Today, more than half of the world’s population use social media. With around 4.66 billion social media users, influencer marketing among social media platforms is forecasted to be a $15 billion industry by 2022. Around 90% of brands and businesses believe that influencer marketing is very effective. There are 56% of them partnering with the same influencers across different campaigns. 

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, the top social media platform for influencer marketing is Instagram. TikTok recently bagged the second spot as a preferred influencer marketing platform, while YouTube garnered the third spot as video marketing continues to be the king of influencer content. Instagram Reels, Tiktok Clips, and YouTube Shorts are continuously booming among influencer content as a video marketing agency Hong Kong says. 

Yet, the biggest challenge with influencer marketing lies in finding the right partner. Most brands and businesses are having a hard time sealing a contract with their preferred influencers because of a limited budget and niche considerations. To help them find the right partner, here’s a view of some of the top social media influencers. 

WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?

A social media agency Hong Kong defines influencer marketing as the partnership of brands and businesses with social media influencers to increase brand awareness or conversions among a specific target audience. Marketers sponsor an influencer’s online content to endorse products and services. This is to influence the buying decision of target audiences and eventually drive conversions.

There are five categories of social media influencers based on their number of followers. These are the following:

• Nano-influencers with 1000 to 10,000 followers. They are commonly bloggers, reality TV stars, social media sensations, or vloggers.
• Micro-influencers with 10,000 to 50,000 followers. They comprise around 81% of the active Instagram influencers. They have a large community of followers commonly interested in a specific niche.
• Mid-tier influencers with 50,000 to 500,000 followers. These types of influencers are commonly active advocates of political or social causes like journalists and photographers. They often have radical views, so brands and businesses should be very cautious in partnering with them. 
• Macro-influencers with 500,000 to 1,000,000 followers. Commonly, macro-influencers are thought leaders who have top-level decisions among companies.
• Mega-influencers with more than 1,000,000 followers. They are commonly seasoned athletes, models, movie stars, and musicians.

If brands and businesses were able to find the right influencer, they can make more than 5x of what they spend on influencer marketing.

THE WORLD’S TOP SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

Here are the world’s top 50 influencers across social media platforms:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, a soccer superstar with 517 million followers
2. Justin Bieber, a Canadian singer with 455 million followers
3. Ariana Grande, an American actress, and singer with 429 million followers
4. Selena Gomez, another American actress, and singer with 425 million followers
5. Taylor Swift, an American singer, and songwriter with 361 million followers
6. Dwayne Johnson, the American actor popularly known as “The Rock” with 342 million followers
7. Katy Perry, another American singer, and songwriter with 338 million followers
8. Kylie Jenner, an American media personality and socialite with 333 million followers
9. Rihanna, a Barbadian singer for pop and rhythm n’ blue music with 332 million followers
10. Kim Kardashian, an American model, and socialite with 319 million followers
11. Lionel Messi, an Argentinian football player with 298 million followers
12. Neymar Da Silva Santos Jr., a famous Brazilian footballer with 283 million followers
13. Shakira, a Colombian singer, and songwriter with 282 million followers
14. Jennifer Lopez, an American actress, dancer, and singer with 277 million followers
15. Beyonce, an American actress, and singer with 267 million followers
16. Ellen DeGeneres, a famous American comedian and TV host with 260 million followers
17. Miley Cyrus, an American actress, and singer with 235 million followers
18. Nicki Minaj, a Trinidad-born rapper and singer with 232 million followers
19. Barack Obama, America’s 44th President with 221 million followers
20. Will Smith, an American actor and film producer with 217 million followers
21. Kendall Jenner, an American model, and socialite with 212 million followers
22. Demi Lovato, an American singer, and songwriter with 211 million followers
23. Lady Gaga, an American rock singer and songwriter with 210 million followers
24. Kevin Hart, a black American actor and stand-up comedian with 201 million followers
25. Virat Kohli, the captain of India’s National Cricket Team with 195 million followers
26. Eminem, an American rapper with 194 million followers
27. Drake, a Canadian rapper with 192 million followers
28. Khloe Kardashian, an American model, and socialite with 191 million followers
29. Bruno Mars, an American pop-music singer with 191 million followers
30. Chris Brown, an American rapper and singer with 180 million followers
31. Vin Diesel, the famous lead actor of “The Fast and the Furious” with 177 million followers
32. Narendra Modi, the 1^st Prime Minister of Independent India with 175 million followers
33. Justin Timberlake, an American actor, and singer with 175 million followers
34. Billie Eilish, an American singer, and songwriter with 171 million followers
35. Charlie D’Amelio, an American dancer with 169 million followers
36. Kourtney Kardashian, an American media personality with 165 million followers
37. Cardi B, a rapper for New York with 160 million followers
38. LeBron James, a famous American basketball player with 157 million followers
39. Adele, an English singer, and songwriter with 156 million followers
40. Priyanka Chopra, an Indian actress, and singer with 144 million followers
41. German Garmendia, a Chilean YouTuber with 143 million followers
42. Wiz Khalifa, an American rapper with 142 million followers
43. PewDiePie, a Swedish comedian and YouTuber with 141 million followers
44. Akshay Kumar, an Indian actor in Canada with 140 million followers
45. Snoop Dog, a Californian rapper with 138 million followers
46. Deepika Padukone, a famous Indian actress with 138 million followers
47. Britney Spears, an American pop star with 137 million followers
48. Shawn Mendes, a Canadian singer, and songwriter with 136 million followers
49. Whindersson Nunes Batista, a Brazilian comedian, and YouTuber with 135 million followers
50. Salman Khan, a famous Indian actor with 134 million followers

Reference: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-top-50-influencers-across-social-media-platforms/