads in Brazil, the influencer marketing agency managed to create awareness among beauty, fashion, and lifestyle bloggers.

Switching the gears, from video-sharing apps to a casual gaming social platform from Prague, Czech Republic.

Case Study #5 Gamee app

The Gamee app is a casual gaming social platform, with lots of game titles, that connects gamers with brands and Web3 projects through play. The platform was launched in 2020 and was later acquired by Animoca Brands.

Gamee casual gaming social platform influencer marketing campaign on Instagram

Source: Starngage

The goal of the influencer marketing campaign was to raise awareness of the game, and significantly increase its user base, casual gamers of age 18-30,  across multiple geographies within a short period of time.

The Gamee marketing team reached out to YouTube and Instagram influencers, and a big part of the campaign’s success was the platform’s ability for gamers to challenge the influencers in the games and hence engage with them directly.

As a result, at the beginning of 2017, the game acquired 500k to 1 million additional installs.

Switching from a casual gaming platform to a multi-player strategy game from the world-famous IGG.

Case Study #6 Lords Mobile: War Kingdom game app

Lords Mobile: War Kingdom is an award-winning multiplayer strategy mobile game that was published by IGG Studio in 2016. The game was praised right from the get-go, it was nominated by the Google Play store’s editors for “Best Competitive Game” and in 2017 it was nominated for the “Best Multiplayer Game” award.

Lords Mobile: War Kingdom App Store listing screenshot

Source: App Store

The objective of this campaign was to reach out to 18-35-year-old UK-based males on both iOS and Android.

The influencer marketing agency’s team reached out to 5 Instagram and YouTube influencers to generate and promote a series of Instagram Stories and YouTube videos and entice people to install the game.

As a result, the game was exposed to 1.5 million viewers, it generated 86k engagements, and brought 12k game installs with an average CPI of 4.08 pounds / install.

Moving from the world of mobile games to saving money on mobile roaming abroad.

Case Study #7 Airalo app

The Airalo app helps smartphone users to avoid high roaming bills, using its world’s first eSIM store.  Using the app, users can purchase temporary mobile data plans to use in a particular country during the trip, the app covers 190+ countries and regions.

The Airalo: eSIM Phone Internet listing screenshot

The campaign objective was to reach out travel community on TikTok and raise awareness about the app. The other, more specific one, was to drive high-quality app installs from 18-35 US-based users.

One of the major trends on TikTok is sharing travel tips and hacks to save money during trips, the team of micro-influencers educated audiences on the app’s benefits, sharing with them relatable international traveling scenarios. It led to a surge of app installs from the right audiences at the right moment.

The campaign resulted in 2.1 million video views, a 12,3% engagement rate, and $.0,23 / install rates.

Final Thoughts

Today influencer marketing is one of the most kinetic digital marketing tools for app marketers to use and achieve a high level of engagement with audiences around the globe. In these 7 case studies, we demonstrated the high potential of this channel across several app categories. All case studies should be considered within the time frames indicated for each and keeping in mind that still – to this day –  influencer marketing performance tracking in many cases isn’t precise and begs for more accuracy.

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Some Killer Influencer Marketing Case Studies

Interested in adding influencer marketing to your campaign? We know a thing or two about working with awesome influencers who know how to get your target audience to pay attention. 

From TikTok users to content creators on Instagram and other popular social platforms, we have dozens of influencer marketing campaign case studies to share and show just how visually exciting and successful our influencer strategies can be. 

Best Influencer Marketing Case Studies of The Last Few Years 

Over the course of a decade-ish in the influencer marketing industry, we have built and managed campaigns across an INSANE (and impressive) range of verticals. 

Whatever kind of influencer campaign you’re looking to run – and even if you have no idea what kind of campaign you want – we can come up with creative concepts, bring in the right influencers, and build a campaign that hits all the important KPIs.

Our client list includes some of the biggest names in any industry – Beauty 💄, Fashion 👗, Construction 🚧, Real Estate 🏠, Toiletries 🚿, Apps 📱, Precious Gems 💎, Ecomm 🖥, Telecom ☎︎, Housewares 🍽, Food 🥑, Nonprofits ❤️, Outdoors 🌳, Weddings 👰🏽, Fertility 👶🏾, Parenting 👨‍👩‍👧, Haircare 💇🏼‍♀️, Automotive 🚙, Environment 🌍, Health 🏃🏾‍♂️… you name it.

Here are some of our favorite influencer marketing case study examples:

Influencer marketing played a key role in Lenox’s big rebranding push

Engagements

St Pierre Bakery

We enlisted influencers who we knew could create drool-worthy pics and video content.

The Honest Company

We found 30 influencers that fit their brand story and generated content that looked like Honest produced it themselves.

We got 1,493,630 ORGANIC video views! (Is there a taking-a-bow emoji we can use here?)

Due to product requirements, we targeted influencers with niche photography skills and the content literally lit up Instagram.

Video Views

A complex campaign that yielded a Bachelor-style live show (which our account managers fully produced).

Famous Footwear (Pandemic Shopping)

We highlighted in-store shopping during a pandemic so that people could see how safely they could shop.

This campaign was designed to capture the beauty, the thrill, and quirks of a group of 37 outdoor adventure influencers.

Popular Business Directory (Black-Owned Businesses)

The campaign, slated to kick off during Black History Month, positioned our client in helping Black-owned businesses.

These campaigns celebrated strong,confident women that shared personal stories sparked genuine conversations across social channels.

Sweet Defeat

We had influencers do the “Sweet Defeat Challenge” – the reactions on influencers’ faces alone convinced audiences that this product works.

We rolled out a campaign to generate excitement and awareness around the brand’s summer and holiday releases and the 2018 tour.

American Standard

This campaign set out to show what a difference American Standard can make in your often-neglected bathroom.

Earthjustice

We raised awareness about the importance of intersectionality within the environmental justice movement.

Potential Reach

Essense of Australia

We found influencers for this campaign that were diverse in just about every way – race, body shape, personal style, and lifestyle.

Impressions

Feit Electric

For this campaign, we worked with home decor, lifestyle, and DIY influencers to create brand awareness and drive traffic to Feit’s landing pages.

Greenvelope

We found 8 outstanding fiancés to share their stories and nudge other betrothed followers toward considering Greenvelope for their wedding.

The Smile Generation

We generated brand awareness and hype about the Smile Generation services, while driving families to use their remaining benefits before the end of 2019

RefrigiWear

We found 24 US influencers to post on Instagram and their blogs, showcasing RefrigiWear as THE brand to keep workers warm while doing their jobs

We launched a year-long brand ambassadorship program to promote five different strollers set to launch throughout the year.

Our campaigns showcased the product creatively to different audiences – and they agreed on one thing: what their favorite body care brand is!

Susan G. Komen

We’ve run four campaigns for Susan G. Komen, to keep both their mission and breast cancer survivors top-of-mind.

Famous Footwear (Global)

This case study highlights 6 campaigns that we really enjoyed amongst the dozens that we’ve run for them.

Influencers

Influencing The Curve

The Shelf team created the #InfluencingTheCurve campaign to build an army of influencers committed to spreading the truth

Total Reach

And with these successes, we hope we were able to convince you that The Shelf is the influencer marketing agency to partner with!

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We are a full-service influencer marketing agency creating meaningful stories, experiences, and content by working with influencers who know how to spread the word about your brand. With our unique, professional, and longstanding influencer marketing expertise, we create the most genuine connections to deliver the results you deserve.

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You are here: Influencer Marketing Hub » Social Media » Valuable Insights from Social Media Platform Case Studies Based on Real-Life Success Stories

Valuable Insights from Social Media Platform Case Studies Based on Real-Life Success Stories

For brands, it can be a struggle to understand how each social media platform works and how to use them for marketing. To grow your brand this year, get inspiration from actual social media platform case studies where we go through real-life applications so you can learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to social media marketing.

Valuable Insights from Social Media Platform Case Studies Based on Real-Life Success Stories:

Why social media marketing is still relevant, social media platform case studies to gain insights from, key metrics to monitor the effectiveness of your social media campaigns, be guided by learnings from social media marketing case studies, frequently asked questions.

More than 50% of shoppers discover and purchase new products through social media . By 2024, the number of these social buyers is projected to reach over 110 million—and that’s in the US alone. Millennials, along with digital natives Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, are known to purchase directly from social channels. This consumer base is just too massive to ignore. Moreover, the power of social media also goes beyond the internet. After discovering products online, many social media users eventually buy them in physical stores.

Social commerce stats also prove how effective these social media platforms are for marketing. With most consumers spending several hours each day on social media, these platforms are undoubtedly the best places to reach them. Implementing social media marketing strategies to stay visible in these spaces—especially ones frequented by the younger generation—is a prime opportunity for revenue growth.

The following case studies give us a glimpse of how different brands successfully implemented their campaigns. These studies contain a wealth of insights and strategies that you can apply to your own marketing initiatives.

1. Purr-fectly Viral: Whisker’s Litter-Robot LR4 Conquers the Internet

Agency: Ubiquitous

Platforms: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Whisker has been providing paw-parents with self-cleaning litter boxes for over two decades. In 2022, they launched their 4 th generation Litter-Robot: the LR4. Wanting to dominate the pet market with their latest innovation, they sought the services of Ubiquitous to amplify the marketing of Litter-Robot LR4.

Strategy: 

Ubiquitous used a combination of in-house influencers and existing relationships with other agencies to expand the influencer pool. The budget was strategically divided among Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Instagram and TikTok aimed for broad awareness, while YouTube targeted serious buyers with high-intent content like tech reviews.

The agency used their proprietary technology to find influencer pet owners with engaged audiences and disposable income. Once the key influencers were identified, they were given specific guidelines to create content with some space for creative freedom. During an eight-week period, multiple posts were published on the three platforms, such as unboxing videos or clips of cats using LR4.

The campaign was a success across all platforms. The 130 posts that went live amassed a total of 68.1M views, 7.3M engagements, and a cumulative CPM of $7.27. Litter Robot saw site visits surpassing the 100K mark, and over one hundred transactions translated into an additional six-figure revenue.

Key Takeaway:

The Litter-Robot LR4 campaign underscores the power of strategic influencer marketing and the effectiveness of a multi-platform approach to maximize impact. The careful selection of influencers, diversification of platforms, and leeway given to campaign partners in terms of creative expression all contributed to the success of the campaign.

2. Illuminating Holiday Success: Energizer Makes Portable Lighting “Bunny-Famous”

Agency: Viral Nation

Platforms: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram

Most well-known for its iconic bunny and long-lasting batteries, Energizer sought to extend its brand appeal by positioning itself as the top choice for portable lighting. It was set on making its new products—the Energizer Headlamp and the TAC 700 Flashlight—household must-haves during the holidays and beyond. To do so, they enlisted the help of Viral Nation to launch a multi-platform marketing campaign. 

To boost sales during the holiday season, the campaign was focused on highlighting the new Energizer products as great stocking stuffers. Viral Nation engaged six influencers to publish content on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram and drive viewers to purchase directly from Energizer’s dedicated Amazon product pages.

Each influencer received both the products and integrated Energizer into their holiday-themed content.  The partners did unboxings, point-of-view reviews, and even hosted appearances by the beloved Energizer Bunny.

Viral Nation’s metrics speak for themselves: 832K interactions, 806K views, and 4.6K clicks. The campaign achieved substantial reach across platforms and successfully directed traffic to Energizer product pages.

The authentic and diverse promotional content led to a success that lit up the holidays, and the influencers effectively positioned Energizer as the go-to brand for portable lighting. The content they created not only drove awareness but also contributed to increased sales during the crucial retail period.

This Energizer campaign shows influencer marketing as a bright approach to holiday marketing. It highlights the effectiveness of tailored social media marketing strategies during key seasons. The strategic collaboration with influencers and campaign implementation on multiple platforms help brands shine brightly in the eyes of consumers.

3. Astronomical Success: Samsung Sees Galactic Growth of its Galaxy App Store 

Agency: Moburst

Platforms: Facebook, X (Twitter), and other channels

To enhance user experience, Samsung launched a dedicated app store in the US called the Galaxy Apps. Noticing slow engagement, they aimed to boost marketing to increase app downloads, user retention, and revenue for the app. They also wanted to raise brand awareness and promote the personalization features of Galaxy devices. To create and implement effective marketing campaigns, they sought Moburst's services.

Moburst implemented a comprehensive strategy of leveraging various media channels to target distinct audience segments. They did micro-segmentation and tailored their campaigns to specific user interests: Gamers were directed to the gaming section, Galaxy advocates were guided to the Made for Samsung section, and design enthusiasts were offered font and theme options for personalized phone customization.

The targeted campaigns and personalized approach led to a significant increase in app downloads that translated into a substantial revenue boost. Galaxy Apps downloads surged by 79%, and revenue increased by 36%. Social media engagement also saw an astronomical rise, with Facebook followers skyrocketing by over 1,400%.

Samsung’s collaboration with Moburst is a good example of how to run micro-segmented mobile marketing strategies on social media platforms. By understanding the diverse preferences of Samsung's vast user base, Moburst was able to craft tailored campaigns that resonated with specific audience segments.

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4. Cobra Kai Chop: Netflix High Kicks Campaign on TikTok

Agency: NeoReach

Platform: TikTok

The Cobra Kai series is one of the most successful shows in Netflix history. Following the immense success of the first two seasons, Netflix pulled out all the stops to make the third season equally successful.

To build hype before the release of Cobra Kai 3, Netflix collaborated with NeoReach in crafting social media marketing campaigns. The agency formed an eclectic roster of influencers from its vast pool and designed a campaign focused on creating buzz. The platform of choice for this campaign was TikTok, which at the time was still a burgeoning social media platform with highly engaged users.

NeoReach tapped its pool of influencers to heighten the anticipation for the upcoming season. The lineup included creators from various backgrounds to ensure a wide-reaching and culturally diverse promotion in major countries worldwide.

The agency used TikTok’s interactive Cobra Kai Chop filter that allowed influencers to creatively incorporate the brand into their content. Using the hashtag #CobraKaiChop also enhanced visibility and awareness.

The campaign achieved remarkable results, with 2.8M+ views from paid content and 4.6B views from #CobraKaiChop. But the campaign’s success was not just in views. It also delivered 24K+ in engagement value and an ROI of 2.76X.

The success of the Cobra Kai Chop campaign gives marketers a glimpse of how to effectively leverage emerging social media platforms. It emphasizes the need for creative content strategies and diverse influencer rosters to resonate with different audience segments.

5. Fresh Strategies: HelloFresh Delights Users with TikTok Culinary Adventures 

Agency: Hype Factory

HelloFresh—the pioneers of fresh food and meal kit delivery services—wanted to boost views and conversions within its niche market. To achieve this, they collaborated with Hype Factory to create a recipe for marketing success.

Hype Factory engaged 24 large entertainment influencers and gave them full creative freedom to make content that highlighted the features of HelloFresh. To enhance visibility and engagement, the campaign used Spark Ads with discount codes and direct links in the bio. Reposting the content as Reels or Stories on Instagram further expanded the reach beyond TikTok.

With a 4.03M reach and 13.3K clicks, the campaign definitely elicited strong engagement. The genuine interaction of the creators with their audience was key to the campaign’s success.

The HelloFresh campaign serves as a reminder to adapt to evolving consumer trends and the constantly changing dynamics of social media platforms. It also stresses the importance of embracing the creative freedom of influencers to pave the way for more authentic brand engagements.

Monitoring metrics is important for measuring the effectiveness of your current campaigns and optimizing subsequent ones. For social media marketing, here are some of the key metrics you need to keep a close eye on:

This refers to the number of social media users who have seen your posts and gives you an idea of the approximate size of your audience. A broader reach often translates to increased visibility. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are forecasted to be the leading channels for social commerce , so you might want to focus on amplifying reach on these platforms. 

Impressions

This measures the overall visibility of your content. It refers only to the total number of times your posts have been viewed, regardless of whether they have been clicked or not. This will help you gauge how frequently your audience encounters your posts.

This metric consolidates the number of likes, comments, mentions, shares, and clicks on your posts. High engagement shows that your audience finds your posts interesting or valuable. 

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate is expressed as the percentage of users who navigate away from your social media page after a few seconds. A high bounce rate indicates that your content does not resonate with your audience and signals a need to revamp your strategy and tailor your content to align with your audience’s needs.

Customer Sentiment

This indicates the overall attitude or feelings of your audience towards your brand and is often assessed through comments and sentiment analysis. By understanding customer sentiment, you can tailor your future marketing content and shape your online reputation.

Each case study offers valuable lessons that emphasize the importance of strategic influencer collaboration, multi-platform approaches, and tailored strategies. The proven success of these campaigns brings to light the universal principles that underpin effective social media marketing.

Still, every business is unique. Tweak the strategies you learned from these social media platform case studies to align them with your brand’s distinct goals. Determine the right social media channels for your business and focus your efforts there. The future unfolds a vast canvas for innovative marketing campaigns—paint it with insights gleaned from the compelling case studies we shared.

How can social media platform case studies help me craft marketing strategies for my brand?

Case studies show how marketing strategies are implemented in real life. They showcase proven tactics and actionable insights that help other brands implement similar strategies for their own businesses. 

Why is the selection of social media platforms important for marketing success?

While most people have multiple social media accounts, each platform still has its own nuances and appeal to different consumer segments. Choosing a social media platform is the same as choosing the right channels for broadcasting your message to the right audience. To amplify reach and engagement, focus on platforms where your target audience is most engaged.

How do I apply the key takeaways from social media platform case studies to my brand?

Identify similarities between your brand and the featured case studies, then tailor the successful strategies to align with your unique goals, audience, and industry. Use the case studies as inspiration to innovate and optimize your own social media marketing efforts.

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12 Real-World Influencer Marketing Case Studies for DTC Brands

As a marketing professional for DTC brands, you’ve probably heard about the growing success of influencer marketing campaigns.

However, you’re probably still wondering what makes this marketing strategy so popular and effective.

Well, long story short, traditional marketing strategies have mostly been replaced by digital marketing strategies.

On top of that, people started to place less trust in brands than they used to. 

Instead, customers now look for recommendations from people they know and social media influencers.

Overall, if you find a successful TikTok or Instagram influencer to promote your brand’s products and come up with a winning influencer marketing strategy , you’ve got a lot to gain.

Two of the benefits that might pique your interest are increased brand awareness and ROI (return on investment). But there are many more.

