Influencer Marketing On YouTube: The Complete Guide

From humble beginnings full of random videos, YouTube has grown into a dominant media platform that competes with movies, television, and streaming services. With a total of one billion hours of video viewing per day, that’s a huge audience.

This fact hasn’t been lost on brands and marketers who were quick to partner with creators who jumped on the platform early and started building their own audience.

Today, there are tens of thousands of influencers in just about every niche and industry you can think of. If brands want to reach their customers, chances are the best place to do so is through YouTube influencer marketing.

In this guide, we’ll go over the current state of influencer marketing on YouTube and go over the key aspects of what makes this platform different from others. We’ll also give you information on how to successfully build an influencer campaign and work with influencers on YouTube.

Why Influencer Marketing On YouTube Is Different

YouTube has morphed into a truly unique platform that offers creators extreme flexibility in how they want to produce content and interact with their audience.

YouTube offers everything from short-form videos to longer documentary-style content. There are also extensive live-streaming options with live chat and other features to keep audiences engaged.

YouTube also is competing with traditional media such as streaming. For example, statistics show that about half of all viewing on YouTube is now done on a television screen instead of a computer or smartphone. This makes YouTube unique among social media platforms in the way that the content is consumed.

Finally, there are community tools to help creators communicate with their audience between uploads as well as YouTube Shorts, which is similar to TikTok and features short video clips that users can swipe through with no interruption.

This means you can find virtually any type of influencer on the platform as well as influencers in almost every possible niche. Due to the different video types, many of the choices for influencer campaign options simply aren’t possible on most other platforms.

Why You Should Choose YouTube Influencer Marketing

YouTube offers unique influencer marketing opportunities that for many brands are unmatched across other platforms. Whether brands focus particularly on YouTube or as part of a multi-platform campaign, these benefits are a few of the key reasons why YouTube is a top choice for influencer marketing.

Demographic Variety

YouTube has the widest variety of user demographics of any of the main social media platforms. Platforms like TikTok or Instagram tend to skew younger or in some cases female, depending on the niche.

YouTube on the other hand has strong representation for both younger audiences and older audiences. The platform also gives influencers age-related data about their subscribers and viewers to help them work with brands looking for specific audiences.

If your brand or marketing goals involve targeting age groups that fall outside of some of the younger demographics, then YouTube is the best place to find influencers that align with your core audience.

Content Variety

The average length of video content on YouTube is 11.7 minutes. This places YouTube far ahead of other social media platforms in regard to how much users interact with a single piece of content.

Breaking down videos by niche, we get even longer interaction times. For example, gaming videos on YouTube have an average length of 24 minutes. By comparison, Instagram and TikTok both have average video lengths of under one minute.

But YouTube has its own Shorts feature for short-form videos and creators on the platform often use Shorts to promote their longer content.

The result is that marketers have many more types of content to sponsor. From short product mentions to in-depth product reviews, YouTube offers an extensive variety of options for influencer marketing campaigns.

Product Discovery Powerhouse

YouTube has become one of the most popular product discovery destinations across the internet. This is particularly true for younger people, but the behavior spans all age demographics that use the platform.

Below are key aggregated usage stats from Statista, Pew Research, eMarketer, and other sites.

Gen Z (Ages 12-27)

• Over 40% use YouTube as their primary platform for product discovery
• Typically spend 40+ minutes daily watching product reviews and unboxing videos during the product research phase

Millennials (Ages 28-41)

• 64% have used YouTube for researching products before purchase
• Prefer longer, detailed product reviews and comparison videos
• Most likely to watch DIY and how-to content related to products

Gen X (Ages 42-58)

• 52% regularly use YouTube for product research
• Tend to watch traditional long-form review videos
• More likely to engage with expert recommendations and technical reviews

Baby Boomers (Ages 58-76)

• 31% utilize YouTube for product discovery
• Prefer straightforward product demonstrations
• Most likely to watch tutorials on how to use specific products

Silent Generation (Ages 77+)

• 12% use YouTube for product information
• Mainly watch basic product demonstrations
• Most likely to engage with content featuring clear, slow explanations

According to Google, 70% of users reported purchasing a product after seeing an ad on YouTube. This includes paid ads and promotional content.

This high percentage is due to the longer video content and in-depth style that YouTube creators tend to use. Potential customers spend more time with each piece of content so the marketing message and USP of the product make a bigger impact.

For influencer marketing campaigns that need the ability to convey more complex selling points, YouTube is the perfect platform to get your message across. 

Content Longevity

We all know social media can move fast. Content that’s going viral today can be quickly forgotten within days.

While that can be the case for some content niches on YouTube, much of the content there has a longer viable lifespan than other platforms. Product reviews, tutorials, and comparisons can continue gathering views for months or years after being uploaded. This type of content is considered “evergreen” and while views do decline, it’s much slower than other platforms.

For influencer marketing on YouTube, this means the included promotional message gets views long after the content first goes live.

Search Engine Optimization

YouTube’s parent company Alphabet also owns Google Search. Because of that relationship, YouTube videos are often given priority treatment in Google web search results.

