Social media influencers are distinguished figures. They dominate the web world and social apps we use every day to grow to be family names.
Social media platforms have elevated people around the globe to succeed in an viewers of hundreds of thousands, with YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X (previously Twitter) all boasting customers within the tens of hundreds of thousands – and in some instances, even tons of of hundreds of thousands.
However each platform is completely different, with its personal type of content material and recognizable prime influencers. This will make it troublesome to inform who probably the most influential individuals on social media are, slightly than the preferred on one platform.
We’ve checked out social media influencers throughout the preferred social media platforms.
By combining the whole variety of followers and subscribers throughout YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter) for every particular person, we created a leaderboard of the highest 30 social media influencers worldwide.
What Is A Social Media Influencer?
A social media influencer, often known as merely an influencer, could be any particular person with a big follower depend.
They sometimes have established credibility inside a sure area of interest and use that authority to attach with individuals by way of social media.
Nevertheless, what’s thought of massive is relative. Point out experiences that 26.4% of Instagram accounts have lower than 1,000 followers, whereas virtually half have between 1,000 and 10,000.
Though 10,000 might sound like so much, it’s overshadowed by the highest social media influencer’s 622 million Instagram followers.
Sorts Of Social Media Influencers (By Follower Depend)
Nano Influencer (1,000 to 10,000)
With a modest following, nano influencers sometimes have extra trusting relationships with followers and are nice for hyper-targeted campaigns.
Micro Influencer (10,000 to 100,000)
Widespread inside a particular area of interest, micro influencers stay relatable and keep excessive engagement charges with their audience whereas getting extra consideration.
Macro Influencer (100,000 to 1,000,000 followers)
Macro influencers possess broad enchantment which might initially stem from a distinct segment. Their massive viewers is established over a very long time on the expense of decrease engagement charges.
Superstar influencer (1,000,000+ followers)
These are well-known names in an business with enormous international audiences, making them nice choices for model consciousness campaigns however will doubtless value so much to work with.
Which Social Media Platform Has The Largest Viewers For Influencers?
Social media influencers realistically need to attain the most important viewers potential. The extra people who see their content material, the larger their affect will probably be.
That’s why selecting the best social media platform can have an effect on how a lot you possibly can develop as an influencer.
Month-to-month Energetic Customers (MAUs) For Every Social Media Platform
- YouTube: 2.5 billion energetic customers.
- Instagram: 2 billion energetic customers.
- TikTok: 1.2 billion energetic customers.
- X: 541 million.
Regardless of having fewer energetic customers, Instagram is now thought of to be the preferred platform with TikTok gaining year-on-year.
Every platform has its advantages for several types of social media influencers, relying on the kind of social content material they create:
- YouTube – Primarily long-form video, secondary short-form video, and stay streaming.
- Instagram – Primarily nonetheless picture, secondary video and stay streaming.
- TikTok – Primarily short-form video, secondary stay streaming.
- X – Primarily textual content, secondary nonetheless picture and video.
As social media platforms have grown, they’ve developed their principal options alongside secondary capabilities to compete with one another.
This has made it simpler for influencers to cross-post and repurpose the identical content material between completely different platforms, serving to to cross-pollinate audiences and develop a number of followings. For instance, customers regularly see movies from TikTok showing on Instagram Reels and vice versa.
Doing this helps social media influencers develop their audiences and increase their affect, which might make them extra interesting companions for manufacturers and entrepreneurs to work with.
