Influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity and the trend is to increase even more. At least that's what the data from the new study conducted by Sprout Social shows, with 59% of marketing professionals reporting that they plan to partner with more influencers in 2025, in comparison to the previous year. Only 37% intend to collaborate with the same number of creators as in 2024.
The "Q1 2025 Pulse Survey" by Sprout also revealed the main reasons that make brands invest so much in influencer marketing. For 66% of them, the investment is made to spread the brand's knowledgebrand awareness). 59% of respondents said that influencer marketing increases audience engagement, while 55% believe it increases credibility, the confidence and revenue growth. Less than half said the goal is to improve customer loyalty and retention (45%) and the development and co-creation of products (33%).
According to Fabio Gonçalves, international talent director at Viral Nation and specialist in the influencer marketing industry, brands are increasingly aware of the real impact that influencers have on building credibility and engagement: "Influencer marketing is no longer just a trend, but a consolidated strategy that delivers concrete results. With increasingly demanding and selective consumers, digital word of mouth has become essential, and the creators are the main drivers of this process.
He also explains that brands have realized that working with influencers allows them to reach specific niches in a much more authentic way than traditional advertising: "This investment is not just about visibility, but to create genuine connections with the right audience. The trust that a creator has with their audience is a valuable asset, and companies are willing to expand this type of partnership because they know it generates real returns – whether in brand recognition, engagement or sales conversion. Furthermore, another factor that weighs in favor of influencers is that every campaign, when well structured, is easily measurable, facilitating the analysis of deliveries and increasing the Return on Investment (ROI), because brands can be more assertive due to concrete data.
The professional adds by stating that the continuous growth of influencer marketing also reflects a change in consumer behavior, that seek increasingly authentic and personalized recommendations. According to Fabio, that is why it makes so much sense for brands to increase their investments in this strategy in 2025, even more considering that the market is maturing, and the trend is that partnerships will become increasingly strategic and data-driven to ensure even greater effectiveness.
Influencer agents Julio Cocielo and Letícia Gomes, Gonçalves reveals how he has been preparing his talents for the exponential growth of this market: "At Viral Nation, our focus is on empowering creators to be more than just faces of campaigns – we want you to be strategic partners of the brands. This means helping them build genuine narratives, choose collaborations aligned with your values and develop content that truly engages. We also invest in data analysis and the development of insights so that these partnerships are not only authentic, but also effective for both parties.
The market is becoming increasingly selective, and those who stand out are the influencers who understand their role as communicators and community creators. That's why, our work goes beyond campaign mediation: we help our talents build a strong and lasting reputation, making them even more desirable for brands that want to invest intelligently and strategically in influencer marketing, finalizes.
METHODOLOGY
The "Q1 2025 Pulse Survey" by Sprout interviewed 650 marketing professionals from the US, United Kingdom and Australia. All interviewees had roles related to social media management and influencer marketing. The online survey was conducted by Glimpse between January 9 and 27, 2025. The complete research can be accessed athttps://sproutsocial.com/insights/index/success/.
