Entrepreneur Kylie Jenner makes an estimated $1 million per sponsored post on her Instagram, which makes her the highest paid celebrity influencer on the social media platform, according to the 2018 Instagram Rich List compiled by Hopper HQ, an automated Instagram scheduler. Jenner is followed by singer Selena Gomez, who gets $800,000 per sponsored post, and star soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who earns $750,000.
Together, these and other up-and-coming stars contribute to the $1 billion influencer market, which is expected to double in value by 2019.
“Everyone has seen or responded to influencer marketing, whether they know it or not,” Hopper HQ co-founder Mike Bandar tells CNBC Make It. “We thought it would be interesting to explore the inner workings of the marketing channel, celebrate the growth of the industry and inspire those who want to be influencers.”
In July, Jenner became the youngest person on the Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women with an estimated net worth of $900 million, thanks primarily to the social-media-driven popularity of Kylie Cosmetics. Still, Bandar acknowledges, that she can command so much for one post is impressive: “Even in industry standards, getting paid anywhere near $1 million is eye-wateringly high.”
Here are the top 10 highest paid individuals on Instagram in 2018, according to Hopper HQ, ranked by how much each one charges per sponsored post.
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $1,000,000 (up from $400,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 112 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $800,000 (up from $550,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 139 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $750,000 (up from $400,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 137 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $720,000 (up from $500,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 114 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $700,000 (up from $400,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 116 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $650,000 (2017: n/a)
Number of Instagram followers: 111 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $650,000 (2017: n/a)
Number of Instagram followers: 101 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $600,000 (2017: n/a)
Number of Instagram followers: 100 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $500,000 (2017: n/a)
Number of Instagram followers: 100 million
Estimated cost per sponsored post in 2018: $500,000 (up from $370,000 in 2017)
Number of Instagram followers: 100 million
Since many individuals and brands involved in sponsorship deals do not publicly disclose their negotiations, the exact cost per sponsored post remains opaque. Hopper HQ’s rankings are based on estimates the firm compiled using publicly and privately available data on each user’s number of followers, influencer status, previous endorsements and level of engagement through likes, comments and views, among other metrics.
About 20 to 50 accounts were selected for eight individual categories including beauty, lifestyle, travel and sports, and all account holders were contacted directly or through an agent to request a price per sponsored post. Further research was conducted to collate prices that were publicly available to then arrive at an average cost per 1,000 followers. More details about Hopper HQ’s methodology can be found here.
In 2017, Forbes explained that an Instagram user with 100,000 followers can command $5,000 for a post made in partnership with a company or brand, which can make Jenner’s reported quote of $1 million seem a bit more reasonable. And influencer marketing has been shown to effectively drive sales, especially for traditional companies such Unilever, which has a marketing budget of more than $8.1 billion and works with social media stars to gain exposure to new audiences.
Although an influencer’s number of followers is important when it comes to calculating their rate, Bandar explains that a post’s value also depends on engagement, who the followers are, their industry and how influential they are in their space. This may help explain why Gomez and Ronaldo charge hundreds of thousands less per paid post than Jenner, even though they have more followers.
And plenty of ordinary people are getting into the action, too. When health and wellness influencer Rachel Mansfield was 25, she got fired from a job where she earned $50,000 a year. Not long after, she partnered with brands for sponsored posts on her Instagram and eventually began making $100,000 a year.
That said, Mansfield warns, you shouldn’t expect to become a successful influencer overnight. Though it can make for a lucrative career, “you really need confidence in order to portray your message because people will try to walk all over you,” Mansfield tells CNBC Make It. “You have to know your self-worth.”
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