Published: May 2026
In collaboration with 
316,000+ promoted posts analyzed across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Key trends in ad compliance, partnership structure, and creator economy seasonality.
The report includes:
The Influencer Marketing Factory is a global influencer marketing agency with employees across the US, Europe, and Asia. A TikTok Badged Marketing Partner and Meta Business Partner, the agency has executed 2,000+ campaigns for brands including Google, Meta, Sony Music, Unilever, and many more.
52%: TikTok leads all platforms in properly disclosed posts, nearly double Instagram’s rate. Built-in disclosure tools outperform hashtags by 17:1.
13.5 mo.: YouTube averages 13.5-month brand partnerships with a 50.9% repeat rate. TikTok averages just 4.9 months, with 72% of relationships ending after one collab.
Q4 dominates across all three platforms at 29-31% of annual volume, but peak months differ significantly by channel. Plan three separate budget calendars.
52.9%: Affiliate deals are the most common collaboration type on YouTube, vs. flat-fee paid deals that dominate Instagram and TikTok. One-off partnerships still account for 49-72% across all platforms.