The High 30 Social Media Influencers Worldwide
X (Twitter) | TikTok | YouTube | Whole | Class | |||
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 622,164,640 | 110,569,623 | n/a | n/a | 732,734,263 | Sport |
2 | Selena Gomez | 429,805,012 | 66,446,790 | 59,000,000 | 34,500,000 | 589,751,802 | Music |
3 | Ariana Grande | 380,308,915 | 85,268,269 | 34,200,000 | 53,500,000 | 553,277,184 | Music |
4 | Kylie Jenner | 400,477,343 | 40,044,424 | 54,900,000 | 12,100,000 | 507,521,767 | Influencer |
5 | Justin Bieber | 293,090,942 | 111,264,898 | 27,300,000 | 72,600,000 | 504,255,840 | Music |
6 | Leo Messi | 499,705,843 | N/A | N/A | 2,110,000 | 501,815,843 | Sport |
7 | Dwayne Johnson | 397,240,518 | 17,100,000 | 74,200,000 | 6,360,000 | 494,900,518 | Leisure |
8 | Taylor Swift | 281,714,581 | 95,295,063 | 24,900,000 | 56,500,000 | 458,409,644 | Music |
9 | Kim Kardashian | 364,318,648 | 75,194,423 | 9,600,000 | 2,000,000 | 451,113,071 | Influencer |
10 | MrBeast | 50,400,000 | 28,700,000 | 93,300,000 | 240,000,000 | 412,400,000 | Content material Creator |
11 | Beyoncé | 319,996,984 | 15,300,000 | 5,400,000 | 26,700,000 | 367,396,984 | Music |
12 | Katy Perry | 206,853,190 | 106,785,495 | 7,100,000 | 44,800,000 | 365,538,685 | Music |
13 | Khloé Kardashian | 310,907,419 | 30,200,000 | 6,200,000 | 704,000 | 348,011,419 | Influencer |
14 | Kendall Jenner | 294,711,196 | 31,700,000 | 6,100,000 | 285,000 | 332,796,196 | Influencer |
15 | Jennifer Lopez | 253,650,838 | 44,761,851 | 17,600,000 | 16,600,000 | 332,612,689 | Music |
16 | Virat Kohli | 266,486,829 | 61,091,254 | N/A | n/a | 327,578,083 | Sport |
17 | Neymar Jr | 219,676,224 | 63,265,287 | 32,100,000 | 4,440,000 | 319,481,511 | Sport |
18 | Rihanna | 152,230,498 | 108,159,084 | 9,600,000 | 42,700,000 | 312,689,582 | Music |
19 | Nicki Minaj | 229,345,664 | 28,162,082 | 20,300,000 | 26,600,000 | 304,407,746 | Music |
20 | Miley Cyrus | 217,012,486 | 46,384,263 | 18,700,000 | 19,000,000 | 301,096,749 | Music |
21 | Kourtney Kardashian | 224,413,301 | 26,428,379 | 7,300,000 | N/A | 258,141,680 | Influencer |
22 | Kevin Hart | 180,287,999 | 36,868,857 | 34,800,000 | N/A | 251,956,856 | Leisure |
23 | Khaby Lame | 79,827,228 | 384,800 | 161,500,000 | 7,340,000 | 249,052,028 | Content material Creator |
24 | Cardi B | 169,210,738 | 33,320,086 | 24,100,000 | 19,200,000 | 245,830,824 | Music |
25 | Demi Lovato | 157,403,357 | 52,785,567 | 5,800,000 | 18,000,000 | 233,988,924 | Music |
26 | Shakira | 90,586,379 | 53,660,569 | 38,300,000 | 45,500,000 | 228,046,948 | Music |
27 | Ellen DeGeneres | 139,741,535 | 74,692,180 | 12,800,000 | N/A | 227,233,715 | Leisure |
28 | Billie Eilish | 110,287,844 | 7,300,000 | 51,000,000 | 49,100,000 | 217,687,844 | Music |
29 | Lebron James | 159,781,164 | 52,856,615 | 89,200 | 63,400 | 212,790,379 | Sport |
30 | Charli d’Amelio | 44,900,000 | 5,100,000 | 152,000,000 | 9,130,000 | 211,130,000 | Influencer |
Information from March 2024.
Whereas some social media influencers have grown organically on one of many completely different platforms, lots of the hottest influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and different platforms are offline celebrities first.
As many conventional celebrities grew their reputation a long time earlier than social media was round, they’ve efficiently transferred their established fame into tangible followers within the on-line world.
