The State of Creator Marketing 2025–2026 (CreatorIQ)

Vendor report

Publisher: CreatorIQ
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High
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.
Methodology: Disclosed
Geography: Global
Data period: 01.01.2025 – 31.08.2025
Published: 2025

Summary:

This report from CreatorIQ, a company that sells creator marketing software, looks at how brands, agencies and creators run creator marketing today and where they expect it to go next. It covers budgets, ROI, AI, platforms, brand safety and team setup. The survey work was done with Sapio Research.

The findings come from a survey of 1,723 people across brands, agencies and creators, covering more than 17 industries and 9+ regions. Fieldwork ran in July 2025, with extra CreatorIQ research in August 2025 and comparisons to CreatorIQ survey data going back to 2020. A few points add CreatorIQ platform data, such as Meta post share and engagement rates for AI creators. Most results are what respondents said about their budgets, results and tools, not measured outcomes.

Key findings:
• Creator budgets jumped. 71% of organizations increased influencer marketing investment year over year, and 80% of enterprise organizations did. Average annual investment rose 171% after CreatorIQ adjusted this year's wider budget ranges to match last year's. Much of the new money came from paid and digital ad budgets.
• The bottleneck is now operations, not money. Measurement, creator vetting and brand fit, AI and faster content production are the top challenges. 98% of brands repurpose creator content on other channels.
• Paid amplification drives ROI. Nearly 7 in 10 brands said they more than doubled ROI. Boosted creator posts and branded sponsored posts ranked as top ROI drivers, while gifting and seeding fell sharply compared with earlier years. No single success metric dominates.
• Fit beats follower count. Brands ranked creator fit highest and follower count lowest when choosing creators. 72% of enterprise brands said brand safety became more critical year over year, and agencies named suitability, risk and compliance as their top challenge.
• AI is everywhere, but not in relationships. Nearly all marketers have used AI, mainly for short-form content, research, planning, graphics and reporting. Many don't want it to replace creator relationship management, and a large share of creators say their voice or likeness should never be replaced.
• Instagram leads overall. Agencies stood out on TikTok for ROI and YouTube for future experimentation.

Margin notes:
This is a vendor report. CreatorIQ sells creator marketing software, and most results are self-reported budgets, ROI and opinions rather than audited outcomes. The 171% budget growth needs extra care: the answer ranges changed and were harmonized after the fact, and the report itself says the samples are similar but not matched and that new markets were added. The method mixes survey answers with CreatorIQ platform data and historical comparisons, geography is broad, and some subgroup results may rest on small slices of the sample.

71%

of organizations said their influencer marketing investment increased year over year

Boosting creator posts was the top ROI driver

Share ranking each creator marketing strategy as a top ROI-driver
Strategy	Share ranking as top ROI-driver (%)
Boosting creator posts	39%
Branded sponsored post featuring creators	38%
Affiliate marketing	33%
User-generated content	31%
Giveaways or contests	30%
Events or influencer trips	24%
Amplifying unsponsored organic content	22%
Print or broadcast advertising featuring creators	20%
Gifting/seeding	20%

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%

Aspect of brand partnership	Share of creators citing as most important (%)
Growth opportunities	27%
Financial compensation	19%
Creative control	14%
Personalized interactions with brand employees	13%
Ease of onboarding and contracts	12%
Industry connections	8%
Aesthetic alignment	7%
Other	1%

Challenge	Agencies (%)
Ensuring creator suitability, risk mitigation, or legal compliance	36%
Managing expectations from clients	35%
Finding the right opportunities for clients	32%
Demonstrating measurable impact or ROI	32%
Fueling creative and content supply chain for clients	29%

Platform	Share of agencies selecting platform (%)
Instagram	22%
TikTok	25%
Facebook	19%
YouTube	17%
X	4%
LinkedIn	4%
Twitch	2%
Snapchat	2%
Pinterest	1%
Reddit	2%
Threads	1%
Substack	1%

Expectation	Agencies overall (%)	Enterprise agencies (%)
Strategic guidance on AI, automation, or new platforms	48%	52%
More focus on measurable ROI	40%	44%
Faster campaign turnaround times	40%	41%
Integration with paid media / cross-channel performance	38%	48%
Deeper creator vetting and brand safety protocols	38%	39%

