Influencer marketing in 2025 — is it still worth investing in opinion leaders?

The global influencer marketing market has grown nearly 20-fold since 2016. Where its value was $1.7 billion nine years ago, it reached $24 billion in 2024, and the projected value for 2025 is $32.5 billion. This growth shows that companies still see significant value in investing in opinion leaders. As many as 75.6% of marketers plan to allocate a separate budget for influencer campaigns in 2025. On top of that, almost 23% of brands plan to increase their spending in this area, which signals not just trust in the channel but a constant feedback loop.

It’s important to note, however, that consumers increasingly recognize artificial content, ad overload, and empty promises. So brands need to work with influencers whose values and tone match their own. Sheer follower count has long stopped being the most important indicator.

According to research, most specialists working with opinion leaders right now place the most trust in nano and micro-sized influencers — meaning a very large follower count isn’t the main goal.

• Nano influencers (1,000–10,000 followers) — average engagement around 4.4%.
• Micro influencers (10,000–50,000 followers) — average engagement around 2.8%.
• Macro influencers (over 500,000 followers) — average engagement of 1.2%.

In the best cases, this return can reach as much as $20–$30 per dollar invested. That makes influencer marketing one of the most effective tools alongside email and SEO strategies. But you have to choose the right channels, tools, segments, and — most importantly — the right influencers.

In 2025, influencer marketing keeps evolving — not only content formats are changing, but also audience expectations, the use of technology, and business models. To stay competitive, it’s not enough to just ‘be visible’ — you need to know what works now, not what worked two years ago.

• Artificial intelligence. Tech advances have brought a new type of player to influencer marketing — virtual influencers created using AI. These avatars look like real people, are able to produce visually stunning content, and can even ‘interact’ with followers in comments or messages. One of the most striking examples is ‘Lil Miquela.’
• Ad disclosure. In Lithuania, since 2023, there are requirements to clearly mark advertising content, and the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority (SCRPA) is checking content on social media more and more actively. The EU is also preparing new directives that will tighten transparency standards even further — for example, it will be mandatory to mark not just paid campaigns but also gifts received in exchange.
• Long-term partnerships. Short-term campaigns with many different influencers are increasingly being replaced by long-term collaborations, where the opinion leader becomes almost a member of the team — essentially a brand ambassador. This strategy lets you ensure more consistent communication, strengthen consumer loyalty, and build a deep emotional connection between the audience and the brand.