New studies show that influencer marketing is driving 11 times more revenue than digital advertising. Here’s why.

Influencer marketing is on the rise and doesn’t appear to be coming down any time soon–well, not if statistics have anything to do with it.

According to a recent case study by TapInfluence and Nielsen Catalina Solutions, influencer marketing delivers 11 times the ROI of digital marketing–as it pertains to actual revenue, not impressions and views. In this particular study, influencer marketing generated $285 per 1,000 impressions, which was 11 times as much as digital advertising. The ROI also doubled three months later with no extra investment on the part of the client (since digital ads go away as soon as your campaign does, while influencer blogs stay on the internet for the foreseeable future).

Influencer marketing is a viable antidote to certain marketing inefficiencies. For example:

• Content marketing is important for brands–but even if your content is stellar, it will receive limited views if it’s only posted on your website. Influencers are both the content creators and publishers, with a loyal, built in following.
• Traditional PR is very effective when it works, but being that it’s “earned” media, your investment in a publicist cannot be guaranteed. With influencer marketing, you will not only be seen–but if an influencer has chosen to work with you, you’ll also be seen in a positive light.
• Digital advertising works, but Millennials often block ads–so you’re spending dollars without really knowing if people are seeing you. People electively follow influencers, so there’s no getting blocked.

But those aren’t the only reasons this avenue of marketing is mopping the floor with its tried and true counterparts. Influencer marketing’s strong potency really boils down to the long relationships the actual influencers have with their audiences. For professionals like Emma Johnson, the connection is very real.

Having been a journalist for more than 16 years, Emma began to notice a huge flaw in the way the media talks to and about single mothers. “Brands almost universally paint single mothers as downtrodden, as if they cannot be successful as a single woman with a child,” Emma says. “This is not only inaccurate but also alienates a huge and growing part of the population.” Today, one third of U.S. households are headed by single mothers, and the majority of Millennial moms are not married. “But as women overall are more educated and affluent than even a decade ago, so, too are single moms,” Emma says.