YouTube is content to share that it has more than 1.47 billion users, in contrast to Instagram’s boast that it has more than 800 million users actively using the platform every month.
These values may come as a surprise to you! Even though these data are surprising, they only make it more challenging to determine which of the two platforms is superior.
Comparing Instagram and YouTube, which of these social media platforms is best for managing an influencer marketing campaign? Marketers have spent a lot of time figuring out the answer to this question, and the choice that needs to be made is not easy.
This article will show you everything you need to know about the viability of leveraging Instagram and YouTube for influencer marketing.
We do not doubt that at the end of this, you will be able to decide on the best course of action and select a platform adapted to your needs.
So, let’s get started!
A Primer on Necessary Information
It would be best to consider a few facts about your audience before deciding between YouTube and Instagram.
- The possible level of interaction that an influencer can produce from their audience in a manner that is both meaningful and relevant to your company is referred to as resonance. You can determine this by observing the number of likes and comments on influencers’ posts.
- Conduct some research to determine the number of your ideal audience that can be found on each platform so that you can better plan your marketing strategy. You may determine this by looking at the number of followers that the influencers you want to collaborate with have.
- Relevance refers to the percentage of your ideal clients that can be found on a given platform. This may be easily verified by researching the social media sites used by the most influential people in your specialized field.
Read How to Earn Money from YouTube without AdSense
What Do the Numbers Show?
Let’s first take a cursory look at some of the most crucial relevant facts before we compare the two platforms that are regarded as the most popular and reliable.
YouTube
YouTube subscribers are often quite loyal to the YouTubers or content providers they follow. This is because eight out of ten individuals can relate to them better than actors or other celebrities appearing in films and television.
Approximately 45 percent of today’s young folks admit that their favorite YouTuber’s beliefs are more likely to be followed than those of their friends or family members.
Every video published to YouTube by one of the platform’s top 25 stars receives three to four times the typical number of views. Videos like these generate 12 times the number of comments and double the number of actions as videos created by well-known celebrities.
A YouTube video creator with one million to three million subscribers may expect to earn $124,000 for every post on average. More than 20% of poll respondents agreed that YouTube is more motivating and engaging for any sponsored content than other platforms.
More than 14 million sponsored posts on Instagram contribute to the one-billion-dollar influencer marketing business.
The total number of followers that the top 50 Instagram influencers have amassed is greater than 2.3 billion.
According to some estimates, millions of individuals are financially supported by Instagram. Users with the highest ratings on Instagram can earn tens of thousands per post or up to half a million dollars annually.
In a survey that included over 20,000 customers, 48.4% of respondents indicated that they viewed content on Instagram created by influencers to be more exciting and engaging.
Read How To Earn From YouTube Automation
Why Choose Instagram For Influencing?
Undoubtedly, sponsored films work well on YouTube as a platform. On the other hand, there is no denying that Instagram is a fantastic platform.
Users swiftly consume the sponsored material on Instagram. Additionally, you can reduce the amount of money you spend on influencer material while using this platform.
If you have a lot of busy consumers who don’t have much time to watch extended films, Instagram is a terrific choice for you to consider. Most people read and watch Instagram’s short tales and videos, and Instagram has become popular.
This platform currently hosts influencer marketing events with a total value of one billion dollars. It is projected that this amount will be greater than $2 billion by the time 2019 comes to an end.
With more than 800 million active users on the network each month, Instagram has proven to be a beneficial platform for marketers and influencers.
Your brand can reach more prospective leads and customers if the material you provide is rich and relevant and if it can attract people’s attention.
Even a user’s level of involvement can be influenced by the content’s ability to appeal to their sense of sight. In addition, it will help increase the number of people that follow the brand.

Also, check out, YouTube vs. Twitch
Why Choose YouTubeFor Influencing?
Now that we’ve gone through the benefits of YouTube as the finest platform for your influencer marketing initiative, let’s take a quick look at some of its features.
According to the available data, the site that ranks in second place globally in terms of popularity is YouTube. With more than 1.5 billion active users monthly, it is an excellent resource for any specific area of interest.
In addition, a great number of additional people are becoming aware of this fact every day. You can find content on YouTube about health and beauty, travel and cuisine, and various other topics.
Video marketing has experienced meteoric growth in popularity over the past several years and accounts for approximately 75 percent of all website traffic.
The material found on YouTube is of an excellent standard, and in addition, it is easily searchable and will never become outdated.
The fact that it has a relatively long shelf life is the feature that stands out the most. As a result, uploading a sponsored video to your brand’s channel on YouTube may turn out to be highly beneficial.
Producing and filming videos comes with a cost, which is indeed higher than the cost of creating content for Instagram or Snapchat stories. On the other hand, if it is successful, it may lead to tremendous financial gains for your firm.
Read How to Make Money on YouTube Without Making Videos?
