The Go-To Social Media Platforms for Influencer Marketing Agencies

Collaborating with a top-tier social media influencer not only reduces the workload on your creative team but also enhances brand authenticity. Utilizing user-generated content (UGC) creates a more natural and relatable ad experience, making your campaigns more engaging to your audiences.

Currently, there are over 12 million U.S. influencers across all social media platforms. Yet the real question is: Which influencer marketing platform delivers the best results when integrated into paid ads, and where do they perform best? From audience reach to ROI, several factors determine whether TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube is the ideal choice for your influencer marketing campaigns.

Top Social Media Platforms for Influencer Marketing

The competition between TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram is fierce when it comes to video advertising and audience reach. YouTube leads with over 250 million users, followed by Instagram at 138.5 million.

However, TikTok is not to be overlooked. The app saw a surge of 88.3% user growth in 2019 and continues to grow by 2.2%–2.4% annually through 2029.

But does a platform’s user base directly translate to its effectiveness for influencer marketing? Let’s take a closer look at the different platforms and how influencer marketing agencies maximize them:

TikTok

While many assume the platform caters only to younger users, our campaign data tells a different story. Despite the majority of U.S. TikTok users being under 30, our data reveals up to 37% CPM efficiency even among audiences aged 55 and up—demonstrating TikTok’s versatility in reaching diverse audiences.

So, how does this well-rounded strategy position TikTok as an influencer marketing platform worth considering?

Promoting your Brand with TikTok Influencers

Influencer marketing agencies choose TikTok for its ability to drive high engagement through viral, short-form videos. Its algorithm naturally amplifies content, enabling brands to reach wider audiences without relying solely on paid media.

Spark Ads further enhances this by boosting organic influencer content, allowing brands to connect authentically with target audiences through established influencer communities.

• Authentic and Relatable Content: TikTok thrives on raw, unfiltered content that feels genuine, bringing authenticity to each video. This “in-the-moment” vibe resonates with users across age groups, making influencer recommendations feel more like advice from a friend than a corporate pitch.

• Cross-Generational Appeal: Though TikTok’s user base skews younger, influencer marketing remains highly effective across all age groups. Audiences aged 55+ have an average engagement rate of 7.3%, surpassing the 5.3% average for younger users. This indicates that while they may be fewer in number, older users demonstrate higher intent and engagement on the platform.
  
  From Gen Z creators to senior influencers, TikTok offers brands a wide range of niche communities to tap into.

• Innovative Content Formats: TikTok offers unique content formats that amplify influencer campaigns:
  • Branded Hashtag Challenges: Brands partner with influencers to create viral trends, increasing user participation.
    
    HP’s #HPRadicalReuse campaign, featuring creators like @dreaknowsbest and @alisonsadventures, achieved an 18% engagement rate, with over 4 million video views from Spark Ads alone.
  • Interactive Add-Ons: In addition to promoting video ads, you can make them more engaging by adding interactive features such as gestures, gift code stickers, and pop-out showcases.

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Further Reading

Activating Authorization Code for TikTok Spark Ads

TikTok’s Spark Ads simplify collaboration with influencers, making it easier to boost their content. With just a few quick steps, you and your chosen content creator can activate a sponsored post and seamlessly launch a successful influencer marketing campaign.

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Keep in mind that TikTok is just the first social media advertising platform in this discussion. While we see how it excels in both video advertising and influencer marketing, how do Instagram and YouTube compare?

Instagram

As Meta continues evolving Instagram into a video-first platform, it has become a top alternative to TikTok—especially during discussions of a potential TikTok ban. When advertisers explored shifting TikTok campaigns to Instagram Reels, it reinforced Instagram’s position as one of the top choices for influencer marketing agencies.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Instagram Influencer Advertising

Instagram is home to over 10 million influencers in the U.S., accounting for 9.8% of its users. With such a vast creator ecosystem, brands have plenty of opportunities to collaborate with influencers across various niches.

Understanding Influencer Tiers

Instagram offers a broad spectrum of influencers, from small, niche-focused creators to mega influencers with massive reach.

More followers don’t always mean better results—nano-influencers often have the highest engagement rates due to their highly engaged, niche communities, making them a strong choice for influencer-driven ads.

Visual Storytelling

Instagram is inherently a visual-first platform, making it ideal for brands that rely on aesthetics and storytelling to connect with audiences. Its various ad formats cater to different marketing objectives:

• Reels: Short-form videos optimized for discoverability and engagement. Influencer-driven Reels see engagement rates of up to 2.08%, outperforming the 1.8% average for regular Reels and other content types.
• Stories: Ephemeral content perfect for real-time updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or limited-time offers. Stories ads can boost reach by 35%, particularly for small brands looking to expand their audience.
• Carousel: Multi-image posts designed to encourage user interaction by swiping through content, making them ideal for detailed storytelling or showcasing multiple products. As a prominent ad format on both Facebook and Instagram, Carousel ads have proven effective—helping a luxury watch brand drive up to 56% of landing page views in a traffic campaign.