Of course, you might need a bit of help when you first get into influencer marketing . 

However, using an influencer marketing platform like Insense can make your life a lot easier.

Still not convinced?

No worries, we’ve compiled a list of 12 influencer marketing case studies of DTC brands to show you all the perks and amazing results.

So, let’s dive in!

Case Study #1: Digital Beauty Group

Industry: Beauty

Digital Beauty Group is a brand created by a married couple, Craig and Amy Romero, who provide high-quality skincare and makeup products to their audience. 

They use customer-demand data and innovation to come up with exquisite, high-performing products for everyone.  

The challenge

With so many skincare and makeup products on the market, Digital Beauty Group needed to find a way to grab the attention of its target audience.

So, it decided to try organic social media posting for product endorsements with the help of influencers. 

However, finding the right people to create user-generated content for its beauty brand proved to be harder than expected. Plus, time was not on their side.

Overall, trying to make videos that stand out on TikTok was draining the Group’s budget. A more cost-efficient solution was needed.

The solution

Using Insense, one of the top influencer marketing tools , Digital Beauty Group was able to easily identify and communicate with top Instagram influencers that aligned with its beauty brand.

The content creators posted pieces of content to their Amazon storefront and Instagram stories for 6 months to generate brand exposure.

The beauty brand gained 100+ UGC pieces in 6 months, at a cost of approximately $67 each.

Sounds too much? 

Well, not if you take into account the resulting boost in brand awareness, reach, and ROI, with a 38% conversion rate (per product) on Amazon listings.

Plus, DBG was able to reuse the influencer content on its social media platforms and website. So, this solution proved to be very cost-effective.

👉 Check out the full case study here .

Case Study #2: goPure

goPure is a small business with a big goal: to provide natural and safe skincare products to its clients. 

It uses only natural botanicals and vitamins that protect the skin from irritation.

Just like any other small retailer, goPure needed to gain reach and credibility in the beauty and care industry to boost sales.

And what better way to achieve that than by posting trustworthy, authentic content through influencer marketing campaigns ?

The only problem: the budget. After all, it’s not uncommon for small businesses to struggle with investing a lot in digital marketing.

Using Insense’s Creator Marketplace feature, goPure was able to contact and start collaborating with over 160 micro-influencers.

The best part: the brand used product seeding and influencer gifting, aka offered giveaways, to finance its influencer marketing campaigns.

So, the costs were minimal!

In just 2 months, the content creators who worked with goPure generated 147 video content reviews with zero cost.

Due to the authentic content, goPure’s conversion rates reached an astonishing 26%.

But even more impressive than that is the revenue generated by these influencer marketing campaigns — it exceeded $200K and registered a 204x ROI.

👉 Learn more about this case study here .

Case Study #3: Nesto

Industry: Business and finance

Nesto is a Canadian pioneer in online mortgage lending. The platform offers an easy mortgage application process that saves people a lot of time. 

How? By eliminating the need to show up in person and fill out loads of paperwork. Instead, you consult with Nesto’s experts and upload your documents online.

Nesto had leveraged the power of user-generated content in the past and knew how well it could work. 

However, in the past, the content was generated in-house by the two business owners. So, it was neither creative nor diverse but it was very time-consuming.

To increase brand awareness and conversions, Nesto needed to find a large number of experienced content creators and collaborate with them seamlessly.

The advanced search filters provided by Insense allowed the company to find the right influencers without the need for time-consuming influencer outreach . 

It also used Insense’s creative brief template to help the influencers create testimonial videos based on Nesto’s requirements.

Nesto received over 150 influencer applications and gained over 60 high-quality and unique video testimonials.

Then, it repurposed the video content for its ads and registered an incredible 23% reduction in Cost Per Lead (CPL) compared to the regular ads on Meta.

👉 For more info, read the full case study here .

Case Study #4: BabyQuip

Industry: Lifestyle

BabyQuip is a leading baby-gear rental service and marketplace that operates in over 1,000 cities across the globe. 

It offers safe, clean, and insured baby equipment for traveling parents.

Since BabyQuip operates worldwide, it needed to enhance brand awareness and reach in different countries.

To do that, it needed to find TikTok influencers (aka traveling parents) from different countries who aligned with the brand.

Using Insense, BabyQuip was able to search for content creators in 5 different countries.

Even more so, it used the advanced search filters to narrow down its search by location, follower count, engagement rate, and average views.

After just 1 month, BabyQuip started collaborating with over 25 content creators for its TikTok influencer marketing campaigns.

Plus, those influencers matched the exact requirements: 2k-200k follower count, 8% engagement rate, and over 1,000 average views.

👉 Learn more about this influencer marketing case study here .

Case Study #5: Solawave

Solawave offers science-backed skincare topicals and tools that reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and blemishes. 

The best part is that people of all genders, ethnicities, and skin tones can use its products.

Solawave needed to boost brand awareness and reach on social media platforms.

However, because of a limited budget, it wanted to use product seeding instead of monetary compensation for UGCs.

Through Insense, Solawave managed to connect with 244 influencers who wanted to create pieces of content for it in exchange for free products. 

Solawave paid $0 and received 180 pieces of influencer content in a month.

The retailer also asked those influencers who showed real interest in its products to post their UGCs on TikTok .

The result?

A surprising 5% average engagement rate for each post.

👉 To find out more, check the full case study here .

Case Study #6: Zing Coach

Industry: Sports and fitness

Zing Coach is a mobile fitness app that allows you to create customized workout plans to improve your health.

It’s designed for both men and women and it uses body data to create personalized workouts.

Zing Coach wanted to know what type of ads resonated best with its target audience to ensure campaign success.

It wanted to find male, athletic, and charismatic content creators who matched Zing Coach’s target audience demographic, to generate UGCs for creative testing.

Zing Coach partnered with Insense to search for the right influencers by niche and gender.

Then, it used the brief category filters and screening question field to narrow down the search.

More precisely, it asked the content creators to send an audition video answering questions about their fitness routine and journey.

Zing Coach obtained 22 pieces of content per month for creative testing and influencer whitelisting .

Then, based on the creative testing, it discovered that the specific influencer profile it searched for lowered its Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) by 25%.

👉 Learn more about this strategy in the full case study .

Case Study #7: Particle for Men

Particle for Men is a DTC brand that offers skin, hair, and body care products for men to enhance their looks.

Particle for Men needed to find a more affordable way of identifying content creators for whitelisting.

It was also seeking a tool that could streamline influencer relationship management and the whitelisting process.

The brand switched from an alternative platform to Insense, which was much cheaper.

In addition, using the Creator Marketplace and Direct Chat features, Particle for Men was able to look for influencers who aligned with the brand and manage its communications with them in one place.

By switching to Insense, Particle for Men saved $425 per month.

It also found 21 content creators matching its requirements in only one month.

As a result, it was able to run 11 whitelisted ads in just one month.

👉 Take a look at the full case study here .

Case Study #8: Any Age Activewear

Any Age Activewear is an e-commerce brand that offers activewear to women over 50.

Its mission is to help women in this age group feel good about themselves regardless of their changing bodies and the underserved marketplace.

Any Age Activewear needed to enhance brand awareness. And since it had a large stock of products, it decided to use giveaway campaigns for creative testing.

However, that meant finding a large number of creators who fit the brand, using a time- and cost-effective solution.

Using the campaign management feature on Insense, the brand ran 7 product seeding campaigns.

At the same time, Any Age Activewear set a 2-week content lead time.

The e-commerce brand’s 7 giveaway campaigns produced a 90% conversion rate.

As a result, Any Age Activewear was able to identify and hire 36 influencers who matched its target audience demographic of active women over 50.

Plus, in just 2 weeks, it received 43 user-generated content assets, which it repurposed in different ads.

👉 For more on AAA’s amazing results, read the full study .

Case Study #9: MadeGood

Industry: Health and wellness

MadeGood is a brand whose main focus is to offer organic snacks that promote overall health and make people happy.

Its products are allergen-free and consist of pure, organic, gluten-free oats. And on the plus side, they are delicious.

MadeGood wanted to boost brand awareness, engagement rate, and, ultimately, conversions through seasonal influencer marketing campaigns.

To achieve this, it needed a user-friendly and highly effective tool that would make it easier to use influencer marketing.

MadeGood used Insense’s creator filters to identify Instagram influencers who perfectly matched the brand’s identity.

Then, using the campaign management feature, it ran 5 successful campaigns.

MadeGood identified 75 content creators who fit its criteria and partnered up with them.

The user-generated content boosted the brand’s overall engagement rate by between 0.4% and 2% and it only took 5 influencer marketing campaigns to achieve that.

Plus, its campaigns achieved a total reach of 280K!

👉 For more on this success story, take a look at the full case study .

Case Study #10: Social Fire Media

Social Fire Media is a digital advertising agency that focuses on social media advertising, Google AdWorks, SEO, and even web design.

Its goal is to drive profitability and growth to businesses of all sizes that operate in various industries.

Since Social Fire Media manages influencer marketing campaigns for many clients, it needs a solution that facilitates this process.

At the same time, it needed to source more high-quality influencer content in a budget-friendly manner.

Insense offered Social Fire Media the option to manage all of its clients’ influencer campaigns in one place.

In addition, Insense also facilitated the process of finding the right content creators for different industries, through its advanced search filters.

An added bonus was Insense’s Direct Chat feature that allowed Social Fire Media to communicate effectively with all the content creators.

Social Fire Media was able to successfully launch and manage 12 product seeding campaigns for 6 different clients at the same time.

Insense also helped it partner up with 106 talented influencers at zero cost.

Out of all those creators, Social Fire Media even identified some that loved its clients’ products so much that they posted their product endorsement UGCs on their TikTok profiles, producing a 6% engagement rate.

👉 More on this in the full case study .

Case Study #11: NutraChamps

NutraChamps is a natural supplements DTC brand whose goal is to help people improve their health to live long and happy lives.

Its supplements include naturally sourced and safe ingredients that promote heart health, good digestion, weight management, and much more.

NutraChamps wanted to increase reach for its new product, Super Green, to drive sales.

At the same time, it needed to find a larger number of influencers who aligned with the brand’s identity to create unique and authentic content for the product.

Plus, it was looking for a solution that would save time and money in terms of managing influencer campaigns.

Insense allowed NutraChamps to discover health and wellness creators who fit their brand, through the Creator Marketplace feature.

Insense also provided a time- and cost-effective solution for managing new influencer campaigns and collaborations.

With the help of Insense, NutraChamps started collaborating with 322 Instagram influencers who matched its brand.

The organic content generated by these influencers produced 99K video views on Instagram, enhancing the new product’s reach.

The best part was that Insense was so easy to use that NutraChamps only needed 2 social media coordinators to manage the entire influencer marketing process.

👉 Do you want to learn more about it? Check out the full case study, here .

Case Study #12: Easy A Media

Easy A Media is a digital marketing agency that uses data-driven marketing, store optimization, and brand strategy to boost sales for DTC e-commerce businesses.

Easy A Media was in dire need of high-quality authentic content for creative testing of its ad.

It also wanted to identify a cost-effective solution to sourcing large volumes of user-generated content with which to service its clients.

Insense offered Easy A Media an easy way to identify micro-influencers who fit its clients’ different niches.

At the same time, the Creative Brief templates and Direct Chat feature helped it easily communicate the specific requirements for each campaign to the Instagram influencers.

Easy A Media was able to hire 100 Instagram micro-influencers from different niches who generated 100 product testimonials and review videos.

All that took only 45 days. Plus, the influencer content came at zero cost because the brand used giveaway campaigns.

👉 For more on this successful influencer marketing strategy, read the full case study .

Ready to Dive Headfirst Into Influencer Marketing?

There you have it; 12 successful real-world influencer marketing case studies.

As you can see, this digital marketing strategy can be extremely rewarding. 

Influencer marketing can boost brand awareness, reach, engagement rates, conversions, and ROI.

Plus, whether you’re using TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook influencer marketing , it’s as effective for small DTC brands as it is for bigger brands.

So, are you ready to dive headfirst into influencer marketing campaigns?

If you still have some doubts or questions, don’t hesitate to contact us .

Then, when you’re ready for the next step, book a demo with Insense !

Customer Success Manager at Insense

Manu is passionate about technology and helping brands understand the impact of creator marketing and taking advantage of the opportunity it represents.

Get started with Insense today

Start getting UGC and collaborating with creators for organic posting and whitelisted ad campaigns.

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Top 5 Influencer Marketing Campaigns & Case Studies [2024]

Imagine a world where traditional advertising takes the backseat and authentic voices drive the narrative. Influencer marketing is where authenticity intersects with massive reach to create campaigns that garner attention and drive action.

In this blog, we unravel five case studies of influencer marketing, showcasing how diverse brands have harnessed this approach to achieve remarkable outcomes. From fashion giants to tech leaders, these stories are not just about marketing; they’re about creating connections, sparking conversations, and engaging audiences in ways that traditional methods cannot.

Related: Influencer Marketing Pros & Cons

Case Study 1: Aloft Hotels’ Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Aloft Hotels

Aloft Hotels set out to position itself as the preferred hotel brand for those passionate about music, both creators and fans. The objective was to generate influential content led by musicians that would resonate with Aloft’s key demographic, known as ‘self-expressers’. This initiative also highlighted the brand’s commitment to supporting up-and-coming music talent. The content needed to be lasting and versatile across various digital channels.

Aloft Hotels collaborated with Universal Music Group to launch a tour spotlighting rising stars in the music scene, strategically set in music-rich cities. The cornerstone of this campaign was “EMERGING,” a show hosted by Karli Henriquez, chosen for her alignment with the brand’s focus on music and technology. The series included five episodes showcasing an artist’s path, an interview, and their performance. The content strategy was multifaceted, featuring short social media teasers, Instagram behind-the-scenes content, and full episodes on YouTube. The aim was to merge genuine storytelling with extensive digital outreach seamlessly.

The campaign generated impressive results:

• 14,279,200 overall video impressions
• 28,784 clicks
• Total Organic Impressions: 1.27M
• Total artist impressions: 7,314,240
• Total artist engagements: 245,900

Key Learnings:

• The Importance of Authenticity and Relevance: Choosing an influencer (Karli Henriquez) who aligns well with the brand’s ethos and the target audience’s interests.
• Content Versatility: Customizing content to fit various digital platforms for enhanced reach and interaction.
• Strategic Collaborations: Partnering with organizations like Universal Music Group to boost credibility and reach relevant audiences.
• Focus on Measurable Results: Having clear, quantifiable metrics to evaluate a campaign’s success on which future strategies can be based.
• Long-term Connections: Establishing ongoing relationships with influencers and artists for enduring benefits beyond the immediate campaign outcomes.

Case Study 2: Adobe Premiere Pro’s Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe’s mission was to familiarize the emerging generation of video editors and filmmakers with the capabilities of Premiere Pro. The challenge lay in differentiating Premiere Pro in a market crowded with free and less sophisticated editing tools, providing an enticing reason for these creatives to opt for Premiere Pro.

Adobe initiated a competition in collaboration with the music group Imagine Dragons. This contest granted participants access to the band’s “Believer” track and unedited music video clips exclusively for editing via Premiere Pro. This innovative strategy, enhanced by a $25,000 prize and widespread promotion across diverse social media channels, was designed to attract experienced professionals and young, aspiring creators. The global campaign offered the contest and resources in 11 different languages, leveraging the extensive fan base of Imagine Dragons and Adobe’s strategic social media outreach.

• Global reach of 1.5 billion fans through social engagement and earned media.
• 677k visits to the contest microsite from 106 countries.
• 80,000 downloads of video footage resulted in 10,000 comprehensive video submissions from creators across 28 countries.
• Premiere Pro trial – 13K downloads
• Significant engagement from young creators – 18-25 year olds got in about 64% of submissions.

This campaign demonstrates the effectiveness of combining influencer collaboration with creative, participatory challenges. Key insights include:

• Leveraging Popular Influencers: Partnering with Imagine Dragons provided instant appeal and broad reach.
• Engaging Content Offering: Providing raw footage for editing offered a unique, hands-on experience with the product.
• Global and Multilingual Approach: Localizing the contest maximized global participation and inclusivity.
• Targeted Multi-Platform Marketing: Utilizing various social media platforms ensured a wider and more effective reach.
• Fostering Community Engagement: The contest format encouraged active participation, fostering a community of young, creative users around Adobe Premiere Pro.

Case Study 3: Michael Kors The Walk Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Michael Kors

Michael Kors set out to attract a new audience and highlight their signature handbag styles through “The Walk,” an all-encompassing street-style initiative. The key challenge was to incorporate a variety of talents in a way that appealed to a wide-ranging audience, capitalizing on the street-style photography trend and spurring customer engagement using the hashtag #SidewalkSpotted.

This digitally-centered and shoppable campaign featured prominent figures like Solange Knowles and Sofia Richie. It revolved around an engaging online hub displaying both videos and User-Generated Content (UGC), with fans showcasing their Michael Kors ensembles tagged with #SidewalkSpotted. Renowned street-style photographer Tommy Ton captured the campaign, which included a mix of events like “Michael Kors The Walk: Shanghai” to foster interactive audience participation. The campaign remained vibrant by regularly introducing fresh faces and fashion styles by harnessing social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, and tapping into the influencers’ substantial social influence.

• Generated 137 million impressions, with 40% from Instagram.
• #SidewalkSpotted featured in over 1,000 Instagram posts.
• The Shanghai event alone amassed 64 million impressions from brand channels and an additional 23 million from influencers.

Michael Kors’ campaign underscores the power of integrating influencer reach, user-generated content, and global events to enhance brand engagement and refresh content for sustained audience interest.

Related: Branding vs. Marketing Strategy

Case Study 4: Dunkin’ Donuts’ Influencer Marketing Campaign with Liverpool F.C.

Company: Dunkin’ Donuts

Objective/Challenge:

As the Official Coffee Partner of Liverpool F.C. (LFC), Dunkin’ Donuts aimed to amplify awareness of this partnership in the United States, where soccer isn’t as widely followed. The objective was to connect with American LFC fans and showcase the harmonious relationship between Dunkin’ Donuts and LFC.

