.

Influencer Types,
Platforms, and
Engagement in 2019
APRIL 2019
This analysis is based on research published by Upfluence.
W H I T E PA P E R
01. Overview
Platforms
Four popular social media platforms and a total of
795,904 influencers were analyzed in this study.
What is engagement?
Engagement refers to the sum of all users’ interactions
on an influencer’s post. Depending on the social media
platform, different interactions are taken into account to
calculate the engagement rate (ER).
Instagram: likes, comments
Facebook: reactions, comments, shares
Youtube: likes, dislikes, comments Twitter: retweets,
favorites, replies
Engagement rate = #engagements/#followers.
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What are followers?
Generally speaking, followers are people that subscribe
to an influencer on social media to receive their updates.
An influencer may have followers on several platforms
such as YouTube subscribers, Facebook fans, and Twitter
followers.
Median and average
Average engagement rate = sum of #engagements /
sum of #followers.
Median engagement rate: the total population of
influencers is first sorted by engagement rate and then
split into two groups of the same size. The median
engagement rate is the midpoint, meaning that one
group of influencers has engagement rates below the
median, while the other group has engagement rates
above the median value.
2
 02. Influencer
categorization

Influencer distribution by #followers and platform

Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter Total

<15k 174,120 22,461 19,629 92,271 308,480

15k-50k 266,073 13,634 4,978 16,552 301,237

50k-100k 63,757 7,921 7,921 1,862 5,325

100k-500k 55,573 15,510 3,109 6,292 80,384

500k-1M 6,843 4,195 734 1,204 12,976

>1M 6,398 4,623 1,215 1,726 13,932

Total 572,664 68,344 31,526 123,370 795,904

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Influencer distribution by
number of followers
Approximately 77% of influencers have less than 50K
followers while only 1.6% have more than 1M. For the
influencer types later on, the influencers were merged
into 4 groups that are consistent in size and behavior.

.Influencer distribution by
platform
Overall, 72% of influencers are on Instagram, and 16%
are active on Twitter. Due to their popularity among
influencers, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter were
analyzed in depth.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Influencers grouped by number of followers

The smallest influencers in terms of followers are A vast majority of influencers with 15K - 50K followers
primarily on Instagram (56%) and Twitter (30%). are on Instagram (86%).

80% of influencers with 100K - 500K followers are on Approximately 70% of influencers with 100K - 500K
Instagram. The share of influencers active on YouTube followers are on Instagram while nearly 20% of these
(10%) is increasing. influencers use YouTube.

A substantial number of influencers with more than 1M

While still a majority, only 52% of influencers with 500K
followers are now on YouTube (33%), while 45% and 12%
- 1M followers are on Instagram. Over 1/3 of influencers
of them are on Instagram and Twitter respectively.
of this size are on YouTube.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Engagement rate analysis

Average engagement rate by community size

The average engagement rate is highly dependant on

the number of followers. Generally, when an influencer
gains more followers, the average engagement rate
tends to decrease.

Average engagement rate by platform

Engagement rates on Twitter and Instagram are on

average the highest. However, average engagement
rates can be deceiving. In some cases, there are
significant discrepancies between average and median
engagement rates, which can be seen on the next page.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Engagement rate by platform

Two metrics were compared to gain a better understanding of the engagement rate: the average and the median. As
a reminder, the median (midpoint) represents the engagement rate value, where 50% of influencers have a higher, and
50% of influencers have a lower average engagement rate.

Instagram Twitter

Over half of the influencers with more than 1M followers There is a massive gap between the average and
have an engagement rate higher than 1.71% (so they still median engagement rate for influencers with less than
generate at least 17K engagements per post). 15K followers. Only a small number of influencers achieve
virality with their tweets, while the majority does not.

YouTube Facebook

The platform is suitable for finding small influencers Engagement on Facebook is overall very low. The
with exceptional engagement rates (niche experts), but average engagement rate is below 1% across the board.
overall engagement is relatively low.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Influencer countries
Average engagement rate by platform

Instagram Twitter

YouTube Facebook

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Germany has high engagement rates on all platforms.

France ranks as the top 3 country on all social media platforms.

Brazil has low engagement rates on all platforms, except on YouTube where it has one of the highest ER.

The US has relatively low engagement rates compared to other countries, except on Twitter.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Influencer languages
Average engagement rate by platform

Instagram Twitter

YouTube Facebook

KEY TAKEAWAYS

German, French, and Italian all have high engagement rates, which directly correlates to the
engagement rates of their respective countries.

Arabic generates one of the lowest engagement rates, except on Twitter.

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I N F L U E N C E R C AT E G O R I Z AT I O N

.Influencer gender
Overall, male influencers generate more engagement than female influencers, except on Twitter.

