Influencer Marketing in Numbers 2026: Studies, Facts and a Worked Example
Updated on 13 November 2026
Influencer marketing is firmly part of the marketing mix in Germany: 72 percent of industry professionals expected investment to rise in 2025, and almost one in four people (23 percent) has already bought something because celebrities or influencers advertised it. Short videos have the biggest impact, and long-term partnerships are becoming more important. Here you will find the key figures from current studies – with sources and a worked example.
How many people can you reach via social networks?
According to the ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025, 63 percent of people aged 14 and over in Germany use social media regularly. Among individual platforms, YouTube as a video platform is clearly ahead, followed by Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. In the 2026 study, YouTube reaches 71 percent of the population aged 14 and over.
Source: ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025, 2,512 respondents, January to April 2025. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: weekly reach. *YouTube: reach as a video streaming service.
For your planning, this means: the biggest reach is not automatically the best channel. What matters is where your audience spends time – more on this in Instagram, TikTok or YouTube?
Do people buy because of influencer advertising?
Yes – and quite a few. In a Statista Consumer Insights survey, 23 percent of respondents in Germany said they had already bought something because celebrities or influencers advertised it. That is almost one in four people.
Important: this effect is driven by trust. Advertising must be clearly labelled and fit the creator, otherwise it falls flat. What to watch out for in disclosure is covered in Ad disclosure in influencer marketing.
What do industry professionals expect?
For the study “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025”, 400 professionals from brands, agencies and creators were surveyed. The mood is positive:
Source: MAI xpose360 / INFLUENCER360 with the German Influencer Marketing Association (BVIM), “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025”, 400 respondents, published February 2025.
Brands are planning more internationally as well: according to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), 54 percent of the multinational brands surveyed wanted to increase their influencer budget in 2025.
Which formats work?
Short videos dominate. Reels and Stories are the most used formats; classic feed posts and blogs hardly play a role any more.
Source: “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025” (see above).
Where are the challenges?
Growth also brings hurdles. Respondents mainly name these points:
Source: “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025” (see above).
That is exactly why a close look at creator selection pays off: a real community instead of bought followers, matching values instead of pure reach. How to recognise good creators is explained in How to find influencers.
AI is changing how brands are found
According to the ARD/ZDF Media Study 2026, 59 percent of people aged 14 and over use AI tools at least occasionally; among 14- to 29-year-olds it is 92 percent. 81 percent consider source references in AI answers important or very important.
For brands, this means: those who appear in genuine experiences, recommendations and articles are also more likely to be named by AI assistants. Influencer marketing therefore pays off not only on social media but also in search visibility.
Worked example: how to read a campaign’s figures
Fictional example
The following values are made up. They do not come from a real campaign and are not a benchmark. They only show how to calculate and read the most important metrics.
A fictional natural cosmetics brand works with three creators for four weeks. Each creator publishes one Reel and several Stories. The result could look like this:
| Metric | How to calculate | In the example |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement rate | Interactions ÷ reach × 100 | 6,000 ÷ 120,000 × 100 = 5% |
| Click-through rate | Link clicks ÷ reach × 100 | 1,800 ÷ 120,000 × 100 = 1.5% |
| Redemption rate | Redemptions ÷ link clicks × 100 | 150 ÷ 1,800 × 100 ≈ 8.3% |
How to read the example: reach shows how many people saw the content. The engagement rate shows whether the content resonated. Clicks and redemptions show whether this turned into interest in the product. Comparison is what matters: between creators, with previous campaigns and against your goal. Which metrics fit which goal is explained in KPIs and reporting in influencer marketing.
What does this mean for your planning?
- Focus on short videos and plan Reels and Stories as a fixed part.
- Build long-term partnerships with a few well-matched creators.
- Check creators thoroughly – a real community counts more than the follower count.
- Define metrics before launch and compare after every campaign.
- Factor in visibility in search and AI assistants.
How to turn this into your annual plan is explained in How to plan influencer marketing for 2027.
Sources
- ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025, summary (in German): onlinemarketing.de, 1 Oct 2025
- ARD/ZDF Media Study 2026, summary (in German): zdfheute.de, 22 Sep 2026
- Statista Consumer Insights, purchases due to influencer advertising (in German): statista.com, 19 Jun 2026
- MAI xpose360 / INFLUENCER360 and BVIM, “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025”: Press release, 17 Feb 2025
- World Federation of Advertisers, influencer budgets 2025: Net Influencer, 3 Apr 2025
About W!
W! Influencer has been planning influencer campaigns for brands since 2017 – with creators from our network, our own talent management and TV personalities as testimonials. We help you turn figures into a campaign that fits your brand. You will receive a reply to your enquiry within 24 hours. Request a campaign
Frequently asked questions
In a Statista Consumer Insights survey, 23 percent of respondents in Germany said they had already bought something because celebrities or influencers advertised it – almost one in four people.
YouTube. According to the ARD/ZDF Media Study, YouTube as a video platform reaches 72 percent (2025) and 71 percent (2026) of people aged 14 and over. In weekly reach, it is followed by Instagram with 40 percent, Facebook with 31 percent and TikTok with 20 percent (2025).
Short videos. In the study “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025”, 85 percent of respondents name Reels and 65 percent Stories as formats they use. Feed posts (15 percent) and blogs (5 percent) hardly play a role any more.
Yes. 72 percent of respondents in the study “State of German Influencer Marketing 2025” expected investment to rise in 2025. Internationally, according to the WFA, 54 percent of the multinational brands surveyed wanted to increase their influencer budget in 2025.
Divide the number of interactions (likes, comments, shares, saves) by the reach and multiply by 100. An example with fictional values: 6,000 interactions with 120,000 people reached result in an engagement rate of 5 percent.
Sandra Wrzosek is the founder and managing director of W! Influencer. Since 2017 she has been planning influencer campaigns for brands and represents creators and TV personalities in her own talent management.