Industry surveyLinqia, 2026

81% of marketers say creator content beats brand-made content

Creator content

How brand marketers rate influencer content vs brand-created content performance (%)

Influencer content outperforms brand-created content81%
We have never tested the performance of influencer content compared to brand-created content8%
The same as our brand-created content6%
Underperforms our brand-created content4%

How brand marketers rate influencer content vs brand-created content performance (%)
Response	Share of respondents (%)
Influencer content outperforms brand-created content	81%
We have never tested the performance of influencer content compared to brand-created content	8%
The same as our brand-created content	6%
Underperforms our brand-created content	4%

Reader Note:: This reflects marketers' own reported assessment, not a shared performance benchmark.
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:: Survey of over 200 enterprise marketers; selection method and further sample details not disclosed in the provided source text.

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.

TikTok video is the most common and recommended format for brand campaigns, while carousels, lives, and live shopping serve more specific goals

Brands repurpose creator content almost everywhere, led by websites

Share of brands repurposing creator content, by channel, enterprise vs overall
Channel	Brands overall (%)	Enterprise brands (%)
Website	58%	63%
Paid social or digital advertising	55%	57%
Organic social (brand-owned channels)	53%	60%
Email campaigns	43%	49%
Events	37%	40%

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A single negative influencer review moved neither brand image nor purchase intention among young adults, and neither did a single positive one

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Fixing your influencer marketing campaign: How to get into the top 10% of advertisers

Most marketers check content for brand and quality alignment, but less than one in three review for resonance with the target tribe or for search optimisation

Content review criteria in the top 3, by what they check for (% of marketers)
Content review criteria	Share evaluated by (%)
Alignment with campaign brief (Brand)	81%
Visual quality and production value (Brand)	58%
Authenticity and natural tone (Brand / Consumer)	55%
Brand message accuracy (Brand)	52%
Compliance and disclosure requirements (Regulatory)	32%

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When speaking about AI optimizations, creators are most reluctant to replace their voice or likeness with AI

Share of creators who think AI shouldn't fully replace each creator task
Task	Share of creators (%)
My voice or likeness as a creator	41%
Filming or recording myself	37%
Engaging with my audience	37%
Content generation	33%
Video or photo editing	32%
Scripting or outlining	30%
Outreach to brands for partnerships	30%
Writing captions	24%
None - I believe all aspects could be or should be replaced by AI	5%
Other	1%

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An influencer who posted a negative review was seen as more trustworthy than one who posted a positive review in this study

81% of marketers say creator content beats brand-made content

Good for

Not for

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