You may have read one or two news articles claiming that the Influencer Marketing bubble has burst but that sentiment couldn’t be further from reality.
The concept of the ‘Influencer’ has been somewhat distorted as of late so we’ll provide you with a quick refresher. Influencers are passionate content creators who aim to provide honest and relevant opinions to their audience. Influencer’s audiences are not created overnight. They slowly build their platform by resonating with people who subsequently, choose to follow and engage them. The value of Influencers lie in their ability to build relationships with their audience, understand what they want to learn, and then create content trusted and valued by their audience. With 59% of marketers intending to increase their influencer marketing budget this year, many brands are waking up to the power of influencers in reaching consumers. Still not convinced? These 5 facts will prove exactly why you need Influencer Marketing now more than ever.
1. Your consumers trust the opinions of Influencers
The success of word-of-mouth marketing lies in the fact that we’re more likely to trust the recommendations of people we know. Through their abilities to create close bonds with their audiences, an Influencer’s opinion and a friends opinion are similarly valued. In fact, 4 in 10 millennial Youtube subscribers believe that their favourite Influencer understands them better than their friends.
2. Influencers have a direct impact on consumer behaviour
When investigating the behaviour of their users, Twitter commissioned a study looking into their consumer behaviour. Results revealed that nearly 40% of Twitter users say they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer. On Youtube, 60% of subscribers say that channel’s influencers sway their purchase decisions.
3. Influencers are effective in changing perceptions
In our recent blog ‘The Top 10 Destinations for your Influencer #PressTrip’ we highlight the effectiveness of Influencers in changing perceptions about certain destinations. Take for example holiday price comparison site Ice Lolly’s campaign with Visit Benidorm in 2017. The duo sent a range of British influencers on a series of thrilling excursions and a visit around the city’s Old Town. The content was successful in transforming the image many held about Spanish city, painting it as a youthful and exciting destination.
4. Influencer ads more ’emotionally intense’ and memorable than traditional advertising
150 participants took part in a recent study in which research measured their brain waves whilst they viewed influencer ads and TV ads. The results found that participants experienced 277% more emotional intensity and 87% memory encoding when watching influencer ads compared to watching TV ads. The results solidify the work of influencers in facilitating these two key components in determining an ads success.
5. Influencers improve brand sentiment
Research has shown that long-term brand-influencer partnerships are particularly effect. One study found that influencer partnerships that lasted for two or more weeks resulted in an 8.73% lift in positive brand sentiment.