14/12/2016 Tech Time – INFLUENCERS
As a user it’s easy to feel bombarded by unwanted advertising online. Over the next 2 minutes we’ll explore why marketing through influencers is so important, and how this has driven 48% of marketers to boost their influencer budgets for 2017.
Consumers value the opinions of people they trust, with 92% saying they trust earned media, such as word of mouth, above all other forms of advertising.
A recommendation of a product, film or TV show feels more genuine when it comes from a person you recognize. Their content is not filtered out by ad-blockers, but instead sits right in your feed between your friend’s latest cat video and your sister’s holiday photos. Scroll through one of your social channels and you may notice accounts that have influenced your own purchasing decisions.
At least one of those accounts is likely to be a person you’ve never met, but who has millions of followers. This person is an influencer whose opinion you’ve grown to trust, as a lifestyle guru, how-to expert, artist, athlete, etc. After being exposed to influencer content, there is a 5 times increase in intent-to-purchase. Maybe it was a new pair of shoes, a vacation to Morocco, or tickets to the Hamilton musical – you’ve trusted an influencer’s opinion and have made a purchase decision (paid advertisement or not).
A recent survey conducted by Variety said that “YouTube stars are more popular than mainstream celebrities among US teens”. Influencers are important, and 94% of those that use them in their campaigns say they’re effective.
Marketers and agencies like Way To Blue turn to influencers to help our clients connect with a wider audience by creating authentic content to increase brand engagement and awareness.