Meta’s Stability and Instagram’s Longevity

As part of Meta’s advertising network, Instagram remains a dominant force in social media advertising–and it’s here to stay.

Meta’s resilience in the stock market reinforces its position as a leading platform, and with 47% of brands using Instagram for influencer marketing, its relevance will persist—especially as uncertainty around a potential U.S. TikTok ban continues to impact advertiser decisions.

Is Instagram more effective for influencer advertising than TikTok? The answer depends on campaign goals, target demographics, and engagement strategy. But before drawing conclusions, let’s analyze yet another major influencer marketing platform—YouTube.

YouTube

While YouTube might appear last on this list, its engagement, effectiveness, and video advertising impact are anything but last place. Known for brand awareness campaigns, YouTube is also a high-performing platform for action and conversion-driven marketing.

Why YouTube Influencer Marketing Works

YouTube’s advantages for influencer marketing agencies are strongly tied to its ability to deliver detailed, engaging, and authentic content—whether in short form or long form. Discover why you should consider YouTube for your social media influencer campaigns:

Long-Form Content for In-Depth Storytelling

YouTube stands out in influencer marketing for its ability to host extended video content, making it ideal for detailed product showcases and tutorials:

• Detailed Product Reviews: YouTube influencers spend 10–15 minutes (or longer) discussing a product’s features, benefits, and real-world applications, making it the top choice among U.S. consumers for product reviews and information.
• Step-by-Step Tutorials: 64% of viewers have reported making a purchase after watching an explainer video. And because there’s (basically) no length limit to the videos a YouTube content creator can create, they can go into detail on product tutorials, allowing viewers to understand better what they are recommending.

Full-Funnel Marketing Capabilities

YouTube also plays a crucial role in performance-driven marketing, helping brands achieve action-based results such as lead generation, website traffic, and direct sales.

• Action Campaigns: YouTube influencers excel in driving video views and audience engagement, with the help of Video Views Campaigns. The U.S. leads in YouTube influencer engagement with 28.4 billion interactions, and click-through rates peak during high-traffic ad seasons like Q4.
• Driving Conversions: From Strike Social’s data, a family entertainment brand achieved a 7.8x ROAS by using YouTube ads to drive in-store visits. Additionally, influencer-driven YouTube campaigns have been shown to generate up to 10 times higher conversion rates than organic traffic alone.

Trusted by Audiences

98% of online users trust recommendations from YouTube influencers—more than any other social media platform.

A strong example is MAC Cosmetics, which partnered with beauty content creators Ankita Chaturvedi and Naina Bhan for their YouTube Video Reach Campaigns. With the help of YouTube Shorts, their campaign achieved:

• 66% lower cost per view (CPV)
• 2.5x higher view-through rates than their standard YouTube ads

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Further Reading

Driving Conversions with YouTube Influencer Advertising

Don’t let assumptions about high costs and large ad budgets deter you from considering YouTube influencers for your campaigns. Collaborating with YouTube creators could be the key to fully integrating your ad funnel into this video-centric platform.

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Now that you have a clear understanding of how these social media influencer platforms work and how you can collaborate with content creators for brand campaigns, it’s time to assess your options. While these major platforms are the top choices for influencer marketing agencies, the right fit depends on various criteria that require careful evaluation.

Why Influencer Marketing Agencies Choose These Social Media Platforms

Influencer marketing agencies select TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube based on their unique strengths in audience engagement, creative content, placement strategies, and cost efficiency. Below is a condensed overview of each platform’s advantages:

Each social media platform has unique strengths that can enhance your influencer marketing campaigns. By aligning your campaign goals with the criteria outlined here, you can determine the best platform for your strategy.

Beyond platform selection, the influencer’s existing community is another critical factor. For example, if your brand performs well on TikTok but the influencer you’re targeting has stronger reach and engagement on YouTube, shifting your ad spend may be more effective. Likewise, if a YouTube influencer’s rates are too high, exploring Instagram influencers could deliver better results at a lower cost.

While each platform has its pros and cons, Strike Social’s data shows that a multi-platform influencer campaign can drive strong results while maintaining cost efficiency.

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Case Study:

A leading CPG brand partnered with Strike Social to drive high-quality traffic and engagement through influencer marketing across TikTok and Instagram while maintaining cost efficiency.

By aligning influencer-driven content with key audiences—homemakers, food enthusiasts, and younger consumers—the campaign achieved 43.2% cost efficiency, with Meta (Facebook and Instagram) contributing to 70% lower CPLC on Meta placements.

Further, capitalizing on the platform’s strength in interactive, trend-based engagement, 61% total engagements were driven by TikTok influencer ads.