With 14 of the names within the record being primarily singer-songwriters, music-based influencers make up nearly all of the highest 30 record. Nevertheless, lots of them even have careers outdoors music. The truth is, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato all bought their begin in appearing for Disney or Nickelodeon.
A number of Gen Z influencers are additionally featured within the prime 30 who grew up as social media natives, together with Charlie D’Amelio, Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson, Billie Eilish and Khaby Lame.
Khaby Lame is especially fascinating as he managed to attain a stratospheric rise to fame throughout the COVID pandemic with none model affiliation. His predominantly silent video content material centered on satirical teasing of the overcomplicated life hacks that had grow to be common on TikTok.
Khaby has since gone on to grow to be a key determine in Hugo Boss’ rebrand and will get paid as a lot as $750k [paywall] per sponsored put up. Spectacular for an influencer who is understood for saying little or no.
Wanting on the extra easy way of life influencers, all three Kardashian sisters and each Jenner sisters characteristic inside the prime 30. This makes Charli D’Amelio the one prime way of life influencer who isn’t a part of the Kardashian dynasty.
The High 15 Social Media Influencers By Followers
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese athlete (soccer), 732 million followers – Regardless of solely being energetic on two platforms, his popularity as one of many best of all time to play the sport has made him a global icon and Instagram’s standout influencer.
- Selena Gomez, American actor/musician, 589 million followers – Evolving from her Disney star roots, she’s grown as each an actress and advocate for psychological well being and equality to grow to be one of many world’s most influential girls.
- Ariana Grande, American musician/actor, 553 million followers – Pop icon with a four-octave vocal vary and a substantial again catalog that has seen her listed as an affect by a number of high-profile music artists.
- Kylie Jenner, American influencer/actuality TV star, 507 million followers – Essentially the most influential social media star from The Kardashians, she’s balanced a variety of branded enterprise ventures with life as a socialite.
- Justin Bieber, Canadian musician, 504 million followers – Bieber is arguably probably the most well-known case of social media stardom. His early R&B covers on YouTube helped web him a file deal again in 2008 after his movies have been found.
- Leo Messi, Argentinian athlete (soccer), 501 million followers – An Argentinian soccer legend and supposed rival to Ronaldo. He’s additionally solely current on two social media websites, but has nonetheless gathered greater than half-a-billion followers.
- Dwayne Johnson, American actor/wrestler, 494 million followers – Extensively considered one of many best skilled wrestlers of all time, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson can also be one of many highest-paid actors globally and a health icon.
- Taylor Swift, American musician, 458 million followers – The present reigning queen of pop, Taylor Swift has grow to be a worldwide sensation together with her international excursions even influencing native economies.
- Kim Kardashian, American influencer/actuality TV star, 450 million followers – As one of many first individuals to be well-known for being well-known, Kim Ok efficiently introduced her socialite stardom into the social media sphere.
- MrBeast, American content material creator, 412 million followers – Essentially the most influential YouTube creator has now cracked the highest 10 social media influencers total, with every of his challenges and giveaway movies being watched by tens of hundreds of thousands.
- Beyoncé, American musician, 367 million followers – Among the best-selling music artists of all time with a variety of accolades, Beyoncé has additionally been dubbed ‘Queen Bey’ by her large fanbase – ‘The BeyHive’.
- Katy Perry, American musician, 365 million followers – With an enormous following on X and probably the most diamond-certified singles of any feminine artist, Katy Perry has had a big effect on fashionable pop music for the reason that late 2000s.
- Khloe Kardashian, American influencer/actuality TV star, 348 million followers – The youngest of the Kardashian sisters, she’s labored alongside her household to promote numerous merchandise by way of their actuality TV reveals and social followings.
- Kendall Jenner, American influencer/actuality TV star, 332 million followers – The very best-paid supermodel and one other Kardashians member of the family, Kendall began her modeling profession at 13 and has walked her method into influential worldwide mannequin standing.
- Jennifer Lopez, American actress/musician, 332 million followers – Also called ‘J.Lo’, she’s helped to extend the illustration of Latino Individuals in leisure all through her award-winning profession spanning over 5 a long time.
