Identifying as an influencer can come with a misunderstood and negative connotation. However, the reality is that influence can be powerful, positive, and, is so often welcomed. Every single person is influenced by their friends, family, and their online communities. Whether we recognize it or not, we are influenced on decisions such as where to travel, what to wear, and how to decorate our homes. Influence is ubiquitous.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the fact that female creators dominate the influencer market on social media. They are the power shoppers, the community builders, and the fearless entrepreneurs. Here are seven facts that prove it.
Stat 1: 86% of Women Use Social Media for Purchasing Advice
Women are savvy shoppers. Data from the Digital Marketing Institute shows that women are more likely than men to consult social media before purchasing a product.
The data also shows that 78% of women are active on social media with a preference for Snapchat and Instagram. When it comes to influencer marketing, over half of women made purchases due to influencer posts.
Stat 2: 77% of Influencers Monetizing their Content are Female
According to a Collabstr 2023 Influencer Marketing Report, 77% of influencers actively monetizing their content are female, while the other 23% are male. They note that this is content creators who are actively offering content creation services in exchange for payment, and this is not a general breakdown of male versus female users.
The stats are fairly consistent across platforms. The most female-dominated platform amongst influencers is Instagram, where 78% of influencers who are monetizing their accounts are females, and only 22% are males. TikTok has 76% of its influencers identify as female and 24% as male; YouTube is 69% female and 31% male.
According to Collabstr, when broken down into niches females dominate the top three: lifestyle, beauty, and fashion.
Stat 3: More Women than Men Follow Influencers, across Age Brackets
Data from Influencer Marketing Hub shows a consistent trend across age brackets of women choosing to follow influencers more than their male counterparts.
- Ages 16-24: 33.1% of women follow influencers, compared to 25.1% of men.
- Ages 25-34: these rates change to 26.1% of women and 21.9% of men.
- Ages 35–44: 20.1% of women and 18% of men.
- Ages 45-54: 15.4% of women and 14% of men.
- Ages 55-64: 10% of women and 9.5% of men.
Stat 4: Women are More Likely to Try a Product via Influencers
"Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change."
BRENE BROWN
Professor, Author, Podcast Host
Power Digital Marketing found that 41.8% of women surveyed indicated that they were most likely to try a new product through influencer posts, compared with 30.6% of men who felt similarly.
A survey from Influence Central found that “up to 86% of women are more likely to buy a brand that they have never purchased when they interact with that brand via social media. About 87% of women also say they are more likely to purchase from a brand they interact with, creating regular purchases and long-term loyalty. About 62% of women indicate that they have made a purchase based on recommendations from influencers.”
Stat 5: Women Dominate Deal Flow—But There’s a 30% Pay Gap
According to Power Digital Marketing, “on nearly all social platforms, women outnumber male users, and in an industry projected to take in $10 billion in 2022, women are charging up to three or four times more than men for a sponsored post.”
However, a study by Izea found that men earned 30% more than women last year. Izea found that “women dominated deal flow, representing 85% of sponsorships done in its 2021 data set. But men consistently out-earned women per post as influencers over the last five years, with the pay gap fluctuating slightly year to year. In 2021, men earned $2,978 on average per post — 30% more than women did.”
Stat 6: 71% of Pinterest Users are Female—and 40% of Pinterest Users Research Brands & Products
According to the agency Omnicore, 71% of Pinterest users are female. This is powerful because reports from Pinterest show:
- People who use Pinterest on a weekly basis are 7x more likely to say it’s the most influential platform in their purchase journey when compared to other social media platforms.
- 85% of Pinterest shoppers have more in their basket than shoppers on other platforms. They also spend twice as much per month.
- Reported by GWI in 2020, around 40% of Pinterest users log onto the site to research brands and products.
Stat 7: 68% of Women Say They are Responsible for Holiday Shopping
A survey by CreditCards.com discovered that two in three women (68 percent) say they or another female are primarily responsible for their household’s holiday shopping.