Are you considering influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is unavoidable in our digital lives, but is it right for your business?
Celebrity endorsement is old news. Influencer marketing is the version any business can try, from a Perth cafe to a regional tourism body, which is why so many get it wrong.
So, are you considering adding influencer marketing to your business’s repertoire? Here is what to weigh up before you spend a cent.
tldr; everything you need to know
Influencer marketing is a massive industry
So, what is influencer marketing? You pay or gift someone whose audience trusts them, and they show that audience your product. That is it. The skill is in picking the right someone.
Good influencer marketing often blends seamlessly into the influencer’s existing content.
Influencer marketing has a high ROI
Regardless of our industry, we all want a solid return on investment whenever we spend money on marketing. It certainly moves people to buy: 86% of consumers make a purchase inspired by an influencer at least once a year (Sprout Social, 2025). Whether that buyer is yours comes down to fit.
Done well, influencer marketing pays its way. Done badly, it is an expensive way to reach the wrong people.
Trust is the key to influencer marketing
Think about the last time you searched for something online. You probably skipped past the paid ads and clicked on the first organic result, right? Exactly. Ads? People can spot those a mile away.
But recommendations from real people? Those hit differently, especially when they come from influencers, the relatable voices people already trust.
Why it works: influencers have built communities that trust them. The catch is that you are borrowing that trust, so you want an advocate, not just anyone with followers. Someone who genuinely loves your product and aligns with your brand. A true partnership, not just a transaction.
You do not need the big names. A smaller creator with the right audience often beats a famous one with the wrong one. Here are the tiers most agencies use (the lines move a little depending on who you ask):
- Nano influencers: 1,000 to 10,000 followers
- Micro influencers: 10,000 to 100,000 followers
- Macro influencers: 100,000 to 1 million followers
- Mega influencers: 1 million+ followers
Sometimes, influencer marketing might make you cringe. But does cringe matter if it works?
Who is your target demographic?
It’s important to remember that not every influencer will resonate with your target audience.
Younger audiences are the easiest to reach this way: 41% of Gen Z now turn to social platforms first when they search, and 90% of Gen Z say social content influenced a purchase in the past six months (Sprout Social, 2025). If your guests skew older, weigh that before you sign anyone.
Influencers come in all shapes and sizes, and depending on their favourite platform, they can offer various services. It is not all selfies and videos. A creator can:
- Write a blog or article about you (on your website or theirs).
- Share posts, pics, and reviews about you on their social media.
- Let you take the content reins on their platform, or they will take over yours.
- Take over your social media for a day.
- Engage with your content by liking, commenting, and sharing.
- Host product demos that make your products shine.
- Join your live streams as special guests.
- Dish out exclusive promotions just for their followers.
A few numbers worth knowing:
- TikTok is in 31% of marketers’ 2026 influencer plans (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2026).
- Cooking and recipe inspiration is the content people rely on social for most, at 50% (Sprout Social, 2025).
- Smaller creators often have closer, more engaged audiences, so judge engagement, not follower count.
- The global influencer marketing industry reached an estimated US$32.55 billion in 2025 (Influencer Marketing Hub).
- Most consumer brands run several creators at once: 52% partner with 6 to 10 influencers at a time and 23% with 11 to 19 (Sprout Social, Q1 2025).
Want the ultimate ROI from your influencer marketing? Find a way to generate user-generated content from it. Take a look at the example below.
Minimising risk
Every move we make on social media and digital marketing involves risk. And that’s why it’s up to you to do what you can to minimise risk when working with influencers.
It’s your job to protect your brand’s reputation, not the influencer’s. That includes disclosure: the ACCC expects paid posts to be clearly marked, and its 2023 sweep found 81% of the 118 influencers it reviewed were making posts that raised concerns under the Australian Consumer Law. Check their past work and their references before you sign anyone.