Linqia’s 2026 State of Influencer Marketing Report Shows an Evolving Industry

Budgets are rising, creator content fuels every channel, AI adoption grows, and ROI remains the top challenge

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Linqia, the leading independent influencer marketing agency, today published its 2026 State of Influencer Marketing Report, highlighting how enterprise brands are scaling influencer programs, increasing budgets, and adopting AI.

The report, based on responses from over 200 enterprise marketers, shows that influencer marketing has evolved from an experimental channel into a strategic growth driver. Key trends include rising budgets, creator content outperforming brand-created assets, growing adoption of AI tools, and the continued challenge of proving ROI.

“Influencer marketing is no longer a test-and-learn tactic; it’s a core investment for brands looking to engage audiences authentically at scale,” said Keith Bendes, Chief Strategy Officer at Linqia. “Our 2026 report shows that marketers are leveraging influencer content across paid, owned, and earned channels, using AI to streamline workflows, and relying on specialist agencies to deliver creative strategies and measurable impact.”

Key Findings from the 2026 Report:

- Creator Content Outperforms Brand Content: Creator content is no longer limited to social. 100% of respondents said they are using creator content beyond the creator’s wall. And the payoff is clear - 81% of marketers say that creator content outperforms brand-created assets.

- Budgets Are Expanding: 62% of marketers reported higher influencer budgets year-over-year, with one-third planning to spend more than $5 million in 2026.

- AI Adoption Grows: 74% of marketers use AI to generate ideas, write influencer briefs, and streamline workflows. But despite AI’s rise, 89% are still not planning to work with virtual influencers or digital avatars.

- ROI and Attribution Remain Top Challenges: 79% of marketers cited ROI as the top challenge, while 48% said attribution is the largest gap in measurement.

- Specialist Influencer Agencies Are IN, and Creative Strategy is Key: Nearly half (49%) of marketers now work with specialist influencer agencies, up from 28% in 2025, while in-house management dropped to 23%. Creative strategy ranks as the top differentiator, followed by proposed creators and measurement capabilities.

Influencer marketing has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of modern marketing strategies, with larger budgets, broader adoption, and deeper integration across every channel.

As investment grows, marketers are focused on better measurement, clearer attribution, and faster execution to prove impact through engagement, reach, traffic, and sales.

Download the full 2026 State of Influencer Marketing Report to uncover the trends and insights shaping influencer marketing.

Methodology
Linqia’s State of Influencer Marketing survey was fielded online in July 2025. More than 200 enterprise marketers completed the survey. Respondents were sent an email invitation to participate in the survey and were screened to ensure they were influencer decision makers for brands. The survey research was fielded and hosted by Centiment and covered marketers’ budget allocation, sentiment and use of AI, advertising channel mix, and top challenges and opportunities within influencer marketing.

About Linqia
Linqia is the calm in the chaotic sea of influencer marketing. As a full-service, tech-enabled platform, Linqia handles campaigns for the world’s leading brands from influencer selection to creative strategy to scale. While some influencer companies offer only technology and others operate as creative agencies, Linqia leverages both science and storytelling to help brands create emotive, human-first campaigns.

Keith Bendes
Linqia
+1 415-287-2946
email us here

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