Benefits of Social Media Platforms
Instagram and YouTube are two platforms that have countless uses and advantages. But before we get into it, let’s look at some of the most important benefits these platforms offer for influencer marketing.
Major Benefits of Instagram
- It is an excellent platform for expanding visibility with the appropriate audiences and promoting products simultaneously.
- The cost of producing content for Instagram is far lower than for YouTube. On the other hand, the content on YouTube stays up longer than it does on Instagram.
- It is terrific that Instagram will allow you to reuse the images after your marketing campaign is finished. The only criterion is that you earn sanctions from your influential followers.
- This platform works particularly effectively for brands in the travel, dining, beauty, fashion, and fitness industries and the leisure industry.
Major Benefits of Youtube
- The potential for increasing brand sales on YouTube is enormous. This is especially true when influencers provide a link to buy the product along with their reviews and comments on a specific product in the video description. In this case, the link to purchase the product is a powerful tool.
- After successfully engaging viewers on YouTube, it will be much easier to evaluate the results of your efforts.
- The content you upload to YouTube has a long shelf life, which means you may continue to benefit from it even after the campaign.
- YouTube is a platform that should be utilized by all kinds of brands, including those operating in gaming, entertainment, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culinary, and other industries, among others.
YouTube vs. Instagram: How to Find Influencers
During the time referred to as “the conventional age,” the most successful marketing platforms were Twitter and Facebook.
On the other hand, influencers in the modern day are more active than they have ever been on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. This is because, compared to different types of content, visual content is more enticing, fascinating, and effective than other types of content.
Therefore, to achieve the best results, you should work with influential users on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
Examine some of the techniques described in the following paragraphs to learn how to identify influential users on each of these platforms.
Read How Much Is A YouTube Play Button Worth
YouTube vs. Instagram: Rate of Engagement
When trying to determine who the influencers are, the rate of engagement is the single most important aspect to take into account.
The term “engagement rate” refers to the total number of a user’s “followers” and then calculates the percentage of those “followers” that interact with the user’s content. Consequently, the level of interaction your content receives will directly impact the success your influencer marketing achieves.
No Content Quality Compromising
It is not difficult to grasp why a video with distracting audio and low production values will be unsuccessful if you put yourself in the audience’s place and try to understand why the video is unsuccessful.
Unsurprisingly, viewers enjoy watching videos with high-quality audio, solid pictures, and adequate lighting.
The same can be said for visual representations. It is necessary to provide high-quality content, whether photographs or movies. Nobody wants to squander their time looking at pictures that aren’t very good.
Only knowledgeable individuals don’t need to picture and record the material. It must be attractive to the audience and devoid of at least the most fundamental errors.
Strong Visual Aesthetic Sense
A single common factor connects Instagram and YouTube. Both sites encourage and accept visual content in their posts and galleries. Therefore, you need to generate something aesthetically pleasing for your material to be successful on both YouTube and Instagram.
Participation in visually appealing and attention-grabbing content would be highly enticing to audiences. This is something that someone with a strong aesthetic sensibility can only accomplish.
To acquire a deeper understanding of this matter, it is imperative that you monitor the Instagram and YouTube feeds consistently and assess the overall quality of the content.
Read How Much Does YouTube Sponsorship Pay?
Consistency Is The Key
It is one thing to publish entertaining content, but it is entirely different to remain consistent. Whatever it is that you work on, making it a regular habit is necessary.
This is one of the most important aspects, as most brands and organizations cannot succeed with their influencer marketing efforts due to various causes. Because of how inconsistent they are, this is the effect.
You only need to publish new content to YouTube once every seven days, while Instagram demands that you do so daily.
This is a highly effective strategy that can assist you in attracting new influencers to work with you. As a result, while looking for new and additional influencers, you should monitor the frequency with which you post on both platforms.
Our Final Thoughts
YouTube and Instagram each have their own unique set of benefits that can be utilized for influencer marketing. Every one of these is an excellent option when used on its own.
However, if you want to get the most out of your influencer marketing strategy, the best course is to take an approach that works across several platforms.
Instagram content has a shorter lifespan but is ideal for cost-effectively sharing condensed information. Whereas a video on YouTube can assist you in providing in-depth knowledge and has a longer shelf life, Instagram content has a shorter lifespan.
Additionally, Instagram can help you reach your audience more quickly. An integrated campaign across many platforms will unquestionably provide you with better results. You need to ensure that you have a strategy tailored to each platform if you want to find audiences quickly and don’t miss out on anything.
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I am Hannah, an online entrepreneur based in New York, United States. As the founder of several successful niche websites, I got the expertise in areas such as making money online, blogging, YouTube, affiliate marketing, and more. Through this website and blog posts, I am trying to provide insightful and actionable tips to help aspiring entrepreneurs, find ways to make money online. Read more.