🛎️ State of Influence Index 2026 now LIVE - Explore the creators, trends and platforms driving conversations
Read Now
Login
Book a demo

State of Influence 2026

Global Influencer Landscape 2026

Built on 4.8 million conversations across 553 brands and 20 markets, WeArisma’s State of Influence Index is the most comprehensive view of influencer marketing performance.

553
Brands ranked
Global
Coverage and 20 markets
4.8M
Conversations
216K
Creators
Sports & Athleisure Media & Entertainment Beauty
See where your brand ranks

Explore by Vertical

State of Influence Index Reports

Key Findings

Influencer Marketing 2026: What Our Data Shows

01 · Platform
YouTube: 9% of posts, 27% of EMV

Efficiency gaps between platforms are widening. YouTube is the most underused, highest-returning platform in the dataset — averaging $83,361 EMV per post versus $15,289 for Instagram. Where your brand publishes may matter less than where your category is winning. See the full platform breakdown in the rankings.

See platform breakdown
02 · Concentration
10 brands capture 42.7% of all EMV

Across 553 tracked brands, the top 10 account for nearly half of all earned media value. The question isn't whether concentration is happening — it's which side of it you're on.

See where you rank
03 · Sector
Sport Leagues: $34.7B EMV from just 13 brands

Fandom is the most scalable form of influence. Sport Leagues outperform all beauty sub-sectors combined — raising the benchmark every brand competes against for creator attention and cultural relevance. Interested to see the full brand rankings?

Explore the data
04 · Market
US creators drive nearly 5× the EMV of the UK

Geography still defines influence at scale. US-based creator output dominates globally — but European creators are moving. Are you looking to invest in creators shaping your industry?

See top trends and creators
05 · Format
TikTok: 17% of posts, 27% of EMV

TikTok punches above its weight — generating 27% of all earned media value from just 17% of posts, with an average of $44,730 EMV per post. If short-form isn't a primary channel in your influencer strategy, you're likely leaving value on the table. Find out what the top performers are doing differently.

View top-performing format

Brand Rankings

Explore Brands Rankings by Vertical

If your brand isn’t in the top 100 yet, that’s exactly why our data and platform matters. Book a demo today and learn the strategies behind the most successful brands in your industry.

Book a demo

Top Influencers

The Creators Shaping Influence in 2026

Explore the top influencers per industry by content niche – ranked by EMV.

Platform Spotlight

Where Earned Media is Won

Instagram leads on total EMV at $48.5B. TikTok and Facebook are the growth stories of 2025, up 82.9% and 78.4% respectively. Twitch declined −24.1%, reinforcing that live streaming is losing ground to short-form across all sectors.

*All logos of platforms are trademarks of their respective owners. Use of these logos does not imply endorsement or affiliation of this report.

Trends: Content Formats

What Format is Winning in 2026?

Long-form content is delivering the highest EMV per post but industry remains the deciding factor. 

Instagram Reels account for 43% of all posts across all sectors but only 22% of EMV. Long-form YouTube content however represents just 10% of posts but delivers 33% of EMV, averaging $83,138 per post versus $13,377 for a Reel.

But the winning format isn't universal — it's sector-dependent. In Beauty, TikTok leads at $32,191 per post and drives 42% of sector EMV. In Sports & Athleisure and Media & Entertainment, YouTube dominates at $111,446 and $97,319 per post respectively.

Explore the key formats and trends in your industry in our State of Influence Index reports.

Explore vertical reports
Instagram Reels vs YouTube format performance
Instagram Reel avg/post $13.4K
YouTube avg/post $83.1K

Future Outlook

What WeArisma's Data Predicts for the Year Ahead

1 / 6
YouTube efficiency
01 · Platform

YouTube's Efficiency Gap Will Force a Strategy Shift

Every sector shows the same pattern: YouTube delivers the highest EMV per post by a significant margin, yet remains chronically underused relative to its returns. As that gap becomes harder to ignore, expect brands to reallocate budgets away from high-volume Reels and towards fewer, deeper YouTube partnerships. The brands that move first will set a benchmark others scramble to match.

Creator and platform evaluation
02 · Strategy

Choosing the Right Creator Means Aligning With Platforms

EMV per post varies by multiples across platforms, even when the creator and format are identical. A brand optimising for creator fit alone — without accounting for platform context — is leaving a significant portion of its return to chance. As platform performance gaps widen across all three sectors, the most successful brands will evaluate platform and creator as a combined decision, not sequential ones.

