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2020 was a big year for the influencer marketing industry. As the world shut down due to the global pandemic, consumers began to rely more and more on technology and social media in their daily lives. Here at NeoReach, we evaluated data from thousands of sponsored YouTube videos for our influencer marketing report 2020, which shows the enormous changes that took place in the industry this year.
We compiled over 20 million YouTube videos using our Social Intelligence API to analyze for our 2020 influencer marketing report. We then sorted through and collected the data from all sponsored YouTube videos from influencers in the United States and Canada amassing at least 10k views, which included 31,300 videos total. We then analyzed that data and created an extensive influencer marketing report where we highlight the top industries, spenders, and trends in influencer marketing on YouTube during 2020. Here is the data we found:
Top Industries on YouTube
4,449 brands were included in this 2020 influencer marketing report. Altogether, these brands spent a total of $1.1 billion on influencer marketing and reached an overall view count of 9 billion. By compiling the data from each brand’s sponsored videos on YouTube, we were able to identify the top 19 industries of the year and their total metrics.
The top five industry spenders were Tech, Gaming, Food & Drink, Fashion, and Beauty, with tech accounting for almost half of the total spending on YouTube influencer marketing. Brands within these five industries spent $825M and reached an impressive 6.4 billion views combined. Looking at these specific industries, we analyzed the objectives, calls to action, and content types of the brands’ influencer marketing campaigns. This is what we found:
We sorted each sponsored YouTube video into a specific campaign objective, either Branding and Awareness, Contest/Giveaway, Download or Install, or Limited Time Offer. The majority of campaigns had the objective of promoting a limited-time offer.
The four calls to action in which we sorted each sponsored YouTube video include Click Link in Bio, Direct Purchase Page, Enter Giveaway, and Fill out Contact Form – with the overwhelming majority being using a call to action of either Click Link in Bio or Direct Purchase Page.
We also analyzed each video based on the content type of the sponsorship. In other words, we looked at when and how long the sponsorship took place in each video. The sponsorships fit into five categories: dedicated content, end card, integrated content, intro card, and description only.
Looking to break into the YouTube influencer marketing scene? Read up on the best campaign practices here.
Now, let’s take a deeper look at the top three highest spending industries on YouTube influencer marketing in 2020: Tech, Gaming, and Food & Drink.
1. Tech Industry
Throughout 2020, the tech industry was consistently the highest spending industry on the platform with an IMV of $366.4M. The industry as a whole had a total reach of 17 billion through nearly 7.4k videos. Here are the metrics:
Top Spenders:
- Honey
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- Raycon
- Squarespace
Top Influencers:
- PewDiePie
- MrBeast6000
- TheEllenShow
- SSSniperWolf
- CollinsKey
Looking to run an epic influencer marketing campaign on YouTube? NeoReach has the best experience in creating viral campaigns that convert on social media. Sign up here!
2. Gaming Industry
The second-highest spending industry of 202o was the gaming industry, making up 18% of all the videos included in our 2020 influencer marketing report. With 5,659 videos, the industry’s total IMV was $193.1M and their reach was over 10 billion.
Top Spenders:
- Epic Games
- Raid Shadow Legends
- Ubisoft
- Arkade Blaster
- Monster Legends
Top Influencers:
- PDK Films
- Dude Perfect
- MegaToadStonie
3. Food & Drink Industry
The Food & Drink industry took the spot for the third-highest spending industry on YouTube influencer marketing. The industry accounted for a total IMV of $130M and a reach of 8 billion through 2,897 videos. Here are some more metrics to check out:
Top Spenders:
- Bang Energy
- Reese’s
- G Fuel
- Hello Fresh
- Dr. Pepper
Top Influencers:
- PewDiePie
- Dude Perfect
- HoomanTVOfficial
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Top Spenders on YouTube
Through our research, we pinpointed 10 brands as the year’s highest spenders overall. These top spenders accounted for $368M of the total YouTube influencer marketing spending in 2020, with Honey making up for ⅓ of that metric. The brand singlehandedly spent $62.7M on influencer marketing and gained an overall reach of 866 million users. Bang Energy was the second-highest spender with a total IMV of $57.9M and a reach of 4.6 billion. These are all 10 top spenders and their metrics:
Here at NeoReach, we publish a weekly ranking of the Top Spenders on YouTube. For this 2020 influencer marketing report, we compiled our weekly data for a rundown of each month’s top spenders. We found that the highest monthly spender of 2020 was NordVPN with an IMV of $12.6M in the month of August.
Check out this blog for a full breakdown of the NordVPN campaign.
Brands on the rise in 2021:
- Ubisoft
- Manscaped
- Keeps
- Kiwi Co
- Dollar Shave Club
Comparing Quarters
For each quarter of 2020, NeoReach composed a quarterly influencer marketing report. The data and information from those reports was used to analyze the yearly trends in spending in this 2020 influencer marketing report. We found that the total IMV increased over all four quarters, with the largest increase being between Q1 and Q2 with a growth of almost $90M. The total IMV increased by $15M between Q2 and Q3, and it increased by $12.5M between Q3 and Q4. The overall increase from Q1 to Q4 was a remarkable $177.5M, with the total reach tripling and the number of sponsored videos doubling.
Through the data presented in this 2020 influencer marketing report, we can see the enormous growth within the influencer marketing industry in the past year – and it’s not showing signs of slowing down. We expect to see the influencer marketing industry continue to rise for years to come.
