54 per cent of marketers and PRs now use the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) guidelines on influencer marketing, compared to just 37.5 per cent in 2016.

According to research of 600 UK marketing and PR professionals, carried out by micro-influencer marketing platform Takumi, 75 per cent agree that full transparency is important when working with influencers. This is a significant step in the wake of the recent Fyre Festival debacle, where several celebrities – including Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, and more – failed to disclose that they were paid to advertise the event.

“PR and marketing individuals and brands are becoming more and more savvy when it comes to working with influencers and content creators,” said Mats Stigzelius, co-founder and CEO of Takumi. “Whereas before there was a certain amount of confusion with regards to the guidelines, the research has shown that there is a greater awareness on how to get the most out of influencer marketing and what the guidelines are.”

Takumi found that 65 per cent of professionals work with influencers as part of their marketing strategy. Of the 35 per cent that don’t, the majority said that they either found it hard to effectively measure results or didn’t see how influencers would benefit their brand. Despite this, 61.3 per cent of respondents said they feel they are able to accurately measure engagement levels and return on investment (ROI).

“As more and more brands begin to educate themselves on how to effectively use influencers and are able to measure the results and the ROI, I think that we can expect to see an increase in the use of influencers as part of a more targeted approach for consumers particularly for millennial audiences,” said Stigzelius.

The research also found that 84.5 per cent of professionals believe that ‘live’ content is becoming increasingly important to influencer marketing. Furthermore, 28 per cent say Instagram’s algorithmic feed – which prioritises high engagement content – hasn’t impacted their campaigns. However, 11.5 per cent now budget for advertising to boost influencer posts.