Under the banner of ‘The Big Thank You,’ a component of the ‘ReDDer Together’ initiative, Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated the union of LFC and their brand. The campaign involved contacting U.S.-based LFC Supporter Clubs to identify the most ardent fan. Kacey Keller, the selected fan, was treated to a surprise live Skype call from LFC players. This personal approach to engaging with dedicated fans demonstrated Dunkin’s deep understanding and appreciation for the LFC fanbase. The narrative of this campaign was broadcast across social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, featuring filming locations at the winner’s home and Anfield, the home stadium of LFC.

• The campaign’s video achieved over 1.2 million views on Twitter and Facebook.
• It notably exceeded expected performance metrics, recording 855,000 impressions and reaching an audience of 3.3 million

The Dunkin’ Donuts campaign underscores the value of genuine engagement with passionate, niche communities. By acknowledging and celebrating the enthusiasm of LFC fans, Dunkin’ Donuts effectively bridged two distinct brands.

Case Study 5: American Rag’s Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: American Rag

American Rag, aimed to promote their holiday collection featuring humorous onesies and ugly sweaters. It was available only at Macy’s. The challenge was to turn this seasonal gag gifting into a shareable, socially-driven experience, targeting millennials who prefer online inspiration over traditional mall visits.

Understanding the shift in shopping habits, American Rag partnered with popular influencers like Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, KrispyShorts, and Matt Cutshall. These influencers were selected for their resonance with American Rag’s target audience and their ability to create engaging, humorous content. They crafted comedic vignettes showcasing the collection in their natural, authentic social media feeds. Additionally, American Rag sent oversized holiday gift boxes containing the collection to 50 influencers, comedians, and celebrities, aiming to generate organic, viral content.

• Video views – 2,211,416
• Engagements – 588,894
• Instagram followers – 3% increase

Influencer-driven content was well-received, with enthusiastic audience reactions. The visibility gained from high-profile influencers like Logan Paul and Lele Pons significantly boosted the collection’s popularity, leading to a complete sell-out before the season’s end.

American Rag’s campaign highlights the effectiveness of leveraging influencer marketing with relatable, humorous content to engage millennials. Authenticity in influencer partnerships and creative, shareable content can significantly amplify a brand’s reach and drive product demand, particularly in a digital-first consumer environment.

Related: Motivational Marketing Quotes

These examples underscore the importance of authentic engagement, creative content, and a deep understanding of the target audience. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, influencer marketing remains a crucial strategy for brands looking to connect with consumers in meaningful, memorable ways. By applying the key learnings from these case studies, businesses can craft successful influencer marketing campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive tangible results.

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We’ve got a question for you:

Are you using social media influence to expand the strength and reach of your brand?

If you’re not, you should be.

According to data from Pew Research , “around seven-in-ten Americans ( that’s 225 MILLION people ) use social media to connect with one another” here in the United States. That’s a 1400% usage jump in just over a decade (Pew began tracking usage in 2005)!

And “connect” covers more than just saying hey, how are you ? Connecting is about sharing news, entertainment, and — here’s the part you want to pay attention to — their favorite brands, products, and services.

Photo Credit: Unplash

That means Americans of all shapes, all sizes, all interests, and all ages have some social media presence, and many (more than 40%) are checking in with that presence every day.

With usage statistics like that, your company would be wise to look at social media as THE place for spending on native ads, brand-focused content, and social media influencers.

It’s that last marketing medium — the influencer one — that’s buzzing right now.

To help you better understand how you can deploy social media influencer marketing with tremendous efficacy, we’re going to introduce you to some fascinating case studies. These are studies from brands big and small that are using the power of social media influencers to drive incredibly positive results.

So, whether you’re just getting started or a seasoned pro, our training series can help you as an influencer, manager, or brand to capture and monetize your social media audience.

To illustrate how today’s most significant global brands are leveraging the reach and engagement of the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app, we’ve compiled a list of over 20 Instagram case studies, including each campaign’s creative strategy, examples of how companies created their brand-sponsored content (with and without digital influencers), and the results for each marketing initiative.

Southwest Takes on Bloody Sunday – A Look at Staying Responsive and Engaged

Photo Credit: Media Leaders

“**it” hit the proverbial fan on Sunday, October 11th, 2015, when an unexpected software glitch forced Southwest Airlines to ground more than 800 flights (approximately 25% of its daily traffic ).

As Southwest Airlines ground crews and ticket agents locked eyes with tens of thousands of passengers ranging from annoyed to angry, the company’s nascent “social business” team took to Twitter’s to connect with every single passenger they could find.

Seriously — every one.

By employing the power of the Twittersphere, Southwest side-stepped a brand disaster and made a lot of life-long customers out of an event that would have left less socially engaged airlines reeling.

( Read the full study here. )

Bringing Bonobos’ New Line to Life – A Look at using Instagram’s Influence to Unveil

When Bonobos looked to launch a new line of athletic men’s wear, they didn’t turn to antiquated means of marketing — they turned to social media influencers like stuntman, motorcyclist, and Instagrammer, Riley Harper .

Adored by his 100k+ followers “for his cool West Coast lifestyle and photography,” Riley was the perfect fit for both the brand and the campaign.

( Read the full story here. )

Kimberly-Clark & #HolidayNecessities – A Look at Creating Holiday Relevance

Toilet paper. Kleenex. Paper towels. Diapers. Tampons.

Not really items that scream “buy me!” when it’s time to do the holiday shopping.

But Kimberly-Clark —the massive, multi-national corporation with an array of goods in the personal-care space — didn’t want to miss out on the seasonal flood of consumers to Costco’s, Safeway’s, Walmart’s, and other big-name stores that carry Kimberly-Clark products.

So, the corporation partnered with an influencer marketing agency ( Clever ) to contact “thousands of influencers-moms who love to host during the holidays,” asking them to use their presence on Twitter and Instagram to broadcast the importance of being prepared with #HolidayNecessities.

Meghan Joins the Old Navy – A Look at Tapping Social Media Super-Users

Photo Credit: i.ytimg

When you’ve crossed the threshold of 1-million followers on Instagram, and 2-million followers on YouTube, there can be little doubt about your super-user status.

These individuals have more than massive reach, and they have massive pull over the audiences that follow them.

So, it was no surprise the marketing team at Old Navy asked social media super-user Meghan Rienks to adorn some of their threads and create content ( like this ) capable of promoting the brand on YouTube.

Mini Makes a Micro Move – A Look at Channeling Instagram Micro-Influencers to Win

Making the average consumer pay attention to the release of a new car isn’t easy, even for a brand with as much curbside appeal as MINI.

Knowing this, MINI Australia recruited five Instagram micro-influencers to get behind the wheel of a new MINI Convertible, and showcase the brand, the car, and their adventures while driving with the top-down.

Red Bull’s InstaInspiration – A Look at Creating Searing Identity Influence

Photo Credit: Rohan Chambers

More than any other social media medium, Red Bull is using Instagram to sear its brand identity into the minds of its 7-million+ followers.

The company is capitalizing on the natural thirst for awe, wonder, and sheer amazement to permanently affix its brand with “awesome.”

Part of Red Bull’s Instagram success comes from its ability to piggyback off the success of established social media influencers through regrams.

Wear WEARHAUS This Valentines’ Day – A Look at Making Something Out of Nothing

When you think of Valentine’s Day, you think of brands like FTD, See’s, and Hallmark.

You don’t think of consumer technology brands, like WEARHAUS, purveyors of world-class wireless headphones.

But WEARHAUS didn’t let their unconventional industry niche prevent them from appealing to the wallets of consumers on this otherwise conventional holiday.

WEARHAUS — in conjunction with their influencer marketing agency, Clever — reached out to seven, Instagram-power-using couples to demonstrate the surprisingly romantic appeal of a pair of headphones.

The results? — nearly 100,000 views, and 20,000-plus engagements . Proof that social media can help brands make something out of a whole lot of nothing.

Making McDonald’s Cool – A Look at Seasonal Persuasion Via Facebook and Twitter

Photo Credit: Refinery29

Adding degrees of “cool” to a brand as established (and stigmatized) as McDonald’s requires appealing to audiences in a subdued way.

Tapping into the power of lesser-known social media influencers like Lily Melrose and Sam King was a way for McDonald’s to not only generate a half-million visitors to their mobile website, but it was also a way for them tie their McCafe line of products to chic personalities with favorable appeal amongst younger audiences.

HP Uses Influencers to Prepare for Launch – A Look a Building Hype

Laptops aren’t thought of as young and hip—at least HP laptops aren’t. A fact which the Palo Alto-based corporation was all too aware.

So, before the launch of their new Spectre laptop in Australia, HP enlisted the assistance of various fashion-forward Instagram influencers to “ increase product awareness among a young target market who appreciate stylish design when it comes to technology. ”

For a full week, these influencers posted carefully curated photos of themselves with the product to build launch momentum, reaching more than 900,000 followers, and generating more than 60,000 direct engagements in the process.

Use these fantastic Case Studies to increase your knowledge of social media. You don’t have to go out there and re-invent the wheel. There are incredible companies making big moves already. Moves that you can make your own. Implementing some of the ideas above will make you a more well-rounded Influencer.

Or, you can take parts and pieces of the Case Studies listed above and create your campaigns. Whatever you choose to do, make it your own. Put your spin on it, so your fans and followers will see your personality shining through!

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Earning from what you promote just got easier!

9 Unsuccessful Influencer Case Studies No Brand Should Miss

Instagram Influencer Marketing Case Study: How it Benefits Influencer Marketing Agencies

Last Updated On : May 20, 2024

If you’ve never written a case study before, you might not realize how impactful they are. In reality, publishing detailed and thorough case studies is a foolproof way to gain clients and exposure.

Case studies can be a great way to promote your brand and build trust among your target audience.

With a successful Instagram influencer marketing case study, brands and agencies can display their achievements, creativity, strategies, and results.

Still not convinced?

We’ll break down the facts about case studies and why they’re so important for brands and influencer marketing agencies.

Table of Contents

What are Case Studies?

Before discussing what makes up case studies of Instagram influencer marketing, we’ll go over what case studies are.

In general, this is a way for a marketing agency to demonstrate how they achieved campaign success.

More specifically, they discuss how an agency or company addressed their or their client’s goal. Or, how they provided solutions to their client’s problem.

Case studies should be full of statistics and proof of the agency’s success. Especially when it comes to an Instagram case study on influencer marketing, readers should see relevant and concrete analytics.

There are several different types of mediums for these studies that a brand can create, such as:

• Video content
• Slideshow with Infographics

All of the above mediums are fantastic ways to present analytics concisely and uniformly. When in doubt, just remember that a reader shouldn’t have to dig for the important information.

Now that you know what it is, let’s see how one for Instagram influencer marketing can benefit you.

What are Influencer Marketing Agencies?

Now that we’ve covered case studies, it’s time to discuss influencer marketing agencies. Specifically, what exactly are they? Why are they becoming so popular now?

In a short answer – social media is only continuing to grow and advance. Instagram especially brings in more than 1 billion monthly active users.

Now, more marketers are realizing that traditional media methods of advertising don’t work as well as they used to.

Instead, digital marketing strategies, influencer marketing, and social media content have taken precedent in attracting customers from a target demographic.

Let’s put the power of social influencers into perspective. Today, 60% of users claim that they discover new products on Instagram through influencers and Instagram ads.

Consumers have become more likely to purchase products recommended by their favorite social media influencers instead of trusting an advertisement, even micro-influencers.

That’s why the influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022.

To keep up with this trend, influencer marketing agencies have been helping brands launch successful online campaigns.

These agencies take care of everything for their clients from influencer sourcing to tracking campaign performance.

Why Case Studies are Important for Agencies

After running a campaign, constructing an Instagram case study of influencer marketing is a critical next step.

Case studies are extremely important tools for marketing agencies, and here’s why:

1. They Show Results

Case studies are an inexpensive way for an agency to show its successful results from running a campaign. Plus, they have the power to show brands why they should want to use their services.

Showing results is essential irrespective of the tools you use as they back your claims. A well-put-together study can help an agency build credibility and become an authority in the space.

2. Demonstrate the Potential of Campaigns to Brands

Brands run campaigns on Instagram with the aim to raise awareness of their brand, lead generation, or sales. A study shows them why they should trust your agency to run the campaign for them.

And how, you might ask?

A strong case study of Instagram influencer marketing displays relevant statistics to brands, such as ROI and the number of conversions.

They can also show important social media metrics, such as the number of impressions and engagements.

Through it, a brand can see how your agency can perform. Then, they can judge if it’ll be a good fit for them based on their campaign goals.

3. Attract New Clients and Influencers

Once an agency publishes a study, they’re bound to attract new clients after other brands see their results.

Many brands have still not mastered their social media strategies, so they’re often looking for agencies with impressive experience.

What’s more?

Not only can case studies help agencies recruit brands to work with, but they can also attract influencers.

Many influencer marketing agencies have their own databases full of social media influencers that they can activate for campaigns, including micro-influencers.

Influencers want to work with agencies that they can trust to bring them campaign opportunities.

They also want to see that an agency can run successful campaigns for brands they’d like to work with.

An Instagram case study of influencer marketing can serve as proof of your agency’s capabilities and thus attract influencers.

How Case Studies Can Benefit Brands  

Influencer marketing agencies aren’t the only ones who should share their results through case studies. Brands should do it, too! Often, brands share case studies on their websites to:

1. Demonstrate Success and Build Credibility

Plenty of brands can make claims about their products or services, but case studies show the proof.

A phrase associated with case studies that perfectly encapsulates this point is, “Put your metrics where your mouth is.”

Think about it this way: Should a potential client just trust your word that you increased sales?

No – they’d want to see some proof and that’s exactly where a case study can come in handy.

2. Elevate the Brand in a Certain Industry

Case studies help show off a brand’s expertise. That’s why big brands typically publish case studies that best display how they solved a problem for the customer.

Publishing impressive case studies will also further set brands apart from the competition in the same market. They can help in establishing your brand reputation in the market and growing your brand .

Now that you know all about how Instagram influencer marketing case studies can help both agencies and brands, let’s see how you can create one.

How to Create an Instagram Influencer Marketing Case Study

Writing standout Instagram influencer marketing case studies sounds like a daunting task, but don’t worry. Constructing a convincing one can actually be broken down into five simple steps:

1. Describe the Problem

What problem is your client or your brand trying to solve? Identify this problem and write about it — and be specific.

2. Describe the Goal

Now that your readers know the problem, they should understand what the goal of the campaign is. Lead generation? Spreading brand awareness? Whatever may be the goal, state it clearly.

3. Describe Strategy and Implementation

What is your strategy to address the client’s goals and problems? How exactly did your team implement the strategy?

Describe the strategy and its implementation in detail. From specific hashtags to the influencers you worked with, mention it all.

4. Show Campaign Content

You should use them to also show the content that was used in the Instagram influencer marketing campaign.

Be it the user-generated content from the influencer or the repurposed influencer content , you should showcase all the content that performed well.

5. Explain the Results

How did the campaign perform amongst the target audience? How many impressions did you earn? What's the engagement rate? Did you solve the problem? What was the ROI with your initial budget in mind?

Your study must answer all these questions and that’s where the campaign data can also come in handy.

While it’s important to include these five points, don’t let them limit you.

No two case studies are the same, so feel free to get creative when creating your case study on Instagram influencer marketing. Just remember: be detailed.

Examples of Successful Case Studies

Running an influencer media campaign on Instagram isn’t as easy as it sounds. You need to balance both current social engagement trends and creativity to ensure the success of your campaign.

Here are some great examples of Instagram influencer marketing case studies that didn’t miss the mark:

1. Chatbooks Video Case Study

The app Chatbooks teamed up with influencer marketing agency BEN to run an online campaign on Instagram and YouTube.

Going into the campaign, Chatbooks had the goal of boosting product sales and driving mobile app installations.

Using a unique AI software solution, BEN was able to predict that interior design and family influencers would perform best.

The AI also accurately predicted the number of views the campaign would gain on both platforms.

From these predictions, BEN helped maximize the campaign budget by recruiting more influencers.

It also helped increase customer acquisition from the influencers since the AI accurately predicted their performance.

The campaign was a success, as BEN increased influencer-driven acquisitions by over 6x. Additionally, many customers acquired became repeat buyers.

2. Walmart Case Study

In this example, influencer marketing agency NeoReach shows how they helped Walmart generate buzz on social media.

The goal of the campaign was to spread awareness of the new Stars Wars product line in stores nationwide.

To do so, NeoReach assisted Walmart with sourcing top-performing family influencers for original user-generated content and hosting a giveaway.

Influencers for the campaign posted on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter with campaign-specific hashtags to gain exposure.

In the end, NeoReach and Walmart achieved 1,200,000 million impressions on Instagram and a 2x increase in conversions.

Overall, the campaign gained 27 million impressions and 343,000 engagements.

3. Heinz Case Study

Heinz partnered with Kairos Media to run a global social media campaign that would attract Generation Z users.

Not only that, but Heinz also had the goal of building a relationship with the gaming community and boosting their social media presence.

To support the campaign, Kairos activated gaming macro-influencers to post Swipe-Up links on their Instagram stories.

They also included an AR filter in their strategy, as filters tend to draw in younger consumers. Instagram influencers also used the hashtag #TeamKetchup for campaign exposure.

Once the campaign wrapped up in 72 hours, Kairos and Heinz had achieved 55,000,000 impressions and 947,000 engagements.

Plus, the unique filter on Instagram gained 2,600,000 shares. Up to 1,207 Instagram influencers were activated for the campaign and helped draw in the gaming community.

Q1. When is the right time to conduct a case study?

A. Whenever you’re running a social media campaign, you should be making detailed observations about the strategy, goals, and influencers. This will help you later on as you begin to write about the campaign and its results.

After you wrap up the campaign, begin writing the study so it can be published. This way, potential clients can see your success sooner and decide to work with you.

Q2. Who can write a case study?

A. A member of the marketing team that ran the campaign usually writes the study. Otherwise, the team can provide details of the campaign to a staff writer who can write it for them.

Another option is to hire a freelance writer and compensate them for writing the study. In this case, the writer should be familiar with social media marketing and the brands they’re writing about.

Q3. Who should be cited in a case study?

A. Since you ran the campaign, you shouldn’t have to cite many other people or brands besides you and your client/partner.

Typically, those who publish case studies about their social media campaigns also link to the influencers they activated.

If you share statistics that help set the scene for the study, you should also be citing where you found that data.

Q4. Is a case study a research method?

A. In a way – yes! Case studies are a way for your brand to track the performance of your services, solutions, and strategies. Taking notes from past case studies can help you perform better on future campaigns.

