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Vendor reportAspire, 2026

92% of brands plan to use Instagram most for influencer marketing in 2026

Channel validation

Planned Primary Influencer Marketing Channels for 2026

Planned Primary Influencer Marketing Channels for 2026
ChannelShare of marketers planning to use (%)
Instagram92%
TikTok69%
YouTube25%
Facebook17%
Substack/Blogs9%
Pinterest8%
X2%
Snapchat2%
Reader Note:
Brands were asked which channels they plan to use the most for influencer marketing in 2026. TikTok follows at 69% and YouTube at 25%. Creators answered the same question separately and put Instagram at 89%. This is a plan for the year ahead rather than recorded activity, and Aspire does not say when the survey ran. 74% of the surveyed brands are SMBs and 67% run their programmes in-house.
Evidence:
Stated intention
Vendor interest:
High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:
Mixed methods: Aspire internal platform data from creators and campaigns, plus surveys of nearly 900 marketers and creators; exact split and sampling method not disclosed.

Good for

Reading the mood, and deciding what to test yourself.

Not for

  • Predicting what people will actually do. Intentions and behaviour come apart.
  • This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
  • The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.
Channel validationTrend

20% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials discover new brands through influencer endorsements, vs 12% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers

Vendor report

GWI, 2026

20% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials discover new brands through influencer endorsements, vs 12% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers

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