Vendor reportCreatorIQ, 2025

Instagram is still creators’ main home base

Shortlisting creators

Share of creators who regularly create content on each platform

Share of creators who regularly create content on each platform
Platform	Share of creators who regularly use it (%)
Instagram	72%
TikTok	65%
Facebook	65%
YouTube	62%
X	32%
Snapchat	28%
Twitch	20%
Threads	13%
LinkedIn	13%
Blog/Website	13%
Reddit	12%
Pinterest	11%
Newsletter	2%
Substack	2%

Reader Note:: This chart shows the share of creators who regularly create content on each platform. Instagram ranks first at 72%, followed by TikTok and Facebook tied at 65%, and YouTube at 62%. The measure is regular creator use of each platform, not audience size or engagement. The exact creator base for this chart is not stated.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Survey of 1,723 respondents: 747 brands, 676 agencies, and 300 creators across 17+ industries and 9+ regions, conducted by Sapio Research in July 2025, with additional CreatorIQ research in August 2025.

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A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Not for

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
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.

Influencer selection is mainly based on engagement rate and audience demographics (94% and 88%), with only 25% using social listening on what consumers discuss

Share of marketers using each data input to select influencers, and what it measures
Data input	Usage (%)
Engagement rate (Influencer output)	94%
Audience demographics (age, gender, location) — Influencer audience	88%
Past campaign performance data (Influencer track record)	81%
Audience interest / affinity data (Influencer audience)	78%
Follower count and reach metrics (Influencer scale)	72%

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Sponsored posts got more engagement when influencers had either very low or very high ad loads, and did worst in the middle

In creator selection, brand fit mattered most and follower count mattered least

Most Important Factor Brands Use When Selecting New Creators to Work With
Selection factor	Brands (%)
Creator suitability or fit for brand	22%
Content performance	17%
Working with a diverse group of creators	14%
Brand affinity, or a history of posting about your client	12%
Follower audience demographics	10%

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People were about twice as likely to share the sponsored Instagram post when the influencer had low or high ad load instead of a middle one

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of marketers do not plan to work with virtual influencers AI avatars or digital clones of creators in 2026

Instagram is still creators’ main home base

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