For the people who are reading your study, this can be similar to a form of research.

For example, they could be researching your brand, the campaign, and why they should work with you.

Q5. Are case studies qualitative or quantitative?

A. Case studies can involve both qualitative and quantitative data. When you’re referring to concrete data, such as the number of impressions, this would qualify as quantitative data.

If you’re discussing things that can be observed but not measured that would qualify as qualitative data.

Q6. What do case studies look like?

A. As mentioned earlier, no two case studies look the same. Many brands and agencies add their own creative spin or signature to their case studies. They don’t have to be blog posts, as they can be videos or even slideshows.

While it’s helpful to make your study eye-catching for potential clients, focus more on the content.

The most important thing to ensure is that you’re delivering the information to your readers in a clear-cut way.

Q7. Why are case studies challenging?

A. Some people may consider case studies to be challenging because they’re so detailed.

However, if you’re taking relevant notes while you’re running the campaign, you should have a simple time writing one.

If you’re aware of the goal, problem, solutions, content, and results – writing a study will be less difficult.

Q8. Can a case study increase sales?

A. Definitely. It builds credibility, authority, and trust. It shows your results on paper, which potential clients would love to see.

As for brands, case studies can be a great way to boost your engagement rate on social media. Using them, you can build a loyal relationship with your following.

Don’t Overlook an Instagram Case Study on Influencer Marketing

If you don’t think it’s worth it to invest in case studies, I hope the tips above have changed your mind.

Publishing a study on Instagram influencer marketing for your brand is the key to gaining credibility and clients.

A compelling study is one of the most important tools in the marketing industry to show off your brand’s achievements.

There’s no better time than now to get started on writing a study of your own.

If you have any questions about how Instagram influencer marketing case studies can help you, ask them in the comments.

Selena Ponton is an experienced Editorial Staff Writer and Industry Report Specialist at NeoReach . She specializes in writing influencer marketing-related content including pieces on social media strategies, campaigns, and influencer marketing case studies . She has previously written for a variety of websites and publications, such as the lifestyle website SwipeLife and College Magazine.

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Top 3 Social Media Case Studies to Inspire You in 2024

Discover three successful social media case studies from top brands and learn how to create one. Benefit from their strategies and mistakes to ensure the success of your next campaign.

Social media is every marketer’s safe haven for branding and marketing.

And why not?

More than 50% of the population is active on social media, and more are signing up with every passing second.

In a recent poll by HubSpot, 79% of the respondents have made a purchase after seeing a paid advertisement on social media .

This isn’t just a happenstance.

It’s the constant efforts that these brands put behind their dynamic presence on social media, that counts.

But how do they captivate their customers’ attention for this long despite the budding competitors?

Well, that’s something that we’ll reveal in this blog.

We shall assess 3 different social media case studies by top brands who are best in their niches. Their game is simple yet effective.

How effective? Let’s take a look.

Social Media Case Study 1: Starbucks

Starbucks and social media are a match made in heaven. Being one of the sensational brands online, they are stirring the social media world with their strong presence.

They brew the right content to elevate the experiences of their coffee lovers. But how do they nail marketing with perfection every single time? Let’s find out.

Starbucks in Numbers

Starbucks mastered the advertising transition from offline fame to online undertaking. They use each social media with a varied goal to target pitch-perfect reach. Drawing in more customers than ever before, they strike the right balance in content across multiple platforms.

Key Takeaways

Though not every company has a Starbucks budget to promote and spend lavishly on social media marketing, here are some quick takeaways that will undoubtedly help.

1. Chasing Trends

Be it any event, brands must take the advantage to showcase their viewpoints and opinions. Successful brands like Starbucks jump into the bandwagon and leave no stone unturned to make their voice count in the trending list.

Here’s one such social media campaign example from Starbucks.

Starbucks is a firm believer in LGBTQ+ rights. When the pride wave surged, Starbucks came forward and reinstated its belief through the #ExtraShotOfPride campaign.

Starbucks joined hands with the Born This Way Foundation to raise $250K to support the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout the social media campaign, they shared quotes and stories of various Starbucks employees cherishing the pride spirit.

2. Less is More

Social media is not about quantity but quality. Starbucks follows the “less is more” principle to maintain the quality standards, even in the caption. Spamming followers’ feeds with constant posting is a big no-no. Starbucks shares 5-6 posts per week on Instagram and 3-4 weekly posts on Facebook .

Creative and crisp! That’s what defines a Starbucks caption. This post with 111+k likes is no exception. Nothing is better than a minimalist post with a strong caption.

3. User Generated Content is the King

Ditch the worry of creating content every day when you can make use of user generated content. Starbucks makes sure to retweet or post its loyal customers’ content. User generated content postings starkly improve brand credibility.

Look at this Facebook post made out of customers’ tweets. The new Oatmilk drink got the appreciation shower by some, and Starbucks couldn’t resist but share it with others. It saved them efforts on content brainstorming, plus they got free PR.

4. Building Rapport

Building rapport with the audience is an unsaid rule to brand fame. Social media has now taken the onus of dispensing quality service by aiding brands in prompting faster replies .

Starbucks is always on its toe to respond to customers actively solving concerns, expressing gratitude, or reposting. That kind of proactive service definitely deserves love and adoration.

5. Loads of campaigns

Starbucks is known for its innovative social media campaigns. Be it a new product launch or any festivity around the corner, Starbucks always turns up with a rewarding campaign.

In this social media campaign example, Starbucks introduced #RedCupContest with prizes worth $4500 during Christmas of 2016. A new entry came every 14 seconds.

The grand total of entries was a whopping 40,000 in just two days. Indeed Starbucks knows how to get the most out of the festive fever.

6. Content mix

Last but not least, the content mix of Starbucks is inspiring. They create tailored content for every platform.

The official youtube channel of Starbucks comprises content in varied hues. From recipes to even series, Starbucks is the ultimate pioneer of experimenting.

Even on Instagram, they use all the features like Guides, Reels, and IGTV without affecting their eye-popping feed. Starbucks also follows the design consistency for its aesthetic content mix.

Starbucks has proved time and again to be a customer-centric brand with their unrelenting efforts.

Social Media Case Study 2: Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather needs no introduction. Founded by David Ogilvy, the ‘Father of Advertising’ in 1948, the agency continues the legacy of revolutionizing marketing long before the advent of social media.

The iconic agency helps several Fortune 500 companies and more make a massive impact on their audiences worldwide.

Ogilvy & Mather knows its game too well and never fails to astonish. Not just high-profile clients, Ogilvy nails its marketing with perfection every single time.

Keep on reading.

Ogilvy & Mather in Numbers

They use social media to target pitch-perfect reach. Drawing in more hype than ever before, they know how to strike the right balance and bring out emotions with their heart-warming campaigns.

Not every company has David Ogilvy’s legacy or even affluent clients to boast of, but here are some quick takeaways that will undoubtedly help you become a pro marketer.

1. Integrating Values

Ogilvy stands apart from the crowd, creating trends. They leave no stone unturned to communicate values.

Proud Whopper is one such social media campaign by Ogilvy that was an instant hit on the internet. People were offered whoppers in rainbow-colored wrappers, with a note that said, “Everyone’s the same on the inside.” This was to reinstate the importance of LGTQ+ rights.

The campaign got 1.1 billion impressions, $21 million of earned media, 450,000 blog mentions, 7 million views, and became the #1 trending topic on Facebook and Twitter.

Ogilvy made a remarkable #Tbt video to honor this momentous event showcasing their supremacy in creating impactful campaigns.

2. Quality over Quantity

Ogilvy believes in the “ Quality supremacy ” to maintain their high standards, even in post captions.

Arbitrary posting isn’t a part of their agenda. They share 5-7 posts on Instagram and Facebook weekly.

Direct and very precise. That’s what defines an Ogilvy caption. This post is no exception. They have exhibited the success of their client work by describing the motive behind the campaign and sharing the ad they created for raising awareness.

3. Adding Credibility

Won awards? It’s time to boast! Because that’s the most authentic way of establishing trust among your clients. It bears proof of your excellence.

Look at this pinned Twitter post. Ogilvy won the Global Network of the Year by the very prestigious London International Awards. It also earned Regional Network of the year for Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

What better than this to give its audience an idea about Ogilvy’s roaring success and undoubted potential?

4. Being Innovative

Building rapport with the audience is an unsaid rule to brand fame. And that’s why you need to tell stories. Social media has become an indispensable medium to spread your stories far and wide.

Ogilvy shares its historical tale of existence and how it has adapted to the challenges of the changing world. The team extensively talks about their adaptation to the latest trends to stay on top always.

5. Brainstorming Uniqueness

Being unique is what propels you on social media. People are always looking for brands that do something different from the herd. So your task each day is undeniably brainstorming unique content.

KFC wanted more of its customers to use its app. Well, Ogilvy and KFC decided to hide a secret menu in the app, which was a mass invitation for the download without being salesy at all. Results? Downloads up by 111% at launch!

6. Inspire Your Peeps

Inspiration is everywhere. But how do you channelize and mold it as per your brand guidelines? The renowned brands move their audience, filling them with a sense of realization. Who doesn’t seek validation? We all need quotes and inspiration to live by.

Ogilvy has dedicated its entire Pinterest profile to inspiration. The profile has numerous insightful infographics that encourage you to pursue marketing when your spirits run low. And that’s how it brings out the very essence of being the marketing leader: by inspiring its followers.

Got some good ideas for your branding? We have created templates and tools to help you execute them hassle-free. Tread on further and download the Trending Hashtag Kit for 2024 to get into action.

Social Media Case Study 3: PewDiePie

YouTube king with 111 Million subscribers on PewDiePie Channel, Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has defied all norms. One of the most prolific content creators of the decade, Felix was on the list of World’s 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine in 2016.

Needless to say, he is still relevant to this day and has a massive following on social media. Not just for branding, the Swedish YouTuber leveraged social media to give himself a new identity and opened doors to fame and a successful career.

What was the cause of this extraordinary trajectory?

Let’s find out.

PewDiePie in Numbers

PewDiePie likes to keep his social media raw and unfiltered. That’s why subscribers love to have a glimpse of his everyday life and follow him on other social media platforms as well. Here’s a quick snapshot of that.

Felix took the early bird advantage and started creating content when it wasn’t even popular practice. We can’t go back in time, but we can definitely learn a lot from his social media success.

1. Start Now

If you are still skeptical about making the first move, then don’t. Stop waiting and experiment. It’s better late than never.

Social media is in favor of those who start early because then you create surplus content to hold your audience . You quench their thirst for more quality content.

PewDiePie started creating videos in 2011 and live-streamed his gaming sessions with commentaries. It was something new and completely original. Ever since, he has continued to make thousands of videos that entertain his audience.

2. Gather Your Tribe

Being a content creator, PewDiePie knows his act of engaging his audience very well. He strives to build lasting connections and encourages two-way communication. As a result, his followers like to jump onto his exciting challenges.

Felix treasures his gaming community. He frequently asks his followers to take screenshots and turn them into funny memes . He gives them tasks to keep them engaged and amused .

3. Collaboration and Fundraising

Once you reach the stage and gain popularity, people want to see more of you with their favorite personalities. That’s what Felix does.

He collaborates with multiple YouTubers and brands and puts out exclusive content for his followers. He also goes for multiple fundraising campaigns to support vital causes and social wellbeing.

Here’s one such social media campaign example. PewDiePie supported the CRY foundation and raised $239000 in just one day to bring a positive impact for children in India. He thanked all for their contribution and taking active participation towards a noble cause.

4. Keep it Real

Felix likes to keep his content fluff-free. You get to witness raw emotions from an unfiltered life. This instantly appeals to the audience and makes the posts more relatable .

Apart from that, he also uses storytelling techniques to narrate his experiences, adding a very personalized touch to each of the videos.

Here’s a video of Felix where he and Ken from CinnamonToastKen discuss what can be possibly done with a million dollars around the world. The topic is quite intriguing.

More than 3.8M people have watched it and 216K of them liked it as well, proving that you need not always sweat to create complex content. Even the simplest ones can make the cut.

How to Write a Social Media Marketing Case Study

Many small businesses struggle when it comes to social media marketing. But guess what? Small businesses can slay the competition with a powerful tool: the social media case study.

These social media case studies are success stories that prove your hustle is paying off. Here’s how to weave a case study that showcases your small business wins:

Building Your Brag Book

• Pick Your Perfect Project:  Did a specific social media campaign drive a surge in sales? Highlight a product launch that went viral. Choose a project with impressive results you can showcase.
• DIY Interview:  Don’t have a fancy marketing team? No worries! Record yourself talking about your challenges, goals, and the strategies that made a difference.
• Data Dive:  Track down social media analytics! Look for growth in followers, website traffic driven by social media, or engagement metrics that show your efforts are working.

Now that you have all the ingredients, it’s time to cook a brilliant case study

Crafting Your Case Study

• Headline Hunt:  Grab attention with a clear and concise headline. Mention your business name and a key achievement (e.g., “From 100 to 10,000 Followers: How We Grew Our Bakery’s Social Buzz”).
• Subheading Scoop:  Briefly summarize your success story in a subheading, piquing the reader’s interest and highlighting key takeaways.
• The Business Struggle:  Be honest about the challenges you faced before tackling social media. This will build trust and allow other small businesses to connect.
• DIY Social Strategies:  Share the social media tactics you used, such as engaging content formats, community-building strategies, or influencer collaborations.
• Numbers Don’t Lie:  Integrate data and visuals to support your story. Include charts showcasing follower growth or screenshots of top-performing posts.
• Simple & Straightforward:  Use clear, concise language that’s easy to understand. Bullet points and short paragraphs make your case study digestible and showcase your professionalism.

Remember: Your social media case study is a chance to celebrate your achievements and build businesses. So, tell your story with pride, showcase your data-driven results, and watch your brand recognition soar

Social media campaigns are winning hearts on every platform. However, their success rates largely depend on your year-round presence. That’s why being consistent really does the trick.

We’re sure you must have learned a few things from the above-mentioned social media case studies .

To excel further at your social media marketing, use our FREE Trending Hashtag Kit and fill your calendar with everyday content ideas.

On downloading, you get 3000+ hashtags based on each day’s theme or occasion. You also get editable design templates for hassle-free social media posting.

What are you waiting for? Download now.

Frequently Asked Questions

🌟 How do I start a social media campaign idea?

Here’s how you can start a social media campaign:

• Finalize your campaign goals
• Brainstorm personas
• Pick a social media channel
• Research your competitors and audience
• Finalize an idea that’s in trend
• Promote the campaign
• Start the campaign
• Track the performance

🌟 What are the different types of social media campaigns?

Different types of social media campaigns are:

• Influencer Campaigns
• Hashtag Challenges

🌟 Why is social media campaign important?

Social media campaigns have various benefits:

• Boost traffic
• Better Conversions
• Cost-effective Marketing
• Lead Generation
• PR & Branding
• Loyal Followers

🌟 What are some of the best social media campaign tools?

Some of the best social media campaign tools are:

• SocialPilot

🌟 What are the top social media sites?

The top social media sites are:

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Case study: using influencers to build rapid awareness.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Animal Sanctuary (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

I recently came across an interesting example of how using influencers can help drive awareness and rapid trial. Markerly, a pioneer in influencer marketing, conducted a search to identify the most influencial “cat” voices on Instagram and TikTok. The campaign included product placements and new takes on the MeowMix jingle and achieved significant, rapid results. Below, Justin Kline, Co-Founder and President of Markerly , provides insight on the campaign.

Kimberly Whitler: Can you provide some background on your business?

Justin Kline: Markerly is an influencer marketing agency working with some of the largest consumer brands and advertising agencies in the world to create influencer campaigns on popular social media channels including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.  

Whitler: Why did you decide to focus on an influencer strategy to drive awareness?

Kline: For this campaign in particular, our client Meow Mix wanted to make a big splash on social media to promote the launch of their new Tasty Layers food line. Along with that launch came a vinyl record of Meow Mix jingle remixes — because why not!? It’s no secret that cat content is, has and likely always will be some of the most popular content on the internet. Not only are there countless cat-owning influencers but just as many influencers who are literal cats themselves. Going with an influencer strategy presented itself as the clearest choice to drive awareness for MeowMix’s Tasty Layers line and catchy, remixed jingles. There are many competitors in the cat food industry, popular cat influencers and creative content that incorporated the latest trends on TikTok and Instagram Reels were a surefire way to cut through the noise

Whitler: What was the process you followed to develop an influencer strategy?

Kline: To help Meow Mix stand out from the competition, Markerly targeted humans and cat influencers who really immersed themselves in cat internet culture. Our team also took a close look at account demographics to determine if there was a dedicated follower base consisting of cat lovers and other cat-fluencer accounts who would engage with the post and spread its reach to other interested users. That meant looking at quality of followers and engagements, not just volume. Creativity was also a big component of this campaign - we wanted the cat-fluencers and their humans to really run with the product placements, audio and campaign messaging and put their own spin on it. Creators with a history of fun, silly and engaging takes on the latest trends were a must. This helped us decide which accounts to target, that would not only produce content for the jingle but also promote the new Meow Mix Tasty Layers product to fellow cat lovers. 

Whitler: What were the results?

Kline: Between May and June 2021, a total of 31 posts made by four creators raked in 2.5M engagements (for a rate of 26%–significantly above the industry average of 2-4%) and a total reach of 9.5M users to date. We’ve seen successful social media trends where Dominos and Old Spice brought back some of their most popular campaigns, further proving our suspicion that what was once old can be new and relevant again, if you add a modern twist. 

Netflix’s Best New Show Has A Perfect 100% Critic Score

New chrome security rules—google gives websites until 11/1 to comply, ranked: the 30 most walkable cities in the world, according to a new report.

Whitler: What recommendations do you have for other companies and marketers on how to develop a successful influencer program?

Kline:  Make sure to collaborate with your team or brands you’re working with to come up with creative ways to tap into new audiences. Keep up to date on industry trends, and scope out how competitors are using social media. What are they doing that’s working? As we saw with the Meow Mix campaign, it is possible to bring old campaigns, songs, taglines and themes back to life with new mediums like short-video sharing. If you’re considering this route, think of innovative ways to target relevant influencers and recruit them to help spread the word about your product/brand. 