The benefit for marketers is that a strong YouTube video can also show up for people who are searching on Google, a totally different platform.

While Google does sometimes show results for other social media platforms, it gives preferential treatment to YouTube content. For Instagram or TikTok, a user will generally have to specify they’re searching for content on those platforms.

YouTube videos will appear without the user specifying on Google they want video content.

In actual ROI terms, being on the first page of Google for a search term is easily worth between $1 and $2 per click on average, with some industries having much higher traffic costs. With the right YouTube partnership, you can get those clicks essentially for free and as a bonus.

Some Drawbacks Of YouTube Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing on YouTube does have many benefits for marketers, but there are some downsides that may make other platforms more attractive in certain cases. Understanding these shortcomings can help you avoid wasting resources that could otherwise be spent elsewhere.

Higher Costs

Influencer marketing on YouTube is generally more expensive than other platforms. How much influencers make on YouTube is related to the benefits we outlined earlier, so they charge a premium over other platforms.

This doesn’t mean that influencer rates on YouTube are overpriced, it’s just that there is more demand from sponsors and advertisers promoting more high-ticket items.

There is still a lot of value to be found among YouTube influencers, particularly if you focus on smaller creators with targeted and high-quality audiences. You can keep your costs modest while still enjoying the benefits the platform has to offer.

Engagement can vary more across videos.

If you’ve ever posted anything on social media, you know that different uploads can get very different reactions. This is normal and as the audience size increases for an influencer, the average engagement rate starts to normalize and become more predictable.

However, with YouTube, the variation can be slightly more pronounced. Videos can underperform for somewhat mysterious reasons. On other platforms like Instagram, the average engagement for a specific type of content is usually more in line with the influencer’s other content.

A solution to this is to carefully research the influencer you want to partner with along with their content. Look at the content that they’ve produced similar to what you plan on sponsoring.

That may give you a more accurate benchmark instead of their overall engagement across all videos they produce.

Another key area is to make sure your content brief aligns with the creator’s existing content style. A mismatch can cause the video and engagement to perform poorly.

More complicated content briefs

If you are creating a campaign around reviews, unboxing, or tutorials, your content brief will be more complicated than typical product mentions on short-form platforms.

To avoid any problems in this area, make sure you create a clear and concise brief that includes all of your expectations. Give your influencer plenty of time to go over the brief and provide any feedback or changes if needed.

Overall, YouTube influencer marketing campaigns will sometimes need more lead time than other campaigns on other platforms, so plan accordingly.

Competition With Paid Ads

Paid ads are usually run before and during YouTube content. Since these ads are contextual, you may end up with a competitor advertising before your sponsored content with an influencer.

This isn’t a deal breaker, but it is something to consider and audiences often notice competitor ads being displayed during specific content. 

The YouTube ad platform does allow you to have your paid ad shown on specific videos. The influencer can also set this option if they prefer. If you’re running paid ads along with your influencer campaign, you may want to capture the paid ad spots for that specific video.

Doing so is not necessary, but it can avoid any competition appearing during your sponsored content.

How Much Does Influencer Marketing On YouTube Cost

Across every platform, influencer marketing rates are going up. It’s not inflation, it’s simply that demand is increasing and advertisers are willing to pay more for the relatively limited space that’s available to them.

With that being said, YouTube tends to be one of the platforms with the highest influencer marketing costs.

Below, we’ll break down the rates influencers charge depending on their subscriber count. Just remember that these are ranges and specific influencers may have higher or lower rates based on their own audience and content engagement.

Influencer Tier Prices On YouTube

Nano Influencers ($25-$250 per sponsored post)

• Highly specialized content
• More affordable niche-specific pricing

Micro Influencers ($250-$5,000 per sponsored post)

• Higher cost compared to other platforms
• Rates highly depend on niche and content specificity

Mid-Tier Influencers ($5,000-$10,000 per sponsored post)

• Considered experts in their field
• Most charge around $5,000 per post
• Only highly profitable niches command top rates

Macro Influencers ($10,000-$15,000 per sponsored post)

• Recognizable beyond their primary niche
• General content creators earn less despite the large subscriber count
• Platform-wide recognition can help with brand awareness and authority

Mega & Celebrity Influencers (Over $15,000 per sponsored post)

• Selective brand opportunities
• Often managed by influencer marketing agencies
• Complex campaign requirements

It’s important to remember that the prices negotiated between influencers and brands are almost always private. This means exact amounts are nearly impossible to know since so many factors contribute to the final price.

The prices we listed above are mostly the optimum pricing an influencer can charge if they create engaging content and exist in a niche that has high demand from advertisers with appropriate budgets.

How To Develop A YouTube Influencer Marketing Campaign

If you’re looking to start an influencer marketing campaign on YouTube, you’re in luck. The influencer market has matured enough that there’s a proven blueprint for how to go about getting the best results.

Gone are the days of just looking up the influencer with the most subscribers and begging them to mention your product at the start of their video.

Below, we’ll give you the outline professional influencer marketing agencies use to build successful campaigns on YouTube.

