Gilded pen: bloggers have increased their income in banned social networks
Russian major bloggers have multiplied their income from banned social networks despite their blocking. In Instagram alone (owned by Meta, an organization recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), advertising revenue increased by almost 20% to 130 million rubles, the Association of Bloggers and Agencies told Izvestia. In general, advertisers spent on advertising in Instagram, X (former Twitter), Facebook (owned by the recognized extremist company Meta, its activities are banned in the Russian Federation) for 11 months of 2024 eight times more than a year earlier - 4.7 billion rubles. According to experts, bloggers have not yet succeeded in massively transferring their audience to legal media platforms, but domestic social networks are not lagging behind and are developing their services.
Which bloggers have earned the most
Theincome of major bloggers in Instagram, whose audience is over 800 thousand people, increased by 20% by last year, told "Izvestia" in the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA). In the first 11 months of 2024, the total of the five domestic largest bloggers earned 130.5 million rubles, which is 21 million more than in the same period of 2023.
In general, according to the Unified Internet Advertising Register, advertisers spent 4.7 billion rubles on advertising in Instagram, X, Facebook in the first 11 months of 2024, when in the same period of 2023 only 581 million. This represents 1.65% of the total budget spent by advertisers on advertising, Roskomnadzor told Izvestia.
In 2023, the situation was different - Russian Influencers lost in income, it decreased by 3.5 billion rubles, reaching 1 billion without taking into account what they paid in the form of tax debts. The ABA attributed this to the fact that some bloggers ceased or suspended their activities after a number of high-profile proceedings.
- The main increase in revenue was due to an increase in the cost of placements rather than an influx of new advertisers. Within the Meta structure, Instagram is the most important player in the advertising market, as it is this platform that bloggers are interested in due to its functionality and algorithms - the recommendation feed allows short videos to "viralize". It is the Reels format that is now the most favorite not only as regular content, but also for advertising integrations, - explained in ABA.
Facebook, initially more preferable for text publications, has not found much interest among advertisers and popular Russian-speaking bloggers, they noted. X, despite the presence of Russian-speaking users with an audience of thousands or more, is simply inconvenient as a tool for advertising and promotion, the association added.
Yaroslav Meshalkin, managing partner of Heads'made digital communications agency, noted that bloggers in banned networks still have the largest audience, as they have not managed to massively transfer it to legal media platforms.
- At the same time, the process of audience "transfusion" continues, and over time the situation will at least equalize. I see Telegram as the most promising platform in 2025, where there is a significant growth of both marketing through opinion leaders and classical advertising promotion," he said.
According to him, the development of mini-application functionality and video formats, which Pavel Durov's team is clearly betting on, will open up a lot of additional opportunities for advertisers.
Some brands took a wait-and-see attitude towards banned social networks for a certain period of time, but in 2024 they decided to allocate part of their advertising budgets there, suggested Kristina Petrova, founder of PR Perfect communication agency.
Why advertisers choose social networks
Despite restrictions and significant audience churn in 2022, Instagram continues to hold its position in the Russian digital market this year. The platform remains particularly popular among residents of large cities. Traditionally, it is one of the tools for brands targeting just the audience of Moscow and million-strong cities, explained Georgy Lapshakov, General Director of the Influence Agency "Soil".
However, the interest of advertisers is also growing in domestic social networks, such as "VK Clips" and Yappy, he added.
- These platforms attract brands whose advertising campaigns are aimed at regional audiences. VK remains the market leader in terms of influencer marketing," said Georgy Lapshakov.
Instagram as a platform does not directly benefit from advertising in Russia. Moreover, in 2023, thanks to the activity of bloggers and advertisers in this social network, the country's budget was replenished by 848 million rubles of tax revenues, the expert recalled.
- If domestic platforms can attract the audience of large cities and improve their product, we will see a completely new picture of the market. VK is already making steps in this direction," the expert emphasized.
However, in 2025, we can expect that Instagram will still remain a significant platform, believes the CEO of the creative agency "Closer" Tatiana Nikishina. However, domestic platforms are not lagging behind: VK Video and Rutube are actively developing technologies, and creative approaches of brands and local advertising can play into their hands.
It is likely that advertising budgets will be increasingly split, and the market will continue to adapt to the current situation, summarized the expert.
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