Dive Brief:

• Influencer-based campaigns are proving to be a win for marketers, earning $9.60 for every dollar spent in the first half of this year.
• Research from RhythmOne found earned media value from influencers was 1.4 times higher the first half of 2015 compared to the yearly average from 2014.
• Instagram led all other social media platforms in social amplification rate.

Dive Insight:

Marketers are looking to influencers to base campaigns around, and according to research from RhythmOne, the tactic is effective and becoming more so. 

Social media platforms are where marketers make the best use of influencers and Instagram blew away its competition in the amplification rate metric at 1.77% compared to Facebook’s 0.21%, Google+’s 0.15%, Twitter’s 0.13%, and Pinterest’s 0.11%.

Publishers are also taking note of the trend, such as online publisher Refinery29 providing access to social media influencers via its new Here and Now network. Here and Now has signed Smashbox Cosmetics as its first marketing partner, and it’s likely that other publishers will create similar platforms to tap into influencers. 

Using influencers to reach the millennial audience is a growing trend and was the focus of a recent Capital One campaign on Instagram, which ultimately helped lift the financial company's ad recall 16%. Through influencer campaigns, brands and marketers are able to engage consumers less obtrusively than with blatant advertising.