Download the CPG Influencer Campaign Case Study

Connecting with More Engaged Audiences with Influencer Marketing

Choosing the right social media platform for your influencer marketing campaign is a crucial step in effectively promoting your brand. Each platform offers distinct advantages based on your goals, target audience, and budget—and when combined strategically, they can deliver even stronger performance and cost efficiency.

However, these platforms are just the mediums. Success in influencer marketing depends on aligning with the right audience, budget strategy, and content approach. Whether partnering with Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok influencers, integrating influencer marketing into your paid social strategy is now essential.

Ready to launch your influencer campaign? Contact our team for a personalized walkthrough on how we can activate and manage your influencer ads.

The post Which Social Media Platform Works Best for Influencer Marketing? appeared first on Strike Social.

Driving Traffic and Sales with YouTube Influencer Advertising

Did you know that 67% of marketers struggle to find the right influencers for their brands? Yet, those investing in YouTube influencer advertising seem to have cracked the code—allocating up to 40% of their marketing budgets to influencer campaigns on the platform.

When brands collaborate with YouTube creators whose audiences align with their target market, the results translate to real engagement, traffic, and conversions. In this blog, we’ll break down how YouTube influencer advertising can deliver measurable ROI and why it’s worth integrating into your strategy.

Why Should Brands Use YouTube Influencers for Advertising?

Running YouTube ads can definitely help with brand promotions, but partnering with a trusted YouTube influencer adds a layer of authenticity that traditional ads can’t match. Here’s why YouTube influencer advertising is a powerful strategy for driving engagement, trust, and conversions:

Benefits of Collaborating with YouTube Content Creators

Higher audience trust and engagement

• YouTube creators have built-in credibility, making their recommendations feel more like peer advice than traditional advertising. Influencer engagement rates typically average around 3%, with micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 subscribers) reaching up to 5%.
• This aligns with YouTube’s overall engagement benchmark of 3-7%, reinforcing why influencer-led campaigns often drive stronger brand affinity and trust.

Longer content lifespan

• Unlike short-lived content on TikTok and Instagram, YouTube videos continue to generate views long after they’re published:
  • YouTube: Videos gain traction for 20-30 days initially but can keep accumulating views for years.
  • TikTok: Viral content peaks in minutes but fades quickly without sustained engagement.
  • Instagram: Reels last around 14 days in circulation, while standard posts have a visibility window of up to 48 hours.

Better storytelling opportunities

• Data from our 2024 YouTube ads benchmark report shows that both short-form and long-form content perform well in YouTube advertising:

• While shorter ads achieve higher view rates, longer content remains competitive, proving that YouTube fosters engagement across various video lengths. YouTube influencer ads go beyond simple product promotion, offering brands a way to tell authentic stories that connect with audiences on a deeper level.

How to Find the Right YouTube Influencers

With over 200,000 U.S. content creators in the macro-influencer category alone (up to 500K subscribers), the options for YouTube influencer advertising are vast. Brands can also choose from nano-influencers, micro-influencers, and mega-influencers, each offering different levels of reach and engagement.

But how do you determine the right YouTube influencer? Here are two key strategies:

1. Discover Influencers with YouTube BrandConnect

YouTube BrandConnect simplifies the process of finding the right YouTube influencers by providing data-driven insights and audience-matching tools. You can filter creators based on:

• Audience demographics (e.g., age, location)
• Engagement rates (e.g., 10%+ comment rate on videos)
• Content category (e.g., tech, beauty, food)

Beyond discovery, YouTube BrandConnect also facilitates campaign planning, negotiations, and communication—helping to streamline influencer marketing campaigns while ensuring a secure collaboration between advertisers and creators.

2. Look Beyond Vanity Metrics

Follower count and video views may look impressive, but they don’t always translate to engagement or effectiveness for YouTube influencer advertising. Instead, assess:

• Past collaborations: Have they done influencer ads on YouTube before? If their branded content consistently outperforms non-branded videos, it’s a strong indicator of their influence and audience trust.
• Engagement rate: Calculate the engagement rate of their channel using this formula:

Engagement Rate = [(Likes + Comments + Shares) / Subscribers] × 100%

As a benchmark, nano-influencers (1K to 10K followers) typically have an engagement rate of around 4.6%. If you’re targeting influencers in this category, their engagement rates must meet or exceed this standard.

3. Work with an Influencer Agency

Manually searching for the right YouTube influencers can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Partnering with an influencer agency streamlines the process, allowing you to focus on campaign strategy and performance.

Influencer agencies have data-driven insights into which content creators consistently deliver results, helping you connect with those who align with your brand and audience. With their deep understanding of influencer marketing trends, they can identify high-performing creators faster than traditional vetting methods.

Furthermore, agencies handle key logistics, from facilitating partnerships to negotiating fees, making them especially valuable if you’re new to YouTube influencer advertising.

Common Mistakes and Myths in YouTube Influencer Advertising

We get it—YouTube influencer advertising comes with its fair share of doubts, often fueled by misconceptions and misinformation. Whether it’s concerns about costs, effectiveness, or control over messaging, these myths can prevent brands from tapping into a highly effective digital marketing strategy.

Let’s separate fact from fiction and debunk the most common misunderstandings about working with YouTube influencers:

1. “It’s hard to earn ROI from YouTube influencers”

Reality: Nano and micro-influencers offer cost-effective partnerships with a higher YouTube ROI than top-tier creators.

While partnering with top-tier influencers can provide extensive reach, it comes at a steep cost. For instance, Lydia Millen, a top-tier fashion influencer with over 1 million subscribers, averages 200K to 400K views per video. The cost for a single sponsored video from an influencer of this scale can range from $10,000 to $16,000.

However, brands don’t have to rely on mega-influencers to get results. 47% of marketers report better performance from smaller-scale YouTube influencer ads, which often have stronger audience engagement. Nano and micro-influencers not only provide more affordable rates, but their engagement rates can reach up to 8-10%, compared to mega-influencers, whose engagement drops to as low as 0.92%.

Here’s the typical cost of YouTube influencer advertising at different subscriber levels:

2. “YouTube ads are much more expensive than TikTok”

Reality: YouTube’s higher engagement and view rates offset upfront costs, delivering stronger ROAS over time.

At first glance, YouTube advertising costs may seem higher, having higher competition for ad space. However, YouTube’s higher engagement, stable click-through rates (CTR), and stronger audience retention often translate into better long-term ROI compared to its primary video-first competitor, TikTok.

Here’s a 2024 U.S. campaign comparison of action campaign CTRs across YouTube vs. TikTok:

With the introduction of Demand Gen campaigns (formerly Video Action Campaigns), YouTube is further optimizing ad performance for direct response and conversions. These campaigns integrate well with your YouTube influencer marketing strategy, allowing you to:

• Retarget high-intent audiences who have previously interacted with your brand.
• Encourage action with shoppable ads, lead forms, and CTA buttons.
• Utilize Google’s AI-powered targeting to find users ready to convert.

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Further Reading

From VAC to Demand Gen — What You Need To Know

Starting March 2025, Video Action Campaigns (VAC) will evolve into Demand Gen, a more advanced campaign type designed to drive higher clicks and conversions from your YouTube ads. Demand Gen expands your reach by delivering multi-format ads across highly engaged audiences within the Google network, optimizing performance beyond traditional placements.

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How to Maximize ROI with YouTube Influencer Advertising

Now that you understand the benefits of YouTube influencer advertising, it’s time to apply those insights to optimize your campaign strategy. Here are the tips to plan out your campaign accordingly:

Manage your costs by finding the right influencers

It’s not just about follower count—it’s about engagement. A high subscriber count often means higher costs, but engagement rates can drop as influencer size increases. To maximize your YouTube influencer ads ROI, focus on creators whose audience is actively engaged with their content.

Look for YouTube influencers with a track record of successful brand collaborations. Analyze engagement metrics on their sponsored content to assess whether they can deliver the performance you need. Most importantly, their pricing must align with your campaign budget without compromising results.

Take advantage of YouTube’s advertising ecosystem

YouTube’s reach spans multiple devices, including mobile screens, tablets, desktops, and Connected TV (CTV). Your YouTube influencer advertising strategy should be optimized for all viewing experiences, including Shorts for mobile users and horizontal videos for larger screens.

Our 2024 YouTube Ads Benchmark Report shows that 48% of YouTube ad placements land on Connected TV, offering higher viewability and longer watch times. Meanwhile, mobile generates the highest impression share, emphasizing the importance of engaging fast-paced viewers who are more likely to click and take action.

Beyond the YouTube app, Google’s ad ecosystem expands your ads’ reach across multiple platforms through these key campaign formats:

• Video Reach Campaigns – Extends influencer ads to Google TV and YouTube TV.
• Video View Campaigns – Maximizes visibility across YouTube in-feed, in-stream, and Shorts.
• Demand Gen – Expands reach beyond YouTube to Google Discover, Gmail, and Google video partners.

Amplify your performance with an expert YouTube advertising agency

The right influencer and high-quality ad creatives are just part of the equation. To unlock true efficiency, partner with a YouTube advertising agency that specializes in cost-effective, high-performing campaigns.

With over a decade of experience running YouTube campaigns, Strike Social’s proprietary ad tech optimizes costs 24/7 while delivering consistent results. Combined with the expertise of our media buying team, we help brands hit their target views and conversions—all while keeping ad costs under control.

Request a personalized walkthrough from our team today.

The post How YouTube Influencer Advertising Can Deliver Stronger Conversions appeared first on Strike Social.