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03. Influencer
persona

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.The specialist

Instagram <15K FOLLOWERS

Generally, brands can find the largest number of

specialist influencers on Instagram (56%). The specialist
The specialist influencer is skilled in a field generates an average engagement rate of 4.6% on
with a narrow focus, a niche that is far from Instagram, which is higher than most engagement rates
mainstream. They typically have a small on other platforms. However, the median engagement
audience of like-minded people interested rate also indicates that only half of the specialist
in the same subject. While the specialist’s influencers generate an engagement rate higher than
follower count is low in comparison to other 3.23%.
influencer types, they on average record the
highest engagement rates. Jordan Gibson is an
example of one of
the best-performing
specialist influencers on
Instagram. Not only is he
an artist specialized in
a niche for cartoons; he
focuses on superheroes.
His engagement is far
beyond average with
an engagement rate of
Average engagement rate by platform - The Specialist
nearly 20%.

PERFECT FIT FOR

- B2B brand awareness

- B2B / technical education of your audience
- B2B lead generation
- Local drive-to-store campaigns
- Local brand awareness
- Event promotion
- Live event promotion

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TYPES OF INFLUENCERS

Twitter <15K FOLLOWERS YouTube <15K FOLLOWERS

While not as drastically different as Twitter’s average

With 30% of specialists active on the social media
and median engagement rate, the specialists’ average
platform, Twitter is an important platform to consider
engagement rate of 4.24% on YouTube is a bit deceiving.
when looking for this type of influencer. While at first,
Indeed, the median ER is less than 1% (0.88%), meaning
it seems that Twitter on average generates the highest
that half of the specialist influencers on YouTube have
engagement rate with 6.79%, the deviation between the
an engagement rate below 1%. Although YouTube is
average engagement rate and the median engagement
used by some specialists (7%), the platform is mostly
rate is exceptionally high.
geared towards influencers with a bigger following.
The median ER indicates that 50% of Twitter specialists
Mom and Pop Quilt Shop is a specialist account on
we examined have an engagement rate below 0.22%. In
YouTube. The channel is speaking to an audience of
other words, while some specialists generate incredibly
quilt enthusiasts & crafting fans and has A+ ratings for
high engagement rates, the vast majority of these
engagement, likes & comments. The channel is doing
influencers do not. Millions of tweets are disregarded
exceptionally well with an average engagement rate of
daily, and only once in a while, a tweet will go viral.
nearly 10%.
Ken Shirriff is a specialist influencer on Twitter. He has
nearly 9K followers and specializes in restoring vintage
computers. Ken has an engagement rate of 4.82% and
ranks among the top 5% of our Twitter specialists in
terms of engagement.

Facebook <15K FOLLOWERS

Millions of people use Facebook to this day. However, only

6% of specialist influencers are active on the platform.
On average, specialists generate an engagement rate
of 0.76%, a much lower percentage than on other social
media. While an influencer may have few followers
and low engagement on their Facebook account,
their follower count is generally much higher on other
platforms.

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TYPES OF INFLUENCERS

.The Mentor
Robert Kelly, a political analyst on inter-Korean affairs,
is a famous example of a mentor influencer before he
became a viral hit in March 2017. Kelly, often referred

A mentor influencer is a key opinion leader to as ‘BBC dad’ now, was giving a live TV interview

with authority on a particular subject. when his two children barged into the room and chaos

While they may not have an impact ensued.

on people worldwide, their position on

specific topics is highly valued. They are
viewed as trusted sources of information,
which is why companies can significantly
benefit from a mentor partnership to
increase their brand’s credibility.

Instagram 15-50K FOLLOWERS

With Instagram commonly known as the holy grail for

influencer marketing, it is no different for the mentor
influencer. Out of all the different influencer types,
mentors are the first influencers to come across on
Average engagement rate by platform - The Mentor
Instagram with an overwhelming 86% of them active on
the platform. With a follower count of 15K - 50K people on
PERFECT FIT FOR Instagram, mentors record the highest engagement rate
for this type of influencer with an average engagement
- Product review rate of nearly 4% while the median is at 2.69%.
- Tutorials
Tim Ballard is a mentor influencer with 39K followers on
- Event promotion
Instagram and an average engagement rate of nearly
- Niche product launch
7%. Ballard is a former CIA & DHS special agent, and
- Build/strengthen your reputation
he is frequently interviewed for his opinion on national
security in the United States.

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TYPES OF INFLUENCERS

YouTube 15-100K FOLLOWERS

Mentor influencers with a follower count of 15K - 100K

have an average engagement of 1.22% on YouTube.
While 7% seems rather small, the number of mentors
on YouTube is the second highest after Instagram (86%).

Michael Cussell, better

known as Mike on his
YouTube channel Virtual
Reality Oasis, is a mentor
influencer on everything
involving VR technology.
He has 74K subscribers and
an engagement rate of just
over 2%. As a gamer mainly
focusing on VR games, he is
frequently asked to attend
VR related events, and his
product reviews are seen as

reliable and honest.

Twitter 15-50K FOLLOWERS

Data analysts found that expert influencers on Twitter

with 15K - 50K followers have an average engagement
rate of nearly 1% (0.94%). Much like Facebook, influencers
active on Twitter tend to have an even larger following
on other social media.