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler

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Case Study: Tesco

Celebrating 3 years of Goat x Tesco

Over the last three years, we have collaborated on truly groundbreaking campaigns, driving results at every stage of the funnel using a data-led, integrated approach to influencer marketing. We’re excited to continue our relationship as their influencer agency of record!

Among our best work is the Stronger Starts campaign, an initiative launched to donate £5m worth of healthy food and activity to 5000 children’s groups by July 2024. 

The Challenge

Community remains at the heart of Tesco’s core values, and it’s something that we relay throughout all of our influencer campaigns and strategies. Tesco approached us with the challenge of amplifying this message of community spirit through a multi-channel influencer campaign across Instagram and TikTok.

We were tasked with driving emotional engagement, audience participation, and to reflect Tesco’s dedication to its local communities.

The Solution

We sourced 6 micro and macro parent influencers that aligned with Tesco’s values and target audience demographics, then had them film  an experience of going to Tesco as a family . 

The brief was clear but not strict, allowing our creators to tell the story as they saw fit. This kept it very natural and authentic, with audiences responding extremely positively. We then reinforced the content with paid media, continuously testing and optimizing to the best performing, and building ongoing engagement with different audience groups. 

We out-performed on impressions by 214% and engagement by 121%, not just meeting but exceeding our targets, and fostering audience participation and emotional connections through an impressive 9.9% engagement rate.

We also achieved an impressive CPM of £8.10, far surpassing our estimated £17.35.  Stronger Starts boasted a net sentiment score of +87, with an astounding zero negative comments, which embodies our challenge of cementing Tesco as a brand that genuinely cares and fostering a true sense of community.

@olkafiolka65 AD @Tesco Stronger Starts aims to fund £5m worth of healthy food and activities to 5000 children’s groups by July 2024. Funding will support children’s health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities. Pick up a blue token at the till in-store to see the children’s groups you can help in your local community. ♬ Happy Summer – Vin Music

We Goat This.

Do you need social media for your business but are finding the fast-changing industry daunting? Get in touch, Goat can help.

THE RESULTS

Time to get started.

The Goat Agency has over 8 years experience, specializing in social media marketing powered by influencers. To find out more about how we launch industry-leading campaigns across the world, contact us below.

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Social media influencer marketing: foundations, trends, and ways forward

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• Published: 25 June 2023

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• Yatish Joshi 1 ,
• Weng Marc Lim   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7196-1923 2 , 3 , 6 ,
• Khyati Jagani 4 &
• Satish Kumar 4 , 5  

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The increasing use and effectiveness of social media influencers in marketing have intrigued both academic scholars and industry professionals. To shed light on the foundations and trends of this contemporary phenomenon, this study undertakes a systematic literature review using a bibliometric-content analysis to map the extant literature where consumer behavior, social media, and influencer marketing are intertwined. Using 214 articles published in journals indexed by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC), Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), and Web of Science (WOS) from 2008 to 2021, this study unpacks the articles, journals, methods, theories, themes, and constructs (antecedents, moderators, mediators, and consequences) in extant research on social media influencer marketing. Noteworthily, the review highlighted that the major research streams in social media influencer marketing research involve parasocial interactions and relationships, sponsorship, authenticity, and engagement and influence. The review also revealed the prominent role of audience-, brand-, comparative-, content-, influencer-, social-, and technology-related factors in influencing how consumers react to social media influencer marketing. The insights derived from this one-stop, state-of-the-art review can help social media influencers and marketing scholars and professionals to recognize key characteristics and trends of social media influencer marketing, and thus, drive new research and social media marketing practices where social media influencers are employed and leveraged upon for marketing activities.

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The future of social media in marketing

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Online influencer marketing

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Social media influencers are increasingly popular and affecting consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, preferences, choices, and decisions. Social media influencers are regular everyday people who have created an online presence from the grassroots level through their social media channel or page and, in the process, have created an extensive network of followers (Bastrygina and Lim [ 10 ]. In that sense, social media influencers are different than traditional celebrities or public figures, who rely on their existing careers (e.g., actors, singers, politicians) to become popular and exert influence [ 88 ].

Influencers first appeared in the early 2000s, and have since progressed from a home-based hobby to a lucrative full-time career. Influencer marketing has become so attractive that with the growing industry, there is an ever-growing set of social media users that aim to become an influencer. Influencers are now capitalizing on their popularity and visibility to further their career in mainstream media such as the film and television industry [ 1 ]. The segmentation of influencers is on the number of followers they have, whereby influencers can be classified as micro-, meso- and macro-influencers [ 44 ]. According to Lou and Yan [ 88 ], posts by influencers have two essential purposes from a marketing perspective: the first purpose is to increase the purchase intention of their followers, and the second purpose is to enhance their followers’ attractiveness and product knowledge. Influencers often curate posts with information and testimonials about the features of the product that they are promoting, which results in increased information value and product knowledge. In the process, they leverage and relay their attractiveness and aesthetic value through the use of sex appeal and posing [ 104 ].

Social media influencers have been defined by many scholars in numerous ways. Freberg et al. [ 44 ] characterized social media influencers as a new type of independent third-party endorser who shapes audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media. Abidin [ 1 ] construed social media influencers as a form of microcelebrities who document their everyday lives from the trivial and mundane to the exciting snippets of the exclusive opportunities in their line of work, thereby shaping public opinion through the conscientious calibration of persona on social media. De Veirman et al. [ 28 ] defined social media influencers as people who built a large network of followers and are regarded as trusted tastemakers in one or several niches. Ge and Gretzel [ 45 ] denoted social media influencers as individuals who are in a consumer’s social graph and has a direct impact on the behavior of that consumer. More recently, Dhanesh and Duthler [ 30 ] described social media influencers as people who, through personal branding, build and maintain relationships with their followers on social media, and have the ability to inform, entertain, and influence their followers’ thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. When these definitions are taken collectively and espoused through a marketing lens, social media influencers are essentially people who develop and maintain a personal brand and a following on social media through posts that intertwin their personality and lifestyle with the products (e.g., goods, services, ideas, places, people) that they promote, which can influence the way their followers behave (e.g., attitudes, perceptions, preferences, choices, decisions), positively (e.g., purchase) or negatively (e.g., do not purchase) .

Social media influencers, as digital opinion leaders, participate in self-presentation on social media. They form an identity by creating an online image using a rich multimodal narrative of their everyday personal lives and using it to attract a large number of followers [ 59 ]. Most critical to their success is the influencer-follower relationship [ 1 ], which future follower behavior (e.g., interaction, purchase intention) is dependent upon [ 13 ], [ 37 ], [ 126 ]. Indeed, social media influencers are often perceived to be credible, personal, and easily relatable given their organic rise to fame [ 28 ], [ 31 ], [ 104 ].

In collaborations between brands and social media influencers, the role of a social media influencer is to act as a brand ambassador by designing sponsored content for the brand to convey and enhance its brand image and brand name [ 104 ], and to drive brand engagement and brand loyalty [ 72 ]. Such content is often curated by social media influencers, as independent third-party endorsers, by sharing their experiences and lives in relation to the brand through pictures, texts, stories, hashtags, and check-ins, among others [ 28 ]. Indeed, social media influencers are highly sought after by brands because they have established credibility with their followers as a result of their expertise, which allow them to exert influence on the decision-making of their followers [ 60 ]. Moreover, influencer marketing through social media can provide opportunities to influencers and their followers to contribute to the co-creation of the brand’s image on social media [ 88 ].

With the growing importance of influencer marketing and the popularity of social media influencers, various brands have started promoting their products with the help of social media influencers in an attempt to influence consumers to behave in desired ways (e.g., forming positive brand attitudes and encourage product brand purchases) [ 104 ]. However, consumer behavior is highly complex [ 81 ], and increasing inconsistency has been noted in the effectiveness of this medium [ 124 ]. Thus, it is essential to understand the factors (i.e., antecedents) underpinning consumer decision making (i.e., consequences or decisions) toward brands promoted by social media influencers, including the factors (i.e., mediators and moderators) responsible for the inconsistency in consumer responses. In this regard, attempts to consolidate extant knowledge in the field is arguably relevant to address the extant gap and needs of marketing scholars and professionals interested in social media influencer marketing.

In recognition of the growing influence of social media influencers and influencer marketing in consumer decision making, this study aims to provide a one-stop, state-of-the-art overview of the articles, journals, methods, theories, themes, and constructs (antecedents, moderators, mediators, and consequences) relating to social media influencer marketing using a systematic review of articles in the area from 2008 to 2021. Though a recent review on social media influencers was conducted by Vrontis et al. [ 124 ], the present review remains warranted because the existing review only considered a small sample of 68 articles published in journals indexed in the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide, and thus, cannot holistically encapsulate the state of the field. Indeed, the insights and the integrative framework resulting from their review was relatively lean, which can be attributed to the sample limitations that the authors had imposed for their review. The same can be said about another recent review by Bastrygina and Lim [ 10 ], which considered only 45 articles in Scopus that narrowly focused only on the consumer engagement aspect of social media influencers. To overcome these limitations , the present review will consider a more inclusive search and inclusion criteria while upholding to the highest standards of academic quality by relying on a broader range of indexing sources. The motivation of the present review is also in line with the call by Lim et al. [ 86 ] and Paul et al. [ 98 ] for new reviews that address the shortcoming of existing reviews in order to redirect research in the area onto a clearer and more refined path for progress. In addition, the present review adopts a bibliometric-content analysis to consolidate current findings, uncover emerging trends and extant gaps, and curate a future agenda for social media influencer marketing. Noteworthily, the rigorous multi-method review technique (i.e., the combination of a bibliometric analysis and a content analysis) adopted for the present review is in line with the recommendation of Lim et al. [ 86 ] to facilitate a deeper dive into the literature, and thus, enabling the curation of a richer depiction of the nomological network characterizing the field [ 94 ], in this case, the field of social media influencer marketing. In doing so, this study contributes to answering the following research questions (RQs):

RQ1. What is the publication trend of social media influencer marketing research, and which are the key articles?

RQ2. Where is research on social media influencer marketing published?

RQ3. How has social media influencer marketing research been conducted?

RQ4. What are the theories that can be used to inform social media influencer marketing research?

RQ5. What are the major themes of social media influencer marketing research?

RQ6. What are the constructs (i.e., antecedents, mediators, moderators, and consequences) employed in social media influencer marketing research?

RQ7. Where should social media influencer marketing be heading towards in the future?

The rest of the paper is structured as follows. The next section provides an account of the methodology used in the research, followed by the findings and conclusions of the study in subsequent sections.

2 Methodology

This study conducts a multi-method systematic literature review on social media influencer marketing using a bibliometric-content analysis in line with the recommendation of Lim et al. [ 86 ] and recent systematic literature reviews (e.g., Kumar et al. [ 64 ]. The assembling, arranging, and assessing techniques stipulated in the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews ( SPAR-4-SLR ) protocol by Paul et al. [ 98 ] to carry out a systematic literature review are also adopted and explained in the next sections.

2.1 Assembling

Assembling relates to the identification (i.e., review domain, research questions, source type, and source quality) and acquisition (i.e., search mechanism and material acquisition, search period, search keywords) of articles for review. In terms of identification , the review domain relates to social media influencer marketing, but within the subject areas of business management, social sciences, hospitality, tourism, and economics due to their immediate relevance to the review domain, and thus, articles in other subject areas such as computer science, engineering, medical, and mathematics, which are peripheral to the review domain, were not considered. Next, the research questions underpinning the review pertain to the articles, journals, methods, theories, themes, and constructs in the field and were presented in the introduction section. Only journals were considered as part of source type as they are the main sources of academic literature that have been rigorously peer reviewed Nord & Nord, [ 96 ]. The source quality was inclusive yet high quality, whereby articles published in journals indexed in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC), Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), and Web of Science (WOS) were included. In terms of acquisition , the search mechanism and material acquisition relied on the WOS database, which is connected to myriad publishers such as Emerald, Sage, Springer, Taylor and Francis, and Wiley. The search period starts from 2008 and ends in 2021. The year 2008 was selected as the starting year because it was the year that the concept of influencer was first introduced by Kiss and Bichler [ 63 ], and thus, a review staring from 2008 can provide a more accurate and relevant account of the extant literature on influencer marketing, particularly from the lenses of consumers and social media influencers. The end year 2021 was selected because it is the most recent full year at the time of search—a practice in line with Lim et al. [ 83 ]. The search keywords—i.e., “consumer behavio*” (truncation technique), “social media,” “influencer,” and “marketing”—were curated through brainstorming and endorsed by disciplinary experts in marketing and methodological experts in review studies. In total, 320 articles were returned from the search, but 17 articles were removed as they were related to engineering, mathematics, and medicine, which resulted in only 303 articles that were retrieved for the arranging stage.

2.2 Arranging

Arranging relates to the organization (i.e., organizing codes) and purification (i.e., exclusion and inclusion criteria) of articles returned from the search. In terms of organization , the content of articles was coded based on the key focus of each research question: journal title, method, theory, and construct (antecedent, mediator, moderator, consequence). The bibliometric details of the articles were also retrieved and organized accordingly in this stage. In terms of purification , 89 articles were eliminated as they were not published in journals indexed by ABDC and CABS, with the rest of the 214 articles included for review.

2.3 Assessing

Assessing relates to the evaluation (i.e., analysis method, agenda proposal method) and reporting (i.e., reporting conventions, limitations, and sources of support) of articles under review. In terms of evaluation , a bibliometric analysis and a content analysis were conducted.

For the bibliometric analysis, the Bibliometrix package in R studio software [ 4 ] was used to conduct (1) a performance analysis to reveal the publication trend as well as the key articles and journals (RQ1 and RQ2), and (2) a science mapping to uncover the major themes in the field (RQ5) in line with the bibliometric guidelines by Donthu et al. [ 32 ]. With regards to science mapping, a triangulation technique was adopted in line with the recommendation of Lim et al. [ 86 ] using:

co-citation using PageRank , wherein the major themes are revealed through the clustering of articles that are most cited by highly-cited articles,

bibliographic coupling , wherein the major themes are revealed through the clustering of articles that cite similar references, and

keyword co-occurrence , wherein the major themes are revealed through the clustering of author specified keywords that commonly appear together [ 32 ], [ 64 ].

For the content analysis, the within-study and between-study literature analysis method by Ngai [ 95 ] was adopted (RQ3, RQ4, and RQ6). The within-study literature analysis evaluates the entire content of the article (e.g., theoretical foundation, methodology, constructs), whereas the between-study literature analysis consolidates, compares, and contrasts information between two or more articles. The future research agenda proposal method is predicated on the expert evaluation of a trend analysis by the authors (RQ7). In terms of reporting , the conventions for the outcomes reported include figures, tables, and words, whereas the limitations and sources of support are acknowledged at the end.

The findings of the review are organized based on the research questions (RQs) of the study: articles, journals, methods, theories, themes, and constructs.

3.1 Articles

The first research question (RQ1) deals with the publication trend and key articles of social media influencer marketing research.

Figure  1 indicates that research on social media influencer marketing began to flourish 10 years (i.e., 2018 onwards) after the concept of was introduced in 2008 [ 63 ]. This implies that interest in social media influencer marketing is fairly recent (i.e., within the last five years at the time of analysis), wherein its stratospheric growth appears to have coincided with that of highly interactive and visual content-focused social media such as Instagram (e.g., Instagram Stories feature launched in December 2017) [ 17 ] and TikTok (e.g., international launch in September 2017) [ 129 ]. The growth of triple-digit publications observed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic is especially noteworthy as it signals the importance of social media influencer marketing in the new normal and reaffirms past observations of an acceleration in technology adoption [ 77 ], [ 79 ].

Publication trend of social media influencer marketing research

Table 1 presents the top articles on social media influencer marketing. The most cited article is De Veirman et al.’s [ 28 ] (464 citations), which focused on social media influencer marketing using Instagram and revealed the impact of the number of followers and product divergence on brand attitudes among the followers of social media influencers. The burgeoning interest on Instagram as seen through this most cited article despite its recency corroborates the earlier observation on the stratospheric growth in research interest on highly interactive and visual content-focused social media. The top-cited articles in recent years demonstrate increasing research interest in comparative studies (e.g., celebrity versus social media influencer endorsements, [ 104 ],Instagram versus YouTube; [ 108 ], as well as review studies (e.g., Hudders et al., [ 48 ], [ 124 ], albeit the latter being limited (e.g., small review corpus, niche review focus) and thus reaffirming the necessity and value of the present review.

3.2 Journals

The second research question (RQ2) deals with the outlets that publish social media influencer marketing research and the source type chosen according to the recommendation of Paul et al. [ 98 ] is journals on the basis of academic quality and rigor. In total, the 214 articles in the review corpus were published in 87 journal titles indexed in ABDC, CABS, and WOS. Out of the 87 journal titles, 80 (37.38%) articles are published by the top 10 journals with the most articles on social media influencer marketing, with Journal of Business Research , International Journal of Advertising , and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services emerging as the top three journals in terms of numbers of articles published in the area (Table 2 ).

3.3 Methods

The third research question (RQ3) focuses on the methods that can inform social media influencer marketing research and were identified and coded manually using the within-study technique and consolidated to portray the outcome of a between-study literature analysis suggested by Ngai [ 95 ]. In total, seven categories of methods were employed in 214 articles on social media influencer marketing research (Table 3 ). As a category, quantitative methods in the form of surveys were most prevalent ( n  = 64), followed by qualitative methods ( n  = 52), with individual interviews being the most popular method ( n  = 19). Experimental ( n  = 38) and machine learning ( n  = 33) methods were noteworthy too. Non-empirical methods ( n  = 19) such as conceptual ( n  = 9) and review ( n  = 10) methods were less prominent. Similarly, mix methods ( n  = 8) were the least popular. As a whole, the review indicates that extant research on social media influencer marketing were mostly empirical in nature albeit in silos (i.e., single rather than mixed methods).

