Influencers testing surge prices for holidays, special events

Marketers can increasingly expect social media influencers to adopt a surge pricing model ahead of the holiday shopping season and other high volume periods, according to Jasmine Enberg, senior analyst at eMarketer.

"Surge pricing will likely make influencer marketing more expensive in 2020," she said, speaking at the ANA 2019 Influencer Marketing Conference in New York.

"Influencers are starting to charge premiums for brands that they have never worked with before working with them during high traffic periods.

"For example, many LGBTQ+ influencers have begun charging an inclusion tax ahead of doing any work with brands unfamiliar to them during LGBTQ+ history month. You can definitely expect to see more of this in the holiday shopping season and moving into the next year."

This comes as influencer marketing spend continues to rise, mainly due to influencers simply costing more to work with, with or without a surge model.

"The costs of working with an influencer are rising, and those increasing costs are a common concern for marketers worldwide. In fact, 40 percent of U.S. marketers said cost was a leading challenge, even more than fraud," Enberg said.

The lesson here is clear: make influencer connections during offseason for the sake of your organization’s wallet.