Task	Share saying AI shouldn't fully replace (%)
Managing creator relationships	39%
Brainstorming/ideation	33%
Creator discovery	33%
Generating content (video)	33%
Writing briefs, contracts, or creative guidelines	32%
Generating content (written)	32%

Use case	Share of agency marketers (%)
Generating short-form content (e.g. captions, email)	44%
Research & data analysis	43%
Campaign planning or strategy	41%
Creating or editing graphics or video	40%
Generating long-form content	40%
Brainstorming/ideation	39%
Content performance reporting	39%
Summarizing content or meetings	37%
Creator discovery, vetting, or brand fit checks	36%
Streamlining internal workflows or approvals	35%
Repurposing content into different formats	30%
We haven't used AI in marketing	3%

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%

Response	Brands overall (%)	Enterprise brands (%)
Increased focus on ROI	51%	56%
Seeking cost saving measures	46%	49%
Budget restrictions	44%	43%
Reallocation of resources to proven channels	38%	43%
Job or role uncertainty	29%	39%

Management approach	Share of brands (%)
Hybrid model (mix of in-house and agency)	37%
In house - using creator marketing software	24%
In house - no creator marketing software	11%
Partnering with agencies for ad-hoc activations or campaigns	15%
Full service agency	14%
Other	1%

Share of creators naming each top barrier to growing their creator business
Barrier	Share of respondents (%)
Platform algorithm changes or volatility	18%
Lack of consistent brand deals	17%
Low pay or undervaluation of creator content	16%
Limited access to tools or analytics	13%
Poor communication or unclear expectations from brands	13%
Burnout or creative fatigue	11%
Other	1%
No significant barriers / I am growing without issues	12%

Creator marketing ROI change YoY: Enterprise Brands
Response category	Share of respondents (%)
Significantly increased	21%
Slightly increased	53%
Remained the same	13%
Slightly decreased	6%
Significantly decreased	3%
Unsure	4%

Favour of fully automating influencer marketing with AI: Brands
Response	Share of respondents (%)
Strongly agree	35%
Somewhat agree	34%
Neither agree nor disagree	15%
Somewhat disagree	9%
Strongly disagree	6%

Operating model of influencer marketing programs, by brand cohort
Operating model	Mid-market brands (%)	Enterprise brands (%)
A central team sets strategy and tools for the entire organization	57%	59%
Each brand or division manages its program independently	29%	25%
Regional teams manage programs independently of HQ	9%	13%
Not sure / does not apply	5%	2%

Priority	Mid-market Brands (%)	Enterprise Brands (%)
Building brand awareness and audience affinity through creators	31%	25%
Managing influencer campaigns efficiently and effectively	14%	17%
Demonstrating measurable impact or ROI	10%	14%
Discovering new creators or strengthening existing partnerships	10%	13%
Driving strategic alignment across teams and marketing functions	10%	13%

Budget source	Mid-market brands (%)	Enterprise brands (%)
Digital or paid advertising	64%	62%
Owned social media	57%	54%
Increased budget pool due to cost-cutting measures using AI	46%	54%
Email marketing	44%	51%
Events	42%	46%

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%

Roadblock	Brands (%)
Difficulty measuring influencer performance	26%
Expectation to produce content faster	21%
Navigating AI generated content and/or creators	20%
Difficulty navigating creator vetting, brand fit, or risk mitigation	20%

Factor	Share of marketers (%)
AI and content automation	40%
Rise of affiliate/influencer commerce	34%
Brand safety and vetting sophistication	28%
Political or regulatory shifts	27%
Economic pressure and ROI focus	27%
Increased sophistication of creator economy	25%
More in-person events	21%
Improved measurement solutions	21%
Decline of traditional digital ads	14%
Decline of a major social platform	14%
Decline of social media users	13%

Factor	Share of creators selecting (%)
Better communication	44%
More creative input	43%
Consistent or long-term collaboration	41%
Fairer pay or better compensation for usage	40%
Timely feedback and approvals	39%
Upfront clarity on metrics of success	36%
Brand education or onboarding	34%
Better creative briefs / clearer guidelines	32%
None — partnerships are working well	2%

The State of Creator Marketing 2025–2026 (CreatorIQ)

Summary:

Cards from this research