3.4 Theories

The fourth research question (RQ4) pertains to the theories that can inform social media influencer marketing research and were identified, coded, and reported using the same Ngai [ 95 ] informed within- and between-study literature analysis as reported for the methods in the preceding section. In total, 46 different theories employed in 94 (43.93%) articles on social media influencer marketing research were revealed (Table 4 ). Persuasion knowledge theory emerged as the most popular theory with eight articles, whereas social learning theory, social comparison theory, social cognitive theory, social exchange theory, social identity theory, social influence theory, source credibility theory, reactance theory, theory of para-social interaction, theory of planned behavior, and uses and gratifications theory were among the other popular theories ( n  ≥ 3). The broad range of theories indicate that social media influencer marketing is an area of research with multi-faceted aspects worthy of exploration and investigation. The sociological theories manifested in the most ways—namely Bourdieu’s theory, Graph theory, network theory, observational learning theory, optimal distinctiveness theory, social cognitive theory, social comparison theory, social exchange theory, social identity theory, social influence theory, social learning theory, structural hole theory, system justification theory, and theory of para-social interaction—whereas media theories were not far behind—namely advertising literacy theory, media dependency theory, megaphone effect theory, source credibility theory, transfer theory, two-step flow theory, uses and gratifications theory, and visual framing theory. The manifestation of theories that infused “media” and “sociology” together , such as social media influencer value model and social-mediated crisis communication theory, were observed as well. Psychological theories , such as associative learning theory, attachment theory, attribution theory, consistency theory, construal level theory, dissonance theory, dual process theory, elaboration likelihood model, halo effect theory, reactance theory, similarity-attraction model, theory of planned behavior, and theory of reasoned action, and marketing theories , such as Doppelganger effect theory, human brand theory, relationship management theory, and source effect theory, were also noteworthy. Management theories , such as charismatic and transformational leadership theory and resource dependency theory, were also observed. Interestingly, only one economic (i.e., cost-signaling theory) and one technology (i.e., technology acceptance model) theory were observed, which may indicate that the economic and technology aspects are underexplored as compared to the media, psychological, management, marketing, and social aspects of social media influencer marketing.

The fifth research question (RQ5) involves the mapping of extant research on social media influencer marketing. To do so, three science mapping techniques that rely on different sources of bibliographic data were relied upon—namely (1) a co-citation analysis using PageRank to identify clusters of articles that are most cited by highly-cited articles, (2) a bibliographic coupling to locate clusters of articles that share common references, and (3) a keyword co-occurrence analysis to uncover clusters of author specified keywords that commonly co-appear [ 32 ], [ 65 ].

3.5.1 Foundational themes (or foundational knowledge)

The foundational themes and the top articles for each foundational theme in social media influencer marketing research are depicted in Table 5 . In essence, foundational themes exemplify the perspectives that a field’s research relies upon, and thus, these themes may encompass articles inside and outside that field [ 32 ]. In the case of social media influencer marketing, four foundational themes were revealed by the co-citation analysis using PageRank. Noteworthily, the PageRank scores indicate article prestige, wherein a higher score indicates that the article is cited more by highly-cited articles in the field, whereas the betweenness and closeness centrality scores reflect the article’s relevance across and within themes, wherein a higher score indicates greater relevance across and within themes, respectively [ 32 ].

The first foundational theme depicts the foundations and models for social media influencer marketing . The articles in this foundational theme signify the key characteristics of concepts associated to social media influencer marketing, such as the concept of engagement [ 49 ], “Instafamous” [ 55 ], influencer marketing [ 88 ], and social media influencers [ 44 ], including the difference between traditional celebrities and contemporary social media influencers [ 104 ].

The second foundational theme denotes the influence and impact perspectives for social media influencer marketing . The articles in this foundational theme represent a collection of insights in relation to influence and impact. For example, the most prestigious article under this theme examines the impact of the number of followers of Instagram influencers and the divergence of the products promoted by these influencers on the brand attitudes of their followers [ 28 ]. Other examples of influence and impact outcomes include attitudes and behavioral intentions [ 37 ], engagement [ 120 ], perceptions Lee & Watkins, [ 67 ], and purchase decisions [ 31 ].

The third foundational theme highlights the importance of endorsement and resonance perspectives for social media influencer marketing . The articles in this theme, which are widely cited by highly cited articles on social media influencer marketing, emphasize the importance of endorsement and resonance literature in grounding the reasons for and outcome of social media influencer marketing. This can be seen by the prominence of celebrity endorsement (e.g., [ 34 ], Mccracken, [ 93 ], Silvera & Austad, [ 107 ]) and congruence (e.g., Till & Busler, [ 116 ]; [[ 128 ]] literature that make up the most prestigious articles under this theme.

The fourth foundational theme relates to the profiling and measurement perspectives for social media influencer marketing research . This theme signifies and reaffirms the value of personal characteristics (e.g., personalities, profiles; [ 31 ], Ferchaud et al., [ 40 ]), measurement scales (e.g., expertise trustworthiness and attractiveness; Ohanian, [ 97 ]), and evaluation methods (e.g., structural models; Fornell & Larcker, [ 43 ]) in guiding and informing social media influencer marketing research, and thus, they form a considerable part of the knowledge relied upon by research in the field.

3.5.2 Major themes (or major research streams)

The major themes build upon the foundational themes to curate new knowledge and understanding on social media influencer marketing [ 32 ]. To uncover the major themes, a keyword co-occurrence analysis was initially conducted to gain a sense of the nomological network for the major themes [ 94 ], followed by a bibliographic coupling to gain an in-depth understanding of the content under each major theme in the field [ 32 ].

The keyword co-occurrence analysis indicates that four major themes characterize the knowledge curated by extant research focusing specifically on social media influencer marketing (Fig.  2 and Table 6 ), which is triangulated by the six major themes revealed through bibliographic coupling, in which four bibliographic coupling clusters corresponds to two keyword clusters (Table 7 ). The key peculiarities of these themes are presented as follows.

Nomological network of research streams in social media influencer marketing research

Parasocial interactions and relationships in social media influencer marketing . This major theme is most prominent (eight keywords) and relatively recent (2020.1429–2020.7499). This theme highlights the importance of the “credibility” ( n  = 6), “persuasion knowledge” ( n  = 7), and “source credibility” ( n  = 7) of social media influencers as essential “persuasion” ( n  = 5) factors that influence the “parasocial interactions” ( n  = 8) and “parasocial relationships” ( n  = 12) in social media influencer marketing. Most research in this area is conducted in the context of “Instagram” ( n  = 27), wherein “purchase intention” ( n  = 13) is a common outcome expected and examined. Noteworthily, extant research concentrating on influencing parasocial interactions have highlighted the importance of self-influencer congruence (Shan et al., [ 105 ]; [ 128 ] and the value of message value [ 88 ] and credibility [ 108 ], including the moderating role of audience comments [ 102 ], in fostering consumer trust and purchase intention toward branded content [ 88 ], [ 102 ], Shan et al., [ 105 ], [ 108 ], [ 128 ], whereas those focusing on developing and managing parasocial relationships emphasized the importance of being entrepreneurial (Fink et al., [ 41 ]) and personal branding (Ki et al., [ 61 ]) in the pursuit of becoming famous and garnering brand equity and loyalty among followers [ 18 ], [ 55 ], [ 57 ].

Sponsorship in social media influencer marketing . This major theme is fairly prominent (six keywords) and recent (2019.8–2021). This theme highlights the importance of “sponsorship disclosure” ( n  = 6) in “celebrity endorsement” ( n  = 5) and among “social media influencers” ( n  = 60) engaged for “native advertising” ( n  = 7) in “influencer marketing” ( n  = 63), with “YouTube” ( n  = 9) featuring prominently in this space. Noteworthily, extant research on this theme is divided into two notable streams, wherein the first stream sheds light on the commercialization and value of social media influencer marketing (Britt et al., [ 16 ]; Harrigan et al., [ 47 ]; Hudders et al., [ 48 ]; [ 124 ],), which highlights the importance of the second stream pertaining to the impact of disclosure (i.e., macro, micro—e.g., declaring sponsorship to establish and reaffirm the credibility of social media influencers and the brands they represent) on the behavioral responses of social media followers [ 13 ], [ 30 ], [ 58 ], [ 104 ], [ 110 ].

Authenticity of marketing and public relations in social media influencer marketing . This major theme is fairly prominent (five keywords) but with a longer history (2017.4286–2021) than the other major themes. This theme highlights the continuing importance of “authenticity” ( n  = 7) in the “marketing” ( n  = 5) and “public relations” ( n  = 7) endeavors of “influencers” ( n  = 29) on “social media” ( n  = 56). Thus, it is no surprise that extant research in this theme have focused on traditional marketing concepts such as advertorial campaigns [ 1 ], personal branding [ 59 ], rhetoric [ 45 ], strategic communication [ 33 ], and self-presentation [ 6 ].

Engagement and influence in social media influencer marketing . This major theme is fairly prominent (five keywords) and recent (2019.4–2020.6). This theme encapsulates “social media marketing” ( n  = 16) research that concentrates on the “social influence” ( n  = 5) of “opinion leadership” ( n  = 5) and the equivalent outcome of “brand engagement” ( n  = 5), with “Twitter” ( n  = 7) featuring prominently in this space. Noteworthily, the prominent studies under this theme concentrate on the power of social networks of social media influencers, including examining the influence of the number of followers [ 28 ], measuring the influence of customer networks [ 63 ] and social media influencers [ 5 ], and the value of opinion leaders [ 87 ] and sponsored campaigns [ 49 ] across these networks.

Taken collectively, these themes, which were triangulated across two bibliographic sources of data (i.e., keywords and references) and analytical techniques (i.e., keyword co-occurrence analysis and bibliographic coupling), suggests that social media influencer marketing has tremendous commercial value, which justify the sponsorship that brands are willing to provide to social media influencers in return for marketing and public relation campaigns for their brands and products. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the power of social media influencers resides in their authenticity, which is a crucial reason as to why social media influencers are followed and relied upon by their followers. The management of parasocial interactions and relationships are also highly important as they are essential to foster desired engagement among followers and influence their behaviors in ways desired by social media influencers and the brands that they represent. The next section provides a deeper dive into the mechanisms (constructs) that transpire in social media influencer marketing.

3.6 Constructs

The sixth research question (RQ6) involves the unpacking of constructs that relevantly explain consumer behavior toward social media influencer marketing, which were revealed through the same within- and between-study literature analysis as reported in the methods and theories sections previously [ 95 ]. The constructs (Fig.  3 ) were arranged according to testable categories in the form of antecedents (Table 8 ), mediators (Table 9 ), moderators (Table 10 ), and consequences (Table 11 ), with each category having sub-categories that encapsulate relevant constructs that fall under the theme of that sub-category. The thematic naming of sub-categories are mostly self-explanatory (i.e., audience-, brand-, content-, influencer-, social-, and technology-related), with only one sub-category being uncommon yet sensible due to the unique nature of the context under study—that is, the comparative-related sub-category, which captures the essence of constructs where comparison exist between two or more sub-categories (e.g., influencer-follower relationship is a construct that accounts for the comparison transcending the audience- and influencer-related sub-categories, whereas product-endorser fit is a construct that reflects the comparison between the brand- and influencer-related sub-categories).

Consumer behavior toward social media influencer marketing

In terms of antecedents , four sub-categories emerged, namely comparative-, content-, influencer-, and social-related antecedents (Table 8 ). The comparative-related antecedents (six counts) comprise of influencer-follower relationship (two counts) and perceived similarity (four counts). The content-related antecedents (36 counts) consist of authenticity (four counts), disclosure (14 counts), informativeness (nine counts), message construal (one count), perceived quality (two counts), perceived quantity (two counts), perceived originality (one count), and post credibility (three counts). The influencer-related antecedents (34 counts) consist of engagement and interaction (two counts), influencer attractiveness (10 counts), influencer credibility (six counts), influencer expertise (nine counts), influencer likeability (one count), perceived trustworthiness (five counts), and perceived uniqueness (one count). The social-related antecedent (four count) contains parasocial relationship (four count) only. In total, 18 antecedents emerged across four sub-categories. Content-related antecedents appear to be the most researched (36 counts), followed by influencer-related antecedents (34 counts), with few studies examining comparative- (six counts) and social- (four count) related antecedents. Disclosure (14 counts) is the antecedent that has been studied the most, followed by influencer attractiveness with 10 counts. As a whole, there is good breadth and depth for antecedents as a category, but is mixed for its sub-categories.

In terms of mediators , seven sub-categories were revealed, namely audience-, brand-, comparative-, content-, influencer-, social-, and technology-related mediators (Table 9 ). The audience-related mediators (13 counts) comprise of attachment (one count), attitude (five counts), interest (one count), psychological ownership (one count), and trust (five counts). The brand-related mediators (eight counts) consist of brand recognition (five counts), product attractiveness (one count), and sponsorship transparency (two counts). The comparative-related mediator (four counts) contains self-influencer connection (four counts) only. The content-related mediators (seven counts) encapsulate disclosure (two counts), message appeal (one count), message credibility (one count), message process involvement (one count), and source credibility (two counts). The influencer-related mediators (15 counts) encompass engagement and interaction (two counts), expertise (two counts), influencer credibility (five counts), opinion knowledge leadership (five counts), and perceived popularity (one count). The social-related mediators (three counts) include electronic word of mouth (one count) and parasocial interaction (two counts). The technology-related mediators (two counts) incorporate perceived ease of use (one count) and perceived usefulness (one count). In total, 22 mediators were revealed across seven sub-categories. Influencer- and audience-related mediators appear to be the most researched with 15 and 13 counts respectively, followed by brand- (eight counts) and content- (seven counts) related mediators. Attitude, brand recognition, influencer credibility, opinion leadership knowledge, and trust are the mediators studied the most with five counts each. Overall, there is reasonable breadth and depth for mediators as a category, but is mixed for its sub-categories.

In terms of moderators , six sub-categories were unpacked, namely audience-, brand-, comparative-, content-, influencer-, and social-related moderators (Table 10 ). The audience-related moderators (10 counts) comprise of advertisement literacy (one count), audience engagement (two counts), domains of interest (one count), envy identification (one count), interaction propensity (one count), purchase intention (one count), self-discrepancy (two counts), and social identification with social commerce (one count). The brand-related moderator (one count) consists of brand attitude (one count) only. The comparative-related moderators (three counts) contain perceived closeness (one count), perceived fit (one count), and product-endorser fit (one count). The content-related moderators (nine counts) encapsulate audience comments (one count), disclosure (one count), download volume (one count), message process involvement (one count), message valence (one count), number of hashtags (one count), online ratings (one count), structural assurance (one count), and visionary insights (one count). The influencer-related moderators (four counts) encompass influencer socio-economic status (one count), number of followers (one count), perceived self-serving motive (one count), and type of influencer (one count). The social-related moderators (two counts) include parasocial relationship (one count) and parental mediation (one count). In total, 27 moderators were unpacked across six sub-categories. Audience-related moderators (10 counts) appear to be the most researched, followed by content-related moderators (nine counts). All moderators had only one count except audience engagement and self-discrepancy, which have two counts, and thus indicating its breadth but not depth.

In terms of consequences , three sub-categories were unveiled, namely brand-, influencer-, and social-related consequences (Table 11 ). The brand-related consequences (73 counts) comprise of brand attitude (17 counts), brand awareness (one count), brand involvement (two counts), brand purchase or patronage (46 counts), brand recall (two counts), and brand trust (five counts). The influencer-related consequences (19 counts) consist of engagement and interaction (11 counts), following influencer (five counts), and influence (three counts). The social-related consequences (12 counts) contain recommendation and referral propensity (nine counts) and social sharing (three counts). In total, 11 consequences were unveiled across three sub-categories. Brand-related consequences (73 counts) appear to be the most researched, followed by influencer- (19 counts) and social- (12 counts) related consequences. Brand purchase or patronage (46 counts) represent the most studied consequence, followed by brand attitude (17 counts) and engagement and interaction (11 counts). Taken collectively, the consequences unveiled indicate its depth but not breadth.

4 Trend analysis and future research directions

Agendas for future research are a hallmark of systematic literature reviews [ 84 ]. While there are many approaches to develop future research agendas, the present study adopts an approach that the authors found to be most objective and pragmatic—that is, a trend analysis from thematic and topical perspectives. The suggestions for future research based on the analysis from these perspectives are presented in the next sections.

4.1 Thematic perspective

The thematic perspective comprises a trend analysis of bibliographic clusters representing the major themes of social media influencer marketing research. The choice of focusing on bibliographic clusters as opposed to keyword clusters was a deliberate decision taken in light of the finer-grained research streams in the former (six clusters) over the latter (four clusters), as well as the availability of the alternative perspective (i.e., the topical perspective) that will use keywords to shed light on the topical trend in the field.

The productivity of the six major themes (research streams) in social media influencer marketing research has generally improved in recent years, particularly in 2021, with the exception of research on parasocial relationships in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 6), which experience a slight decline (i.e., seven in 2020 to six in 2021). Though closely-related research on parasocial interactions has proliferated (Cluster 5), the difference between the two research streams and their relatively lower number of studies as compared to other research streams suggest that new research in both streams is very much required. Similarly, the research stream on disclosures (Cluster 4) is highly important, yet it remains relatively low as compared to its more popular counterpart, that is, the research stream on commercialization and value of social media influencer marketing (Cluster 3), both of which are important research streams to the larger umbrella research stream on sponsorship revealed by the keyword co-occurrence analysis. While the research streams on authenticity (Cluster 2) and engagement and influence (Cluster 1) in social media influencer marketing are highly popular, further research remains necessary in light of the evolving changes in the social media landscape. Notwithstanding the productivity of the research streams, several promising avenues avail for advancing knowledge across all research streams.

In terms of engagement and influence in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 1), the emergence of augmented, virtual, and mixed realities, including the metaverse, signals the need for new research that unpacks the opportunities for engagement in these new social avenues along with the effectiveness of these avenues as compared to existing avenues for social media influencer marketing. In addition, the nature of engagement will benefit from finer-grained examination to account for the differences between its varied cognitive, affective, and behavioral manifestations [ 80 ], [ 85 ], which remains underexplored in social media influencer marketing.

In terms of authenticity in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 2), the key markers of authenticity and the strategies to communicate and strengthen a sense of authenticity are potential avenues to enrich understanding of this area. Noteworthily, future research on authenticity will need to go beyond traditional measures (e.g., scales; Ohanian, [ 97 ]) and engage in purposeful exploration to uncover the attributes and actions that if available and taken will enhance followers’ perceptions of the authenticity of social media influencers. In this regard, future qualitative and experimental research in this research stream is encouraged, wherein the former will lead to the discovery of new authenticity markers that the latter can test for cause and effect. Such research should lead to meaningful extensions on the understanding of authenticity that goes beyond treating the concept as a singular construct in the field.