T Joe Hanson, a Ph.D. biologist and science writer, has

34K followers on Twitter and an engagement rate below
1%. However, his subscriber count on YouTube is nearly
3M, which distinctly shows how many mentor influencers
are not necessarily limited to using Twitter or having an
equal amount of followers across platforms.

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.The rising star
star
Instagram 50-500K FOLLOWERS

Finding rising stars is the easiest on Instagram, as 79%

of them are active on the platform. On average, rising
stars on Instagram generate an engagement rate of
The rising star is an influencer speaking
nearly 3% (2.95%) - a higher engagement rate than on
to a broad audience about mainstream
any other social media. 50% of rising stars with up to
topics, such as fitness, travel, food,
100K followers and those with up to 500K followers have
beauty, etc. While some rising stars
engagement rates below 2.17% and 2.02% respectively.
still have relatively high engagement
with their followers, others are at risk of
Andrej Mangold is a rising star
losing their authentic touch. Rising stars
from Germany. He has over
are typically well known in a particular
350K followers and an average
community. However, they are usually not
engagement rate of 7.76%!
widely known on a global scale just yet.
While his name might not
ring a bell for everybody, he is
well-known in Germany. He
was even cast for the German
version of the Bachelor in 2019.

Average engagement rate by platform - The rising star YouTube 100-500K FOLLOWERS

While Instagram remains a clear frontrunner among the

PERFECT FIT FOR
different platforms for every influencer type, 10% of rising
stars are also on Youtube with an average engagement
- Product launch on national level
rate of nearly 1% (0.95%). However, half of the rising
- Build/strengthen your reputation
stars on YouTube have engagement rates below 0.5%.
- National to local brand awareness
- National App promotion
- A national product launch

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 Beauty vlogger Yoshi Meza is
a rising star influencer from
Mexico. She over 230K subscribers
on YouTube and an average
engagement rate of 10.35%!
Overall, she is part of the best-
performing rising stars with A +

ratings.

Twitter 50-500K FOLLOWERS

8% of rising stars use Twitter and generate an average

engagement rate of 0.43%.

Professional skier and Olympic silver medalist Gus

Kenworthy is a rising star on Twitter. Kenworthy’s account

has 314K followers and an engagement rate of 4.69%.

Facebook 50-500K FOLLOWERS

Only 3% of rising stars have a profile on Facebook with

an average engagement rate of 0.34%

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TYPES OF INFLUENCERS

.The Supers-
superstar
tar
Instagram >500K FOLLOWERS

49% of superstar influencers are active on Instagram

The superstar influencer reaches with an average engagement rate of 2.54%. However,
audiences globally and can catapult just 50% of superstars with up to 100K followers, and
brands to the next level. Due to the ever- those with more than 500K followers have engagement
growing number of followers, superstars rates above 1.81% and 1.71% respectively.
usually have lower engagement rates
than smaller influencers. They are always
in the public eye, which is why they
choose their brand partnerships very
carefully. Superstars tend to look for
companies with shared values to stay
authentic and gain the trust of their fans.
Several superstars also start businesses
to boost their brand.

Average engagement rate by platform - The Superstar

Nyle DiMarco is an American model, actor, and deaf

PERFECT FIT FOR:
activist. He ranks among the superstar influencers

- International brand awareness on Instagram with 1.8M followers and an average

- Mass-market product launch engagement rate of 8.58%. DiMarco is famously known

- Mass-market App promotion for winning America’s Next Top Model Cycle 22.

- Brand image
- Global storytelling

- 360° marketing campaign

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 YouTube >500K FOLLOWERS

Overall, 33% of big shot influencers use YouTube.

Interestingly enough, the number of big shot influencers
active on YouTube is approximately twice as high as for
any other influencer type. Big shots on YouTube generate
an average engagement rate of 0.93%. However, the
median reveals that only 50% of big shots on YouTube
have an engagement above 0.49%.

Julien Solomita is a big shot influencer on YouTube. He

quickly rose to fame after starting a relationship with
fellow YouTuber Jenna Mourey, better known by her
pseudonym Jenna Marbles. Solomita’s account has
nearly 2M subscribers and an average engagement
rate of 6.89%. He frequently posts videos about his life,
including personal vlogs, drone videos, and cooking
tutorials.

Twitter >500K FOLLOWERS

Twitter is not the primary social media platform for

most big shot influencers, yet 11% of big shots are
active on Twitter. Twitter accounts generally have lower
engagement rates, which is also the case for big shot
influencers. While the average engagement rate is
0.43%, only half of the big shot influencers have an
engagement rate of 0.04% or higher.

Grayson Dolan is known for his videos in collaboration

with his twin brother Ethan. The Dolan twins initially
began making videos on Vine. While the Dolan twins
have a YouTube account with 10M subscribers, Grayson’s
personal Twitter account has accumulated over 7.5M
followers with an average engagement rate of 1.52%
followers.

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