The U.S. influencer marketing spending is set to surpass $10 billion in 2025, according to Emarketer. This is happening a year earlier than expected. Previous forecasts predicted that influencer marketing spending would only cross the $10 billion mark in 2026.

Emarketer reports that the influencer marketing sector is growing faster than anticipated, with a 23.7% increase in 2024, up from the earlier 16.0% growth forecast. Brands and advertisers in the U.S. are investing in influencer marketing at a faster rate. 

This growth is driven by factors like the increasing effectiveness of influencer campaigns, the shift towards social commerce, and the growing role of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in digital advertising.

In 2025, brands are expected to increase their influencer marketing budgets by another $1.37 billion, bringing the total spending to $10.52 billion.

This shows how brands are approaching influencer marketing. The market is evolving and expanding into different areas. “Influencer marketing is maturing and diversifying,” Jasmine Enberg, VP and Principal Analyst at Emarketer, said. 

Enberg explained that the rapid increase in spending on social media-sponsored content has slowed down. However, brands are still investing in influencer marketing by reallocating their budgets. Instead of relying on social media sponsorships, they are focusing more on paid social advertisements and exploring other channels, such as television, digital out-of-home advertising, and podcasts. 

However, while spending is rising, growth is slowing. In 2025, the growth rate will decline to 15.0%, due to factors like market maturity, economic uncertainty, and the ongoing instability surrounding TikTok’s future in the U.S.

How TikTok’s uncertain future will reshape influencer marketing

Despite overall growth in influencer marketing, spending on TikTok is expected to slow to 17.0% in 2025. Marketers are less confident in TikTok-first strategies as uncertainty looms over the platform. A U.S. sell-off bill could force ByteDance to divest TikTok, leading to potential disruptions in its operation, algorithm, user base, and advertising structure.

This challenge is already influencing marketing decisions. “Fewer marketers are thinking TikTok-first,” Enberg said. “They’re hesitant to sign on TikTok-only creators in case the platform goes dark again. Creators are actively building their communities on other platforms, including those where they feel they have more control over their audiences, content, and monetization opportunities,” she added.

With TikTok’s future uncertain, Brands are shifting influencer budgets to alternative platforms. They are exploring platforms such as Instagram and YouTube where they have more control over content and monetization.

YouTube and Instagram are becoming key beneficiaries of shifting ad spend. These platforms already attract over $1 billion more in influencer marketing spend than TikTok, and that gap could widen.

Emarketer predicts that in 2025, over half of U.S. marketers will use influencer marketing on YouTube for the first time. According to Enberg, “YouTube is quickly becoming the place to be for brands and creators.” “Even prior to TikTok’s troubles, the conversation was growing around YouTube. As brands and creators prioritize more predictable content, longer-term relationships, and storytelling over trends and ad-hoc sponsorships, YouTube is quickly becoming the place to be for brands and creators,” Enberg noted.

YouTube is already doubling down on brand-creator partnerships to gain more advertising dollars. The platform recently added a ‘Promote’ button for creators to run ads in Shorts, an opportunity for brands to amplify influencer content. 

Meta is also making moves to lure TikTok creators to its platforms. The company has made Stories part of Facebook’s Content Monetization Program. This is expected to expand its monetization opportunities to win influencers over.

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