In terms of commercialization and value of social media influencer marketing (Cluster 3), the potential of non-economic returns of social media influencer marketing could be explored in future research. With the advent of corporate social responsibility and environmental social governance (Lim et al., [ 83 ], it is imperative that the expectations and evaluations of returns goes beyond those that are economic in nature (e.g., sales) [ 78 ]. The advocacy and support of socio-environmental causes (e.g., hashtags of actions and statements) could be explored, which can be subsequently useful to develop sustainability ratings beneficial for illustrating the impact of both social media influencers and the brands that they represent.

In terms of disclosure in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 4), future research could explore the different ways in which explicit and implicit disclosures could be curated and signaled by social media influencers to their followers. Such research should be potentially useful as not all social media platforms provide options of explicit labels (e.g., sponsor ad) to social media users, especially when such social media posts are not paid to extend its reach and thus relies on social media users themselves to self-disclose. Moreover, the effectiveness of these forms of disclosure, including their combination, have not been adequately studied and thus should be worthwhile exploring. The negative connotation that may be attached to such disclosures should also be addressed in ways that make such disclosures an asset rather than a liability.

In terms of parasocial interactions in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 5), the multitude ways in which parasocial interactions could be curated represent a potentially fruitful avenue for future exploration. At present, the general focus has been on the influence of social media influencer credibility and the congruence of such interactions to follower expectations and perceptions [ 108 ]. In this regard, future research is encouraged to explore the different ways in which parasocial interactions could be curated, and in the midst of doing so, theorizing the entry points and sustaining factors that make such interactions parasocial between social media influencers and their followers. Given the complex nature of parasocial interactions, future research in this space could benefit from employing neuroscientific tools (e.g., eye tracker, wearable biosensors, [ 73 ], [ 74 ] to gain nuanced insights into biological responses that can be used to supplement self-reported responses in order to better ascertain the parasocial nature of interactions among social media influencers and their followers.

In terms of parasocial relationships in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 6), deeper insights on what makes parasocial relationships gratifying and lasting should be developed in future research. Such research should provide a better understanding on the constitution of parasocial relationships and how social media influencers can foster and maintain them over time. Nevertheless, errors or mistakes are bound to happen (e.g., slip of inappropriate word, unintentional non-disclosure of sponsorship). Thus, the repair and recovery of negatively-affected parasocial relationships among social media influencers and their followers could also be given scholarly attention in future research.

Taken collectively, these suggestions for future research should enrich research across all research streams in social media influencer marketing. The next section builds on the insights from this section and takes a closer look on topical trends in the field (Fig. 4 ).

Productivity trend of major themes in social media influencer marketing research. Note: Cluster 1 = Engagement and influence in social media influencer marketing. Cluster 2 = Authenticity in social media influencer marketing. Cluster 3 = Commercialization and value of social media influencer marketing. Cluster 4 = Disclosure in social media influencer marketing. Cluster 5 = Parasocial interactions in social media influencer marketing. Cluster 6 = Parasocial relationships in social media influencer marketing

4.2 Topical perspective

The productivity of topical research in social media influencer marketing has evolved over the years (Fig.  5 ). Noteworthily, the extant literature on social media influencer marketing has been largely predicated on “communication management”, “centrality”, and “viral marketing” up to 2018. Newer research has nonetheless made a stronger and more explicit connection to “influencer marketing” and “social media”, with “Instagram” emerging as the most prominent social media in the field. The transmission of “eWOM” or “electronic word-of-mouth” and how this translates into “parasocial interaction” or “immersion” between “social media influencers” and “followers” has taken center stage alongside “online marketing” and “social media marketing” considerations such as “advertising”, “brands”, “brand awareness”, and “purchase intention” from a “neoliberalism” perspective.

Productivity trend of major topics in social media influencer marketing research

Notwithstanding the trending topics in social media influencer marketing revealed by the trend analysis, it is clear that new research focusing on new phenomena is very much required. For example, new social media platforms such as Clubhouse and TikTok have been extremely popular platforms for social media influencers in recent years, and thus, future research should also consider exploring social platforms other than Instagram. Furthermore, the proliferation of augmented and virtual realities remains underexplored for social media influencer marketing. The rebranding of Facebook to Meta is a signal of the future rise of the metaverse . New research in this direction focusing on new-age technologies for social media influencer marketing should provide new knowledge-advancing and practice-relevant insights into contemporary trends and realities that remain underrepresented in the literature. Similarly, the diversity and evolution of social media followers also deserve further attention in light of accelerated technology adoption by societies worldwide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the new normal [ 77 ], as well as the changing nature of generational cohorts in the society [ 79 ].

5 Conclusion

The importance of consumerism for business survival and growth albeit in a more authentic, meaningful, and sustainable way [ 76 ] along with the increasing use of digital media such as social media [ 82 ] have led to the proliferation of social media influencer marketing and its burgeoning interest among academics and professionals [ 10 ], [ 124 ]. This was evident in the present study, wherein the consumer behavior perspective of social media influencer marketing took center stage. Using the SPAR-4-SLR protocol as a guide, a bibliometric-content analysis as a multi-method review technique, and a collection of 214 articles published in 87 journals indexed in ABDC, CABS, and WOS as relevant documents for review, this study provides, to date, the most comprehensive one-stop state-of-the-art overview of social media influencer marketing. Through this review, this study provides several key takeaways for theory and practice and additional noteworthy suggestions for future research.

5.1 Theoretical contributions and implications

From a theoretical perspective, this study provides two major takeaways for academics.

First, the review indicates that most articles on social media influencer marketing published in journals indexed in ABDC, CABS, and WOS were not guided by an established theory, as only 94 (43.93%) out of the 214 articles reviewed were informed by theories (e.g., persuasion knowledge theory, social learning theory, source credibility theory, theory of planned behavior). This implies that most articles relied on prior literature only to explain their study’s theoretical foundation, which may be attributed to a lack of awareness on the possible theories that may be relevant to their study. In fact, a similar review on the topic albeit with a relatively smaller sample of articles (i.e., 68 articles only) due to protocol limitations (i.e., CABS-indexed journals only) had acknowledged the issue but unfortunately failed to deliver a collection of theories informed by prior research [ 124 ]. In this vein, this study hopes to address this issue as it has revealed 46 different theories that were employed in prior social media influencer marketing research, which can be used to ground future research in the area. Furthermore, the list of theories can be used to justify the novelty of future research where a new theory is applied. In addition, future studies can take inspiration from the manifestation of theories emerging from multiple theoretical perspectives, such as the social influencer value model and the social-mediated crisis communication theory informed by the media and sociological theoretical perspectives, to develop new theories in the field, which may be challenging but certainly possible [ 81 ]. Alternatively, future studies can consider theoretical integration by using two or more theories in a single investigation, which can reveal richer insights on the phenomenon (e.g., which theoretical perspective is more prominent or which factors from which theoretical perspective yield strong impacts and therefore warrant investment prioritization).

Second, the review shows that social media influencer marketing research does not have to be limited to a simple direct antecedent-consequence relationship or the multiply of such relationships. Instead, research in the area can benefit from testing the mediating and moderating effects of various factors to enrich the insights derived from their study. Interestingly, the review reveals that antecedents can also play the role of mediators (e.g., engagement and interaction) and moderators (e.g., parasocial relationship) and vice versa, which implies that the conditions in research design setup are fundamental to the conclusions made about the consequences of social media influencer marketing [ 75 ], which can take the form of consumer responses to the brand (e.g., brand purchase or patronage), the influencer (e.g., following influencer), and the community (e.g., recommendation, social sharing). In total, seven categories in the form of audience-, brand-, comparative-, content-, influencer-, social-, and technology-related factors that could manifest as antecedents, mediators, and moderators were revealed. Noteworthily, the comparative-related factors such as perceived closeness, perceived fit, perceived similarity, self-influencer connection, and product-endorser fit transcended across multiple categories (e.g., audience and influencer, brand and influencer), which indicate the promise of social media influencer marketing as a research context suitable for the development of new factors to describe consumer behavior of a comparative nature. Indeed, comparative-related factors is, to the best knowledge of the authors, a new categorization that has not been revealed by prior systematic literature reviews, and thus, represent a key contribution to the literature that should be noted in future research and reviews. Moreover, the mapping of constructs in Fig.  3 and their counts in Tables 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 provide useful starting points to identify the extant gaps in prior research (e.g., brand-related factors remain underexplored as moderators, comparative-related factors remain underexplored as mediators) and to inform the direction of future research accordingly. Finally, the constructs and their associated categories revealed can also be compared and contrasted in future investigations to delineate the difference in impact between constructs of different categories, and when paired with appropriate theories, can provide stronger grounds for managerial recommendations to brands and influencers interested to leverage off the benefits of social media influencer marketing to attract and persuade desired consumer behavior.

5.2 Managerial contributions and implications

From a managerial perspective, this study provides two major takeaways for brands and influencers.

First, the review indicates that brands indirectly influence consumers through influencers—that is to say, the strategy of brands engaging in influencer marketing on social media places influencers at the forefront, with brands taking a backseat in that strategy. This was evident from the literature review, where brand-related antecedents were absent; instead, the influence of brands manifests in the form of mediators (e.g., brand recognition, product attractiveness, sponsorship transparency) and moderators (e.g., brand attitude). In that sense, it is important that brands identify and engage with influencers strategically, particularly those who are perceived to be attractive, credible, engaging and interactive, experts, a good fit for their products, likeable, opinion leaders, popular, trustworthy, unique, and without overly self-serving motives in order to encourage desired consumer behavior toward their brands (e.g., brand purchase and patronage, brand trust), as revealed by the review herein.

Second, the review reveals that social media influencers directly influence consumer behavior toward the brands they promote (e.g., brand attitude, brand awareness, brand involvement, brand recall, brand trust), the influencers themselves (e.g., follower, influence), and the social media community at large (e.g., recommendation, social sharing). In particular, the content that influencers curate on social media can affect how consumers respond to these stakeholders. The review indicates that such content should be authentic, credible, informative, original, and transparent (disclosure). The message appeal and message process involvement are also important mediators to strengthen the influencer’s ability to encourage desired consumer behavior among their followers (e.g., positive audience, brand, influencer, and social behavior), whereas audience comments, assurance, hashtags, insights, and volume of posts can moderate or nullify the potential desired impact that influencers could elicit from their followers on social media. Indeed, the importance of electronic word of mouth, parasocial interaction, and perceptions of closeness and fit have also been highlighted through the review. Importantly, when promoting to kids and youth, it is essential that influencers consider what parents would think about their posts, as parental mediation was observed to occur in the review.

5.3 Review limitations and future review directions

From a review perspective, this study acknowledges three major limitations that can inform the curation of future reviews.

First, the systematic literature review herein does not capture article performance (i.e., citations) because it was mainly interested in unpacking the articles, journals, theories, methods, and content (themes, constructs) underpinning existing research on social media influencer marketing, and it kept in mind the space limitation of the journal. Notwithstanding the comprehensive and rigorous insights revealed using the SPAR-4-SLR protocol, future reviews may wish to pursue an impact analysis, which can lead to rich insights pertaining to article performance (e.g., difference in citations [e.g., total citations, average citations per year, h -index, g -index] between papers with and without theory, using empirical and non-empirical methods, or across different methods and thematic categories).

Second, the systematic literature review herein encapsulates only a qualitative evaluation of the constructs in existing social media influencer marketing research. To build on the insights herein, future reviews may wish to pursue a meta-analytical review, where a meta-analysis involving the antecedents, mediators, moderators, and consequences revealed in Tables 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 in this review (in the short run) or unveiled in future reviews (in the long run) is performed. Such an endeavor should also provide finer-grained insights on conflicting findings and provide a resolution to such findings in the same study.

Third, the systematic literature review herein focuses only on the consumer behavior perspective of social media influencer marketing, which is mainly due to the maturity of research from this perspective [ 98 ], as seen through the number of articles available for review (i.e., 214 articles) under a rigorous protocol (i.e., the SPAR-4-SLR protocol). Moving forward, future reviews may wish to pursue a systematic review of social media influencer marketing from the business and industrial perspective, wherein the impact of influencer marketing on social media for business and industrial brands in general and across different industries are reviewed and reported.

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The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Consumer Decisions

Nilantha Jayawardhana . Last updated on Jun 28, 2024 .

In today’s digital world, social media influencers hold significant sway over consumer decisions. From beauty products to tech gadgets, influencers shape our preferences and buying choices.

But how exactly do they do it?

And what does this mean for marketers, social media users, and small business owners?

This blog post explores the phenomenon of social media influencers and their profound impact on consumer behavior .

How Influencers Shape Buying Habits in the Digital Age?

Did you know that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations when making purchase decisions ?

I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer .

This staggering statistic highlights the immense power influencers wield in today’s marketplace. Social media influencers have become pivotal in shaping consumer behavior and decisions.

In this blog, we will explore the rise of social media influencers, the psychology behind their impact, the types of content they create, and their effects on consumer decisions. We will also examine case studies, discuss the business perspective, and predict the future of influencer marketing .

The Rise of Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers are individuals with substantial followings on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok . They have the power to affect their audience’s purchasing decisions due to their authority, knowledge, or relationship with their followers. Influencers create and share content that resonates with their audience, often partnering with brands to promote products and services.

The concept of influencer marketing is not new. Celebrities and public figures have long influenced consumer behavior. However, the rise of social media platforms has democratized influence, allowing everyday individuals to build large followings and become influential. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have given rise to a new breed of influencers who connect with audiences on a personal level, making their endorsements more relatable and trustworthy.

The Psychology Behind Influencer Impact

The psychology behind influencer impact lies in the theory of social proof. This theory suggests that people look to others, especially those they consider similar or credible, to guide their behavior and decision-making.

Trust and Credibility

Influencers build trust and credibility with their followers through authenticity and consistent engagement. Unlike traditional celebrities, influencers often share personal aspects of their lives, creating a sense of intimacy and familiarity. This authenticity fosters trust, making their recommendations more credible. The concept of parasocial relationships, where followers develop one-sided emotional attachments to influencers, further enhances this trust.

Social Proof

Influencers provide social proof, a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others, assuming those actions reflect correct behavior. When influencers endorse a product, their followers perceive it as a trusted recommendation. For example, when a popular beauty influencer raves about a skincare product, their followers are likely to believe the product is effective and worth trying.

Emotional Connection

Influencers create emotional connections with their audience through storytelling and personal engagement. By sharing their experiences and emotions, influencers evoke empathy and relatability. This emotional connection makes their endorsements more persuasive, as followers feel a personal bond with the influencer.

Types of Influencer Content and Their Effects

Influencers use various types of content to engage with and influence their audience. Each type has a different impact on followers, depending on the influencer’s niche and target audience .

Sponsored Posts and Product Reviews

Sponsored posts and product reviews are common forms of influencer content. Influencers collaborate with brands to create posts that showcase products, often providing honest reviews and personal experiences. These posts directly influence purchasing decisions, as followers trust the influencer’s opinion. For instance, a fitness influencer reviewing a new workout gadget can significantly boost the product’s sales.

Unboxing and Hauls

Unboxing videos and haul reviews are popular content formats that generate excitement and curiosity. Influencers film themselves unboxing products or showcasing recent purchases, providing their initial impressions and reactions. These videos create a sense of anticipation and desire among viewers, encouraging them to explore the featured products.

Lifestyle Content

Lifestyle content is another powerful tool in an influencer’s arsenal. Influencers seamlessly integrate products into their daily lives, demonstrating their practical use and benefits. By showcasing how a product fits into their routine, influencers make it more appealing and relatable. For example, a travel influencer integrating a new suitcase into their adventures can inspire followers to consider the product for their travels.

Case Studies of Influencer Impact

One notable success story is the collaboration between Daniel Wellington and various influencers. By gifting watches to influencers and encouraging them to share discount codes, Daniel Wellington achieved massive brand awareness and increased sales. The strategy of leveraging influencer reach and credibility proved highly effective.

Another example is Glossier, a beauty brand that built its success on influencer marketing. Glossier collaborated with micro-influencers and encouraged user-generated content , creating a community-driven brand. This approach not only boosted sales but also fostered a loyal customer base.

Influencer Failures

While influencer marketing can be highly effective , it’s not without risks. The infamous Fyre Festival is a prime example of influencer marketing gone wrong. Influencers promoted the festival as a luxurious event, but attendees were met with a disastrous reality. The fallout highlighted the importance of authenticity and transparency in influencer campaigns.

The Business Perspective

Influencer marketing has become a lucrative industry, with brands allocating significant budgets towards collaborations.

ROI of Influencer Marketing

Investing in influencer marketing can yield impressive returns. According to a study by Influencer Marketing Hub, businesses earn an average of $5.78 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. This high ROI is attributed to the targeted reach and credibility that influencers provide. By partnering with the right influencers, businesses can effectively reach their desired audience and achieve their marketing goals.

Selecting the Right Influencers

Choosing the right influencers is crucial for the success of any campaign. Businesses should consider factors such as the influencer’s niche, audience demographics, engagement rates, and alignment with brand values . Tools like [Influencer Marketing Platform] can help businesses identify and connect with suitable influencers for their campaigns.

Building Long-Term Relationships

Building long-term relationships with influencers can lead to sustained impact and brand loyalty. Instead of one-off collaborations, businesses should focus on nurturing ongoing partnerships. This approach allows influencers to develop a deeper understanding of the brand and create more authentic and compelling content.

The Future of Influencer Marketing

With the rise of influencer fraud and saturation in the market, the future of influencer marketing is evolving.

Emerging Trends

The influencer marketing landscape continues to evolve, with emerging trends shaping its future . Micro-influencers, who have smaller but highly engaged followings, are gaining prominence. Virtual influencers, computer-generated personas with lifelike appearances, are also entering the scene. Additionally, AI-driven campaigns are becoming more sophisticated, allowing businesses to leverage data and automation for targeted influencer marketing .

Challenges and Opportunities

While influencer marketing offers numerous opportunities, it also presents challenges. Authenticity remains a critical issue, as consumers become more discerning about sponsored content. Changing algorithms on social media platforms can also impact influencer reach and engagement. However, these challenges can be mitigated through transparent collaborations and adaptive strategies.

Predictions

Looking ahead, influencer marketing will continue to play a significant role in consumer behavior. As technology advances, influencers will leverage new tools and platforms to engage their audience. Brands that prioritize authenticity, transparency, and meaningful connections with influencers will thrive in this evolving landscape.