Set Your Campaign Goals

If you’ve read any other guides on our blog, you’ve likely seen this tip over and over again. But that’s only because it’s the foundation of just about every marketing initiative and it’s where beginners often put the least amount of time.

You should have a clear understanding of exactly what you want your YouTube influencer marketing efforts to accomplish. This is so important because every decision you make in the later steps depends on these goals.

Without properly defined goals, the rest of your decisions can fall out of alignment and the result is a poor-performing campaign.

Determine Your Metrics To Gauge Success

Once your goals are locked in, it’s time to determine which metrics you’ll use to measure the campaign performance from start to finish. Measuring the campaign is critical for determining your ROI and whether or not you should continue to invest money.

Once again, this is relatively easy since these metrics are well-established within the influencer marketing industry. Below are some key metrics that marketers and brands use to determine the success of a campaign on YouTube.

Reach: The total number of unique users who viewed the influencer’s content. This metric helps brands understand the potential audience size and overall visibility of a campaign.

Engagement Rate: Calculates the percentage of followers who interact with content through likes, comments, and shares. A high engagement rate suggests that the content resonates with the audience and indicates the influencer’s ability to create compelling content around your messaging.

Conversion Rate: Measures the percentage of audience members who take a desired action, such as purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading an app. This is a critical metric that directly links influencer content to profitable outcomes.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of viewers who click on a specific link or call to action in the influencer’s content. CTR helps brands understand how effectively the content drives traffic to their website or landing page. It’s also related to conversion rates.

Cost Per Engagement (CPE): Calculates the total campaign cost divided by the number of engagements. This metric helps brands assess the financial efficiency of their influencer marketing efforts and compare performance with industry standards.

Return on Investment (ROI): Measures the revenue generated compared to the total campaign spend. ROI provides a comprehensive view of the campaign’s financial success and helps brands determine the overall effectiveness of their influencer marketing strategy.

Brand Sentiment: Analyzes the tone and context of comments and interactions to gauge audience perception and emotional response to the campaign. This qualitative metric helps brands understand how their message is being received.

Follower Growth: Tracks the increase in a brand’s followers during and after a campaign. This metric can indicate the campaign’s impact on the influencer’s audience and the brand’s appeal to new potential customers.

Impressions: The total number of times the content was displayed, regardless of unique viewers or whether they engaged with the content. This metric helps understand the potential exposure and frequency of the brand message.

Create A Budget

Your budget will be completely unique to your brand, but you can use the section above to see what different influencers charge depending on their subscriber count. This will allow to you determine how many influencers you may want to work with.

Just remember that the more influencers you choose, the more time and effort you’ll need to manage them and create content briefs. More isn’t always better depending on your goals so you may only need one or two influencers depending on your goal and budget.

Choose Your Influencers

Your budget will determine what subset of influencers you want to focus on. You can simply search YouTube for various influencers in your niche or you can use platforms that specialize in listing various influencers and their rates.

These platforms generally have a subscription fee but they can make the overall process of finding influencers easier. The downside is that not every influencer is on these platforms so your choices are limited.

The key area to be aware of when choosing influencers is to start with their audience. The audience is the most important aspect and the audience must align with what your core customer is.

The higher the overlap between the influencer audience and your customer, the more successful the campaign will be. A poor alignment in this area will lead to a poor campaign no matter how good the rest of it is or how much money you spend.

So carefully vetting the influencers’ audience should be where you put most of your time and effort when choosing influencers.

Beyond that, you want to look at the style of the content to ensure it fits with your brand voice. It doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but just check if there are any obvious conflicts.

Design Your Creative Briefs

Determine what your expectations for the campaign are and start to design a creative brief to match. The creative brief is what you send to the influencer and their team so they understand what type of promotion you’re looking for.

This is why it’s important for the creative brief to be concise and contain your full expectations. Just remember that the influencer has the flexibility to ask that certain aspects be changed if they don’t fit the influencer’s style or they’re simply not comfortable with certain promotional language.

Allow for some back-and-forth and lead time in case any sticking points have to be worked out. Most influencer promotions are standard and there are no significant issues. However, you want to allow for discussion if there is a need to get everyone on the same page.

Measure Campaign Success

Once your promotions are up, you can use the metrics mentioned earlier to determine how well the campaign performed. You can use a mix of your own metrics along with data the influencer can provide from their account.

Carefully study the data to see what worked and what can be improved upon. What is considered a success will be different for every brand, so there is no right answer here.

Some brands are looking for huge returns on their ad spend while others have different goals and are more long-term oriented. Whatever goal you have, just make sure you track and measure it so you know you’re getting the results you want.

The Future Of Influencer Marketing On YouTube

While it may seem like the current crop of social media platforms will be around forever, some will likely fade in popularity and relevance at some point. With that being said, YouTube does seem to be one of the platforms that have the most lasting staying power.

YouTube is well past the “buzz” stage and is now a permanent fixture within the media landscape and not just social media.

New creators are joining all of the time and existing creators are building their audiences and increasing their authority within their industry. All of this makes for a growing platform that is becoming a central part of how consumers gather information about brands and products.