Instagram Vs. YouTube: Which One Is Better for Influencers?

A 2022 report by eMarketer projected that U.S. companies would spend approximately $ 5 billion on influencer marketing, exceeding 2021 by over $1 billion.

This report shows that 74.5% of marketers from mid-size to big corporations intend to use influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is not going anywhere anytime soon.

And with 61% of consumers agreeing that they trust influencer opinions, small and large businesses should choose their influencers right.

You probably know about Instagram vs. YouTube influencers. Which one is suitable for your marketing campaign? Instagram marketing offers the highest share of influencer marketing dollars. Statistics indicate that 81% of people use Instagram to search for products and services. For influencer marketing campaigns, Instagram is even better than Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

Read through our comparison of YouTube and Instagram influencers to ascertain which suits your brand.

You might also enjoy reading: Instagram Vs. TikTok: Which One Is Better for Influencers?

The Debate Of YouTube Vs. Instagram Influencers

Choosing the best social media platform for influencer marketers can be frustrating. Some argue that Instagram is a better platform because it has over 2 billion monthly active users (MAUs).

However, this does not mean you should look down on YouTube influencers. YouTube has much to offer, providing content with higher engagement than Instagram content.

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YouTube also has a higher MAUs of 2.6 billion since many can access the platform from their mobile devices.

So, while most marketers may prefer Instagram for influencer marketing, YouTube is also a gold mine. Both platforms can generate more traffic to your site and contribute to increased sales.

Let’s discuss some factors worth considering to help you decide which platform will boost your influencer marketing campaigns.

Instagram Statistics

What better place to start than statistics? You can rely on numbers to make informed decisions. Here are some Instagram statistics worth examining.

Instagram has over 2 billion MAUs globally and is estimated to reach 2.5 billion in 2023.
The platform has 14.5 million sponsored posts, meaning Instagram influencer marketing is a billion-dollar industry.
Instagram stories reach half a billion people daily.
It ranks fourth in the world’s most active social media platforms.
48.4% of digitally savvy women engage with influencer content using Instagram.
Instagram ads reach 28.6 % of internet users.
The average internet user spends at least 30 minutes on the platform.

YouTube Statistics

70% of YouTube subscribers relate better to their content creators than they would to traditional movie or TV stars.
And 40% of millennials say their YouTuber creator understands them more than their friends.
YouTube has several niche communities that create highly specific content for subscribers.
Videos from the top 25 YouTube stars are viewed 3x more and generate 12x more comments than posts from traditional celebrities.
24.6% of individuals in a survey agreed that they would engage with YouTube’s sponsored content.

The Difference Between YouTube And Instagram

While YouTube and Instagram are giant social media platforms with striking similarities, they differ in many ways.

Here are some differences a brand that wants to use influencer marketers should know.

1- Style Of Content

While Instagram favors images, YouTube favors long-form videos. So, if you want an influencer who will promote your brand through images, Instagram should be your fishing ground.

Nevertheless, some YouTubers integrate their videos with images, especially when using screenshots to showcase how a product is used.

Instagram also has videos in a ratio of 9:16, while YouTube’s popular videos are in a ratio of 16:9.

YouTube favors horizontal videos, but Instagram favors vertically-formatted videos. Recently YouTube launched short-form videos to compete with TikTok and Instagram.

2- Niche Topics

YouTube and Instagram offer ideal environments where professional and homemade posts can do well, provide these contents are authentic, and address the right audience.

Instagram is considered the best lifestyle social media platform, while YouTube offers better tutorials and how-to videos.

If your brand deals in beauty, fashion, travel, and food, you use influencers on both platforms. Pet, wellness, and family content suit Instagram better, while B2B tech brands and gamers are good with YouTube.

3- Social Commerce Functions

Instagram offers brands all that Facebook can offer, making it a suitable platform for eCommerce brands and influencer marketers.

YouTube is suitable for marketers with in-picture banner ads and mid-roll video ads. Some creators also experiment with in-app shopping.

YouTube also offers better leverage for any brand that wants to use social media to increase its web traffic because marketers can integrate hyperlinks from video descriptions into their blogs.

Instagram Vs. YouTube: Choosing The Right Platform For An Influencer Marketing Campaign

Before choosing between YouTube and Instagram, consider these two Rs influences.

Resonance: The level of relevant engagement an influencer can create for your business. We are talking about comments and likes on an influencer’s post.
Relevance: The number of target customers available on your preferred social media platform. How many people or users will you likely reach with an influencer’s post? This could be the influencer’s active followers.

Now, let’s examine how each platform compares with these parameters

Why YouTube Is Suitable For Influencer Marketing?

YouTube is a powerful marketing platform with over 2 billion users.

But which brands should work with its influencers? Brands dealing in beauty, food, travel, fitness, and related niches can perform well with YouTube videos. And since YouTube offers high-quality, search-friendly, and evergreen content, you can use sponsored videos to propel your brand.

Of course, producing YouTube videos is relatively high than short Instagram and Snapchat stories. The advantage of YouTube stories is that they stay active longer than transient Instagram stories.

Why Instagram Is Ideal For Influencer Marketing?

While sponsored videos do well on YouTube, they perform even better on Instagram. Since they are short, they can be consumed faster and require less money to produce.

Instagram is a nice platform to catch audiences that do not have time for YouTube’s long-form videos.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram influencers can generate great value for brands. Your business can attract new leads and increase conversion with relevant content from influencers on the platform.

Furthermore, Instagram launched IGTV and Instagram Highlights, making it a powerful platform for influencer marketing.

Highlights help marketers and influencers to maintain some of their video stories permanently. IGTV allows influencers to create long-form video content; thus, they can directly compete with their YouTube counterparts.

Now that you have chosen your favorite influencer marketing platform, the question is…

What Do You Focus On When Selecting An Influencer?

Investing in influencer marketing can be expensive, so you want to ensure you have the right influencer.

Here are factors to look for when choosing your brand’s influencers.

1- High-Quality Content

The first thing to consider is the influencer’s content. Are their videos and audio clear? Potential customers go to YouTube and Instagram to watch steady and clear videos and see top-notch photos.

Low-quality images do not impress, so ensure your influencer has high-quality videos and images. An influencer should not have to be a professional videographer or photographer but should produce appealing content.

If you are stuck on where to find quality influencers, you can use tools like Combin to find who is relevant to your brand.

2- Engagement

The engagement rate is a vital factor a brand should consider before settling on an influencer.

What do we mean by engagement rate? It is the percentage of an influencer’s followers who actively likes or comments on an influencer’s content. So, check their engagement rate rather than settle for an influencer with many followers.

An influencer can have many followers but a low engagement rate, which means your campaign may not do well with these influencers.

3- Authenticity

You are looking for an authentic influencer as a brand because people tend to listen to their opinions. If an influencer has many sponsored contents from several brands, followers will know the influencer is just promoting or advertising products.

Followers should see that the influencer is using your product and generating benefits for them. But with too many sponsored content, they lose their authenticity.

4- Strong Aesthetic Sense

Instagram and YouTube are visual platforms, so an influencer should create catchy content to make your campaign successful.

Therefore, you should look for influencers with attention-grabbing content. Check their Instagram feeds and YouTube videos to determine if their content is quality.

5- The Correct Niche

The influencer you choose should be relevant to your business. For example, if you run a fashion and apparel business, you want to collaborate with fashion icons.

6- Consistency

YouTube and Instagram reward consistency. Influencers can only increase their engagement rate and grow their following if they post consistently.

So, look for influencers who regularly post; otherwise, your campaign may not do well. You don’t want indisciplined influencers who are unwilling to put in the work of frequent posting.