Social media influencers have revolutionized the way consumers make purchasing decisions. By building trust, providing social proof, and creating emotional connections, influencers wield significant power in shaping consumer behavior. Businesses that harness the potential of influencer marketing can achieve remarkable results, from increased brand awareness to higher sales.

Whether you’re a marketer, social media user, or small business owner, understanding the impact of social media influencers is crucial. By staying informed about emerging trends and best practices, you can leverage influencer marketing to drive success in your endeavors.

Have you made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation? And if you’re looking to explore influencer marketing further, check out our recommended resources and tools.

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Chen, Y.; Qin, Z.; Yan, Y.; Huang, Y. The Power of Influencers: How Does Influencer Marketing Shape Consumers’ Purchase Intentions? Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 5471. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135471

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Chen, Yiming, Zhaoyue Qin, Yue Yan, and Yi Huang. 2024. "The Power of Influencers: How Does Influencer Marketing Shape Consumers’ Purchase Intentions?" Sustainability 16, no. 13: 5471. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135471

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Supreme Court allows White House to request removal of misinformation on social media

Nina Totenberg

Jordan Thomas

Supreme Court backs Biden administration in social media case

The Supreme Court Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

The U.S. Supreme Court handed a major victory for the Biden administration Wednesday, throwing out a lower court ruling that had placed major restrictions on the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies.

While the court’s ruling was procedural, it was nonetheless a stark repudiation of two lower courts in the South, and their eagerness to embrace conspiracy theories about alleged government coercion of social media companies.

Untangling Disinformation

What it means for the election that the government can talk to tech companies.

Writing for a liberal-conservative coalition of six justices, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that neither the five individuals nor the two states who sued the government had legal standing to be in court at all. She said they presented no proof to back up their claims that the government had pressured social media companies like Twitter and Facebook into restricting their speech. “Unfortunately,” she said, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals “relied on factual findings that are “clearly erroneous.”

For instance, she said, the plaintiffs who brought the case maintained that the White House had bombarded Twitter with requests to set up a streamlined process for censorship requests. But in fact, she said, the record showed no such requests. Rather, on one occasion a White House official asked Twitter to remove a fake account pretending to be the account of Biden’s granddaughter. Twitter took down the fake account and told the official about a portal that could be used in the future to flag similar issues.

“Justice Barrett went out of her way to stress that facts matter and that lower courts in this case embraced a fact-free version of what transpired between officials in the Biden administration and Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies,” said law professor Paul Barrett, no relation to the justice, who is deputy director of the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU.

In her opinion for the court majority, Justice Barrett said that at every turn, the alleged facts turned to dust, and that the plaintiffs had failed to trace past or potential future harm to anything done by officials at the White House, the CDC, the FBI, or a key cyber security agency. Indeed, the court said, many of the actions taken by the social media platforms to modify content about COVID vaccines or other matters, were taken before any contacts with government officials took place.

The court’s decision will make it considerably more difficult for people to bring challenges like this in the future because the justices said that it’s not enough to rail against the government for criticizing an individual’s message online. Rather, there has to be a causal link between the government’s commentary and what happens on a social media platform. In short, there has to be a traceable link, a link that the court said was entirely missing in this case, as the social media companies had their own incentives for moderating content, and often exercised their own judgment.

Justice Samuel Alito dissented, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.

“For months, high-ranking Government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech,” wrote Altio. “Because the court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent.”

Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight Center First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, agreed with the court majority that in this particular case, the plaintiffs had alleged a very generalized theory of coercion, but he added that the court needs to set out specific factors for evaluating when government officials go too far.

“It’s important for Democrats and liberals who are perhaps sympathetic to the Biden administration’s efforts” to prevent COVID misinformation or Russian election interference, to consider whether they would be comfortable with these same rules if the Trump administration “were to pressure social media companies to take down speech related to MeToo or Black Lives Matter or pro-Palestinian speech.”

“We need a set of rules that make sense in all of these contexts,” Jaffer said, adding, “And so far, the court hasn’t given us a lot to work with.”

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OPINION ANALYSIS

Justices side with biden over government’s influence on social media content moderation.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit seeking to limit the government’s ability to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. By a vote of 6-3, the court ruled that that the plaintiffs did not have a legal right, known as standing, to bring their lawsuit.

Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett cited the lack of any “concrete link” between the restrictions that the plaintiffs complained of and the conduct of government officials – and in any event, she concluded, a court order blocking communication between government officials and social media companies likely would not have any effect on decision-making by those platforms, which can continue to enforce their policies.

Justice Samuel Alito dissented, in an opinion joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. Suggesting that the case could be “one of the most important free speech cases to reach” the Supreme Court “in years,” Alito would have ruled both that the plaintiffs had standing to bring their lawsuit and that “the White House coerced Facebook into censoring” at least one plaintiff’s speech.

The lawsuit centers on “jawboning,” a term used to describe informal efforts by government officials to persuade someone outside the government to take action. In this case, the plaintiffs – two states with Republican attorneys general and several individuals whose social media posts were removed or downgraded – challenged the Biden administration’s efforts in 2021 to restrict misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. They argued that the administration’s actions had violated social media users’ rights to free speech.

A federal judge in Louisiana ruled for the plaintiffs. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty agreed that federal officials had violated the First Amendment by “coercing” or “significantly encouraging” social media platforms’ content moderation decisions. Doughty issued an order that limited the extent to which the White House and several other government agencies could communicate with social media platforms.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit largely upheld that ruling, prompting the Biden administration to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. The justices put Doughty’s order on hold while they reviewed the dispute.

In a 29-page decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the decision by the court of appeals and sent the case back for further proceedings. Because the plaintiffs were seeking an order limiting future communications between government officials and social media platforms, Barrett explained, the plaintiffs’ lawsuit could only go forward it they could show “a substantial risk that, in the near future, at least one platform will restrict the speech of at least one plaintiff in response to the actions of at least one Government defendant.” Here, she stressed, “that is a tall order.”

The plaintiffs’ main argument for standing, Barrett observed, is that government officials were responsible for restrictions placed on them by social media platforms in the past, and that the platforms will continue – under pressure from government officials – to censor their speech in the future.

The court of appeals, Barrett noted, “approached standing at a high level of generality” in reaching the conclusion that the plaintiffs had established a sufficient link between the officials’ conduct and the plaintiffs’ injuries. According to the court of appeals, she explained, social-media platforms deplatformed or downgraded the plaintiffs’ posts to avoid retribution from the government if they refused to comply with the government’s wishes. But that is an “overly broad assertion,” Barrett countered, because – even if government officials sometimes influenced content-moderation decisions – “the platforms moderated similar content long before any of the Government defendants engaged in the challenged conduct.”

Turning to the plaintiffs’ allegations at a more granular level, Barrett explained that most of those claims generally did not create the kind of connection needed to establish standing. The strongest showing, she continued, came from Jill Hines, a health-care activist who is the co-director of a group that advocated against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mask mandates. Although Facebook took various actions with regard to social media posts by Hines and her group, including restricting her account after she posted an article about increased rates of myocarditis in teenagers who received the COVID-19 vaccine, Barrett acknowledged, “Facebook was targeting her pages before almost all of its communications with the White House and the CDC, which weakens the inference that her subsequent restrictions are likely traceable to ‘government-coerced enforcement’ of Facebook’s policies.”

But even if Hines had shown that her injuries could be attributed to the government’s conduct, Barrett continued, even she could not show that she is likely to be harmed again in the future by that conduct. “By August 2022, when Hines joined the case,” Barrett wrote, “the officials’ communications about COVID-19 misinformation had slowed to a trickle.” And it is therefore “no more than conjecture” to project that Hines will be harmed by content moderation attributable to the federal government again, Barrett concluded. This is particularly true, Barrett added, when “the available evidence indicates that the platforms have enforced their policies against COVID-19 misinformation even as the Federal Government has wound down its own pandemic response measures.”

Barrett quickly dismissed the plaintiffs’ arguments that they also have standing due to their right to read content by other speakers on social media. “This theory,” Barrett wrote, is “startlingly broad,” because it would allow virtually all users of social media to bring a lawsuit to challenge censorship of someone else. “This Court,” Barrett stressed, “has never accepted such a boundless theory of standing.”

In his dissent, Alito contended that the “most important role” for freedom of speech “is protection of speech that is essential to democratic self-government and speech that advances humanity’s store of knowledge, thought, and expression.” The speech at the center of this case, Alito insisted, “falls squarely within those categories.” He conceded that “a fair portion of what social media users had to say about COVID-19 and the pandemic was of little lasting value,” but he maintained that “we know now that valuable speech” – which, he wrote in a footnote, “includes information about the origins of the COVID-19 virus” – “was also suppressed.”

And as relevant to this case, he continued, “[f]or months in 2021 and 2022, a coterie of officials at the highest levels of the Federal Government continuously harried and implicitly threatened Facebook with potentially crippling consequences if it did not comply with their wishes about the suppression of certain COVID-19-related speech. Not surprisingly,” Alito concluded, “Facebook repeatedly yielded.”

In Alito’s view, Hines therefore has shown the kind of “past and threatened future injuries” attributable to government officials that should allow her lawsuit to go forward and permit the justices to address the First Amendment question at the center of the case. “The Court, however, shirks that duty and thus permits the successful campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear, and think.”

Wednesday’s decision is the second of four expected decisions this term involving the relationship between the government and social media. In March, in Lindke v. Freed , the justices weighed in on when public officials can be held liable for blocking their critics on their personal social media accounts. And in February, the justices heard oral arguments in a pair of challenges to laws in Texas and Florida that would regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and YouTube control the content posted on their sites; the court is expected to issue its decision in those cases in the coming days.

This article was originally published at Howe on the Court . 

Posted in Merits Cases

Cases: Murthy v. Missouri

Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Justices side with Biden over government’s influence on social media content moderation , SCOTUSblog (Jun. 26, 2024, 4:52 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/justices-side-with-biden-over-governments-influence-on-social-media-content-moderation/

Privacy Overview

The secret digital behaviors of Gen Z

Google studied Gen Z's actions online. What they found is alarming.

Gen Z has come of age swimming in a gloppy stew of digital content. Every day they navigate memes, photos, social media, chats with their friends, flashes of video, influencers influencing , news articles from a zillion places across the net. How do America's teens and youngest adults sort through all that digitized gunk to determine what's important, or useful, or true?

A lot of folks would love to know. Social networks want young users . Media outlets want subscribers . Politicians want votes . Professors want to know why their students won't read books . Everyone, it seems, has a stake in understanding Kids These Days.

Over the past couple of years, researchers at Jigsaw, a Google subsidiary that focuses on online politics and polarization, have been studying how Gen Zers digest and metabolize what they see online. The researchers were hoping that their work would provide one of the first in-depth, ethnographic studies of Gen Z's "information literacy." But the minute they started, their most fundamental assumption about the nature of digital information came crashing down.

"Within a week of actual research, we just threw out the term information literacy ," says Yasmin Green, Jigsaw's CEO. Gen Zers, it turns out, are "not on a linear journey to evaluate the veracity of anything." Instead, they're engaged in what the researchers call "information sensibility" — a "socially informed" practice that relies on "folk heuristics of credibility." In other words, Gen Zers know the difference between rock-solid news and AI-generated memes. They just don't care .

Jigsaw's findings offer a revealing glimpse into the digital mindset of Gen Z . Where older generations are out there struggling to fact-check information and cite sources, Gen Zers don't even bother. They just read the headlines and then speed-scroll to the comments, to see what everyone else says. They're outsourcing the determination of truth and importance to like-minded, trusted influencers. And if an article's too long, they just skip it. They don't want to see stuff that might force them to think too hard, or that upsets them emotionally. If they have a goal, Jigsaw found, it's to learn what they need to know to remain cool and conversant in their chosen social groups.

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"The old guard is like: 'Yeah, but you have to care ultimately about the truth,'" Green says. "The Gen Z take is: 'You can tell me your truth and what you think is important.'" What establishes the relevance of a claim isn't some established notion of authority. It's the social signals they get from their peers.

Jigsaw's research doesn't purport to be statistically significant. They didn't poll a large group of Gen Z users about their digital habits. Instead, they relied on intense interviews with a handful of 13- to 24-year-olds from a representative range of demographics, classes, and genders. They were doing what anthropologists do in the field — looking for qualitative depth rather than quantitative data.

What they heard surprised them. Young folks basically say they see no difference between going online for news versus for social interaction. Gen Zers approach most of their digital experience in what the researchers call "timepass" mode, just looking to not be bored. If they want to answer a question or learn something new, they might turn to a search engine, but they're acquiring new information mainly via their social feeds, which are algorithmically pruned to reflect what they care about and who they trust. In short, they've created their own filters to process an onslaught of digitized information. Only the important stuff shows up, and if something shows up, it must be important.

They don't read long articles. And they don't trust anything with ads, or paywalls, or pop-ups asking for donations or subscriptions. "If you're making clickbait, you have zero faith in your content," one subject told the researchers. "And news sources — even CNN and The New York Times — do clickbait. I throw those articles away immediately."

For Gen Z, the online world resembles the stratified, cliquish lunchroom of a 1980s teen movie. Instead of listening to stuffy old teachers, like CNN and the Times, they take their cues from online influencers — the queen bees and quarterback bros at the top of the social hierarchy. The influencers' personal experience makes them authentic, and they speak Gen Z's language.

"Gen Zers will have a favorite influencer or set of influencers who they essentially outsource their trust to, and then they're incredibly loyal to everything that influencer is saying," says Beth Goldberg, Jigsaw's head of research. "It becomes extremely costly to fall out of that influencer's group, because they're getting all their information from them."

None of this means that Gen Z is any less intelligent or diligent than other generations. They know how to research something more deeply. It's just that, usually, they don't wanna. "They tap into those critical literacy skills in a really small proportion of the time they spend online," Goldberg says. If they're prepping for an argument they know they're going to have, or when they have to make big life decisions about schools or investments, they're willing to deal with the drudgery of factfinding. "But the vast majority of the time, they're spending their time mindlessly in timepass mode. Veracity was not only not top of mind, it actually wasn't important to them at all."

When one subject shared a fake image of Donald Trump running from the NYPD, the researchers challenged them on it. "They kind of shrugged," Goldberg says. From the subject's perspective, they were using their critical thinking and media-literacy skills. After all, Trump was, at the time, headed for a criminal trial in New York . It could have been true.

And when it comes to things like diet or wellness, Gen Zers will just try it on their own bodies and see if it works. They perceive that as a safe way to do their own research, mostly because it's not hurting anyone else. If that new diet or exercise regimen "works" on their body, that's more believable than data showing its effects on a whole population.

If facty-sounding stuff does manage to sneak into Gen Z's feeds — claims about what constitutes a healthy diet, or what Trump would do as president, or whether Ukraine or Russia is to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine — they're likely to head straight for the comments . That's partly because they know the digital hoi polloi will quickly unmask any fake news. But it's also because they're concerned about whether the news — or a particular reaction to it — might prove to be a cancelable take.

"Cancel culture came to be a thing as they were growing up. They were trained and attend to how to perform, and not perform, to avoid that," says Goldberg. "They're getting trusted information from closed group chats or followers with private feeds, so they're able to perform that they're part of an in-group and can perform specific social signals." For Gen Z, checking what other people are saying in the comments isn't shallow. It's a matter of social life or death.

If this sounds like a generation that will believe any flimflam they encounter and never subscribe to a newspaper, well, the researchers at Jigsaw worry about that too. But the good news is, Gen Zers aren't seeing as much intentional falsehood as you might think. Research shows that most mis- and disinformation is being made and consumed by a dwindling minority of users who seek it out, not sprayed algorithmically into the eyeballs of credulous, internet-surfing teens. "Casual consumption of silly TikToks is very unlikely to lead someone into a dark corner of hate or misinformation," says David Rothschild, an economist at Microsoft Research who studies online behavior. "It is highly likely that if they get there, they chose to get there."

All of us are consuming less formal news content these days, like TV or newspapers. And like Gen Z, we're all relying more and more on our social networks to tell us what's going on. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that most users on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok encounter news frequently. On X, it most often comes from the media outlets and journalists who actually produced the news. On Facebook and Instagram, it comes via family and friends whose viewpoints, for better or worse, you already know. But on TikTok — with its disproportionately younger user base — the source is usually influencers. They aggregate, meta-analyze, and pre-digest what other sources are saying. Maybe that's why users on TikTok, compared with other platforms, say they're unlikely to be "worn out" by the news they see. Someone else already did the hard work; they're getting the executive summary.

As clickbait-avoidant Gen Zers might suspect, Jigsaw's interest in their online behavior isn't purely academic. The Google subsidiary makes software called Perspective that lots of news outlets — including The New York Times — use to moderate their comment sections. The new iteration of Perspective incorporates Jigsaw's latest findings, elevating comments that contain warm and fuzzy "bridging" sentiments , like curiosity and reasonableness, to the top of the section. The aim is to reach Gen Z readers where they live — scrolling through the comments — and turn them into subscribers. By studying Gen Z in the wild, Jigsaw can lay better traps for them in their native habitat .

As a Gen Xer, I'm inherently skeptical of broad pronouncements about the up-and-coming generation. You should have heard some of the stuff boomers said about us. (Not that we cared. Like, whatever.) But I'll confess that I worried about the idea that Gen Z checks the comments to decide what to believe. So, after a therapeutic clutch at my pearls, I figured I'd better check it out. To evaluate Jigsaw's research, I performed a scientific gut check: I looked at Google Scholar to see how many other researchers had cited the study. That's a standard metric for how much a field values any given journal article.

And then I realized: I was basically checking the comments. We all do it — we look for lots of links, for 5-star reviews, for what the replies say. These are all valid ways to surf the modern social-informational ecosystem. The kids are all right, and all right .

Still, I wondered what Gen Zers themselves might make of Jigsaw's research. Conveniently, two of them live in my house and call me Dad. So I texted them the findings, along with a question-mark emoji.

"Yeah, seems right," the younger one replied. "But you know not all of us do that."

I counted myself lucky — that was more of a response than Goldberg got. "We always share the final results with respondents," she says. But when Goldberg asked her subjects what they thought of her research, true to her findings, all she heard back was the gravid silence of teenagers looking at their phones. "I'm not sure how many of our Gen Zers read our papers," she concluded ruefully. No comment section, no comment.

Adam Rogers is a senior correspondent at Business Insider.

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