How To Use Social Media Influencers To Market Your Model
The world now collectively spends 11.5 billion hours a day on social media platforms, with every common consumer contributing virtually two-and-a-half hours.
That offers social media influencers numerous time on daily basis to attach with their viewers. But it surely additionally means there’s loads of potential for manufacturers to work with influencers and capitalize on that point.
Many social media customers now depend on influencers, reviewers, or established voices inside a distinct segment earlier than making selections. For TikTok, 65% of customers say they depend on content material creators and on-line reviewers to assist them make selections earlier than shopping for a product.
Moderately than selling your individual model channel organically, you possibly can leverage social media influencers by having them endorse your services or products. It has additionally been discovered that belief could be transferred from an influencer to a model when influencer advertising is completed effectively.
The highest influencers additionally understand how highly effective it may be. Many have launched their very own merchandise to market inside their content material to capitalize on the advantages themselves. For instance, MrBeast’s Feastables introduced in 70% of his income in its second 12 months.
Discover An Influencer Inside Your Finances
As a common rule – the larger the influencer, the extra they’ll need in return for a put up. Smaller influencers is likely to be glad with receiving your merchandise free of charge, however influencers with massive followings will virtually definitely cost a price.
Paid content material can even be explicitly highlighted on some platforms, such because the ‘paid partnership’ label showing on Instagram.
This happened after the Fyre Competition incident the place some influencers have been discovered to be selling the pageant as a private advice once they have been, actually, paid to put up about it.
Select An Influencer That’s Related To Your Enterprise
Virtually all influencers have constructed their following inside a sure area of interest. It’s essential that you just work with an influencer that appears like they might naturally align along with your model and has an identical audience to your individual.
A vogue influencer speaking about the advantages of a brand new line of skincare merchandise would really feel on-brand. In the event that they have been to be selling energy instruments or one thing equally misplaced, then it wouldn’t resonate with their viewers.
It will doubtless end in fewer conversions for the partnered enterprise, in addition to the viewers of that influencer changing into extra distrustful of paid sponsorships.
Let An Influencer Promote Your Enterprise Authentically
Social media influencers have constructed their private manufacturers by means of the content material they make. Their viewers will probably be acquainted with how they speak and put themselves ahead.
When working with an influencer, it’s essential to ensure any messaging meshes with how that influencer communicates. That authenticity is what is going to join with their viewers and really feel much less like one thing they’re doing simply to receives a commission.
When you’ve got them follow a inflexible script, you then lose what makes an influencer distinctive – their persona and their viewers.
Influencers Can Lengthen Their Belief And Affect To Your Model
We stay in a world with extra influencers and celebrities than ever earlier than. Whereas many have now achieved the a million follower milestone, the highest social media influencers possess virtually unbelievably massive followings.
Contemplating Charli D’Amelio turned the primary individual to succeed in 50 million followers on TikTok in April 2020, after which the primary to succeed in 100 million simply seven months later, it’s clear that influencers like her are rising exponentially.
That’s a part of the rationale influencer advertising is now rising in reputation. When executed effectively with the precise influencers on board, you possibly can elevate the profile of your model at an accelerated price.
Not solely can it introduce you to a brand-new viewers, however it could probably convert those that’ve seen your model earlier than however wanted some additional reassurance.
In case you’re uncertain about working with influencers, you possibly can all the time begin with a nano influencer on a small, focused marketing campaign to ascertain whether or not it really works for your enterprise.
Methodology
To create the highest 50 social media influencers worldwide record, we took the highest 100 accounts from every platform based mostly on their follower or subscriber depend (Supply: SocialBlade.com, Youtube, X, Instagram, TikTok).
We compiled all influencer names throughout these lists and created a complete variety of followers/subscribers throughout all platforms.
These numbers have been collected by hand instantly from the social media platforms as a rounded determine, or taken from Socialblade.com for a stay depend.
The record was then reordered based mostly on complete follower counts to seek out the highest 30 social media influencers.
Extra sources:
Featured Picture: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock