Creators focused on specific niches drove ten times more consumer engagement on #ads in 2023 than lifestyle influencers publishing posts across multiple verticals, a new CORQ study has discovered.
This analysis of branded content across 15,000 influencer Instagram accounts also revealed the 100 creators who posted most adverts in the past 12 months. The majority of this group were lifestyle influencers, based in London, aged 25-34 and with audiences of 100K to 500K followers.
Other headline findings include the top 12 viral creator adverts of the year. Fifty-eight per cent of these were produced by POC creators and one quarter were by Atifa Arshad in partnership with beauty brand Elemis.
A comparison of ad labels used in 2023 vs 2022 shows commercial signposting using language which is not recognised by the Advertising Standards Authority has increased by 638% YOY. Use of correct ad labels has also shot up by 441%.
Commenting on what this means for brands, CORQ CEO and founder Sara McCorquodale said: “We produced this report so that we can pin down the bigger picture of influencer marketing. Based on our findings – which I think can be explained by significant algorithm changes – brands should invest in creators producing specific content formats for Reels, and broader lifestyle content for Stories.”
Find out more about CORQ’s Data Review 2023 here and register for our strategy session on the research, taking place on November 29th, at 1pm.
