Influencer campaigns can achieve multiple goals – often all at once. But for many brands, the #1 influencer marketing objective is to generate sales.
Getting it right means identifying the top-performing content types, deliverables, and platforms for sales. Plus you’ll need to answer more granular questions, like:
👉 What works best, long-form or short-form content?
👉 Are nano influencers or household names better at driving conversions?
To help you out, we surveyed 33 pro influencer marketers. Here’s what they told us…
Which influencer content types are best for driving sales?
First up, let’s take a look at the content formats that had the biggest impact on sales in 2024:
It’s no big surprise to see demos and tutorials take the top spot. These are bottom-of-the-funnel content formats designed to convert people who are likely already interested in the product in question (or, if not, they’re at least open to a solution that looks something like the product you’re promoting).
Several other formats – get ready with me content, placements, and hauls – are also highly product-focused. They might not reach the widest audience, but they’re consistently strong when it comes to conversions.
Meanwhile, the strong performance of personal stories demonstrates the power of authentic, human content.
For example, Loop Earplugs collaborated with marathon runner and coach Philippa Bowden, who shared a story about her struggles with focusing and being productive – and how Loop Earplugs have helped:
In a world where we’re constantly being sold to by faceless brands, it makes a real difference when an influencer tells a story around a product.
Will different content formats deliver more sales in 2025?
Okay, so we know what drove results in 2024. But how about this year? Don’t worry – that’s exactly what we asked our respondents.
⚠️ Bottom line: What worked for your brand last year isn’t likely to change over the next 12 months.
However, there are a couple key trends that are worth a closer look:
Live content is on the rise (especially on TikTok)
The popularity of live content has surged in recent years, with one in eight US adults aged 18 – 34 saying they watch live-streamed videos multiple times a day.
While this growth shows no signs of slowing on any platform, several of our respondents expect 2025 to be a particularly big year for live streaming on TikTok.
Demos and tutorials continue to dominate
Thinking of switching up your influencer marketing strategy and focusing less on product demonstrations and tutorials? Don’t do it!
Fact is, demos and tutorials are a fantastic way to inform customers about your products (and the benefits they provide), so they’re likely to keep doing numbers in 2025.
Authenticity remains a top priority
Consumers continue to crave authentic content – and brands are hungry to provide it. So don’t be surprised if we see an even stronger focus on personal stories in 2025.
Which social platforms are best for boosting influencer sales?
Again, let’s start by checking out what worked best in 2024:
As expected, the “big three” influencer marketing social platforms dominate the list, with Instagram way out in front.
Some 46.8 million Instagram users in the US were expected to buy through the platform in 2024, while Meta’s own data suggests that 70% of shoppers turn to Instagram to inform their next purchase.
Which platforms will be best for sales in 2025?
Just like with the top content formats, our respondents largely expect the same platforms to keep driving sales this year.
Instagram looks set to retain the top spot. Brands love Insta because its huge reach and comparatively low upfront costs translate to higher ROIs.
TikTok Shop remains a strong contender – particularly for promoting lower-ticket items. And then there’s YouTube, which has a higher price entry point but a longer content shelf-life, equating to tons of opportunity for evergreen sales.
Which influencer marketing deliverables drive the most sales?
With our respondents naming Instagram as the best social platform for influencer-driven purchases, it makes sense that Insta took three of the top four spots for deliverables that produce the most sales.
Still, there were a couple of noteworthy results here.
For starters, Instagram in-feed posts were surprisingly high on the list – while they still have plenty to offer influencer marketers, it’s rare for them to be the sole (or main) component of a campaign.
Also, TikTok Shop is further down than you might expect, presumably because it’s only available in limited markets. Still, sales have risen steadily since it launched in the US back in September 2023 (bear in mind those figures for September 2023 and 2024 aren’t for the full month)...
…and with the channel arriving in Ireland and Spain in late 2024 ahead of its expected debut across further European markets, we fully expect to see TikTok Shop become increasingly important to influencer marketers in 2025.
Long-form vs short-form influencer content: Which is best for sales?
The strong performance of Instagram Reels, Stories, and TikTok videos in our survey suggests that short-form content is the way to go if you’re looking to drive sales.
Because investing in more short videos = higher reach and engagement, right?
In reality, it’s a little more complicated than that. Some products are just too complex to adequately explain in a 60-second video; others carry high price points that require a more in-depth pitch.
As such, over two-thirds of respondents said they believe long-form content will compete on performance with short-form this year:
So it makes sense that many are planning to increase their investment in long-form influencer content. For example, Cheyanne Pettyjohn, director of influencer marketing at Rookie, said she’d love to see long-form accounting for up to 30% of the wellness brand’s content.
On average, our respondents expect 40.4% of their content to be long-form in 2025, while over one-third believe long-form will make up the majority of their content.
Fact is, long- and short-form content have distinct strengths, as influencer marketing manager Abdullah Khan explained:
🐇 Short-form content is best for quick engagement, viral potential, and ease of consumption.
🐌 Long-form content wins for deeper storytelling, detailed product reviews, and building stronger brand relationships.
Big creators vs nano influencers: Who drives the most sales?
The Kim Kardashians and Charli D’Amelios of this world might get all the headlines.
But our respondents overwhelmingly declared that if sales are your goal, smaller influencers are a smarter bet.
From a brand perspective, there’s a lot to like about nano and micro influencer marketing collaborations:
✅ Lower flat rates
✅ More authentic-feeling content
✅ Often have loyal communities who trust their product recommendations
✅ More open to affiliate marketing and product gifting campaigns
✅ Just as much potential to create viral content
But working with smaller influencers isn’t a licence to print money.
Kat LaFata, founder of talent management and marketing agency NY&Bagels, warned that nano and micro influencers are becoming more pushy – which is a big turnoff for consumers.
As such, Kat argued that mid-tier influencers are a better choice – they’re well-enough established to have a defined voice, but small enough to promote brands authentically.
Meanwhile, Miroslava Petkova, Regional Influencer Marketing Manager at COCOSOLIS, noted that choosing the right size of influencer to work with depends on your specific goals and market.
Follow the data to figure out which content works best for you
You’ve seen what other pro influencer marketers have to say about their top-performing content formats and platforms.
But the only way to know for certain what works best for you is to measure it.
Modash can help. Our reporting tools let you track key performance metrics on an individual and campaign level, including:
👉 Post volume
👉 Likes
👉 Comments
👉 Estimated reach and impressions,
👉 Engagement rate
You can even connect to your Shopify store to view revenue data and track the number of conversions, conversion value, and ROI per collab and campaign.
See for yourself by signing up for your free Modash trial – no credit card required.
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