Where Influencer Marketing Budgets Are Going After Platform Blockages in 2025

The Russian influencer marketing market is undergoing structural transformation: budgets are not disappearing, but being redistributed across available platforms. According to DIGITAL TWIGA's assessment, following the blocking of major services, large companies are shifting investments to VK, Max, Rutube, and ecosystem products, while smaller advertisers continue working with blocked services until real enforcement mechanisms emerge. ETC's analytical review shows how this affects author purchasing strategy and what needs to be considered when planning campaigns in 2025.

Analysis methodology and data limitations

This material is based on a public expert forecast by Sergey Vasiliev, Managing Director of DIGITAL TWIGA agency, published on the AdPass platform in April 2025. The sample covers market trends among Russian advertisers following the blocking of foreign social platforms. Important limitation: the forecast is based on qualitative assessment by an industry expert rather than quantitative research of specific brand media plans. ETC compared this forecast with open statistics from Russian platforms and its own experience in purchasing blogger advertising for agency clients.

Main conclusion: the market is dividing by advertiser size and level of regulatory risk. Large businesses are moving budgets to channels with transparent ad labeling, legal contracts, and the ability to formally report to regulators. Small and medium-sized businesses maintain presence on blocked platforms while enforcement practices are still unclear and technical control measures are not yet deployed.

Why Russian platform audiences aren't yet compensating for losses

VK, Max, and Rutube have grown their monthly audience following the blockages, but the qualitative composition and behavioral patterns of users differ from the familiar metrics of blocked services. VK's audience traditionally skews toward youth and residents of major cities, Max is actively developing video content but underperforms in engagement depth compared to global platforms, and Rutube shows growth in uploads, yet average watch time and return frequency remain lower.

ETC observes that brands are forced to adapt creative formats and coverage expectations. If previously integration with a million-follower creator guaranteed predictable impressions, today testing multiple platforms simultaneously and adjusting KPIs are required. This increases labor costs during planning and demands deeper audience analysis for each channel.

Building an influencer marketing strategy amid platform redistribution

ETC structures its blogger advertising purchasing strategy using the following algorithm. First, a current brand audience audit is conducted: where are loyal users located, which platforms do they visit daily, what content do they consume. Then the client's regulatory requirements level is determined: large public companies and holdings with state participation cannot risk reputation and work exclusively with platforms supporting ad labeling through Yandex Advertising Network and API ORD. Mid-size and small advertisers have more freedom of choice but must account for the prospect of tightening controls.

Budgets are being redistributed, not disappearing: the agency's task is to find platforms and creators that will deliver target reach with acceptable legal risk levels and transparent reporting.

In the second stage, ETC develops a media plan with channel breakdown. If a brand's target audience is active in VK, priority goes to creators with verified communities and connected advertising cabinets. For video content, integrations on Rutube and within the VK Video ecosystem are tested. If a product requires visual demonstration and reach among women aged 25–40, creators on Zen and Telegram channels with high engagement rates are considered.

The third stage is creator selection and audience evaluation. ETC uses open statistics parsing, comment analysis, subscriber dynamics monitoring, and metric benchmarking against industry standards. It's important to verify that a creator isn't artificially inflating metrics and that their audience aligns with the brand's target customer portrait. For this, screenshots of reach statistics for the past three months and subscriber demographic breakdowns are requested.

Marketer's checklist: transitioning to regulated channels

• Determine your company's compliance requirements: clarify with the legal department which platforms are acceptable in terms of ad labeling and regulatory reporting.
• Conduct a current audience audit: export data from CRM and web analytics, build a customer portrait including preferred social platforms.
• Compile a list of creators on Russian platforms: use VK catalogs, Rutube search, Telegram channel ratings, and blogger aggregators filtered by topic.
• Request reach statistics and audience demographics from each creator: verify data against your target audience portrait and filter out channels with low match.
• Prepare a test media plan for one month: allocate 20–30% of budget across three to four platforms, measure CPM, UTM link clicks, and conversions to leads or purchases.
• Implement cross-platform analytics and UTM tagging: ensure each integration is tracked from impression to target action to compare platform effectiveness.
• Budget extra time for creative adaptation: VK, Rutube, and Telegram formats differ, requiring production of multiple video or graphics versions.

Measuring results and adjusting strategy

After launching test integrations, ETC collects metrics for each platform: reach, impressions, link clicks, cost per click, lead conversion, and LTV of acquired customers. This data is consolidated into a single table where each platform receives a rating based on the "investment to result" ratio. If VK shows low CPM but high drop-off during checkout, budget shifts toward Telegram channels with more engaged audiences. If Rutube delivers long watch time but few clicks, the creative is refined with stronger calls to action.

ETC recommends reviewing the media plan every four weeks until a stable budget structure forms. In conditions of rapid market changes, a fixed quarterly strategy risks losing effectiveness: new creators gain audience, platforms launch advertising tools, and regulators update ad labeling requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Where are blogger advertising budgets moving after the blockages

Large advertisers are shifting budgets to VK, Max, Rutube, and ecosystem products of Russian platforms that support transparent ad labeling and legal contracts. Small companies continue placing ads on blocked services until real enforcement mechanisms emerge. Russian channels cannot yet fully compensate for foreign platform audiences, so testing and creative adaptation are necessary.

How to choose a platform for a creator campaign in 2025

Start with an audit of your target audience: determine where they spend time and consume content. Then assess your company's compliance requirements — large businesses should only work with regulated channels. Compile a list of creators on VK, Rutube, Telegram, request statistics, and verify match with your customer portrait. Launch test integrations on 20–30% of budget, measure CPM and conversion, then scale effective platforms.

Is it possible to work with creators on blocked platforms

From a legal perspective, placing ads on platforms blocked in Russia carries high regulatory risks and ad labeling complications. Large companies and holdings with state participation are abandoning such channels. Small and medium businesses maintain presence until enforcement practices are established, but should account for the risk of fines and reputational damage.