TikTok growth
03 · Growth

TikTok's Trajectory Makes It Non-Optional

At +82.9% YoY, TikTok is the fastest-growing platform — and it's not slowing. Brands still treating it as an experimental channel are already behind. The next phase isn't about whether to invest, it's about which creators, which formats, and which markets to prioritise — because the window to build meaningful share before the category consolidates is closing fast.

Facebook opportunity
04 · Opportunity

Facebook Is the Sleeper Platform Nobody Has a Strategy For

Facebook grew 78.4% YoY and averages $70,117 EMV per post — second only to YouTube. Yet almost no brand has a Facebook-first creator strategy. The audience is older, more purchase-ready, and less contested for creator attention. The brands that recognise Facebook as a high-return channel before it becomes consensus will find themselves in a category of one.

European creators
05 · Market

European Creators Are an Underpriced Asset

US creators drive nearly 5× the EMV of the UK, and the gap to continental Europe is wider still. But European creator output is growing, and the cost efficiency remains more favourable than US markets. Brands willing to invest in European creator relationships now — before US-level competition for talent arrives — stand to build category authority in markets that are still genuinely contestable.

See it in action

Want to see how these signals impact your brand strategy?

Book a demo to reveal which creators and platforms are driving conversations for your brand.

Book a demo

FAQs

State of Influence: Key Questions Answered

What is the WeArisma State of Influence Index 2026? +
The WeArisma State of Influence Index 2026 is built on full-year 2025 earned media data, tracking performance across major platforms and markets. It highlights the top-performing brands across industries and uncovers the key trends, creators, and platforms driving influencer marketing today.
What is Earned Media Value (EMV) in influencer marketing? +
Earned Media Value (EMV) measures the estimated value of organic exposure a brand receives through influencer content. It helps quantify the impact of influencer marketing by assigning a monetary value to engagement, reach, and visibility.

At WeArisma, we calculate EMV with the following formula: Followers/1000*CPM + Engagements*CPE.

This formula combines Followers and Engagement to assess a Profile's worth. By incorporating potential audience size and actual interactions, it reflects a piece of content's true impact. Scalable and adaptable, this formula highlights both the reach and effectiveness of audience engagement.
Which brands performed best in influencer marketing in 2025? +
Spotify led all brands with $5.6B in Earned Media Value (EMV), followed by UEFA Champions League at $5.14B and NBA at $4.98B. These brands have all built content ecosystems where fans, athletes, artists, and creators generate massive value on their behalf.
How do I benchmark my brand's influencer marketing performance? +
You can benchmark your performance by comparing your EMV, engagement rates, and creator mix against industry leaders featured in the report. This helps identify gaps, opportunities, and areas for optimisation.

With WeArisma, you can gain valuable insights into your competitors and their strategies. Book a demo to see how.
Book a demo
What platforms drive the most earned media in 2026? +
Instagram leads with $48.5B in EMV, followed by YouTube at $37B and TikTok at $36.9B. TikTok and Facebook are the fastest-growing platforms, increasing by 82.9% and 78.4% respectively. Meanwhile, Twitch declined by 24.1%, reflecting a shift toward short-form content across industries.
Why do influencer managers need detailed influencer marketing reports? +
Detailed influencer marketing reports give managers the data they need to make smarter decisions, justify spend, and demonstrate measurable ROI to stakeholders. Without granular reporting, it's nearly impossible to know which creators, platforms, or content types are actually driving value for a brand.

Reports like the WeArisma State of Influence Index provide benchmarks across industries, platforms, and creator tiers — helping managers identify where their strategy is performing well and where there are gaps. They also reveal emerging trends before they peak, giving brands a competitive edge when it comes to identifying the right creators at the right time.

Beyond performance tracking, detailed reports help managers negotiate more effectively with talent, allocate budgets with confidence, and build stronger internal cases for increasing influencer marketing investment. In a landscape where platforms and creator behaviours shift rapidly, data-driven reporting is no longer optional — it's essential.
How is WeArisma different from other influencer marketing tools? +
Traditional tools capture only 10% of brand conversations. Our AI-powered platform reveals 100% of conversations by uncovering all untagged and unmentioned brand content. Want to unlock 100% of your brand impact?
Book a demo
Book a Demo