THE INFLUENCER IAETILLAT AUCOENTISTUM HOSTRIDEMO VERNAMUS ELESTRUM MARKETING REPORT UPTA QUASPER UNTEMOL SENATQUE ET QUID FACTOD CATORATUS CON SILIUM

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1 IAETILLAT AUCOENTISTUM HOSTRIDEMO THE INFLUENCER VERNAMUS ELESTRUM MARKETING REPORT A STUDY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TRENDS, INSIGHTS AND EMERGING PRACTICES IN INFLUENCER MARKETING UPTA QUASPER UNTEMOL SPERITREM IAM NON TAS SENATQUE ET QUID FACTOD CATORATUS CON SILIUM

2 The influencer marketing industry has experienced exponential growth over the course of the last decade and shows no signs of slowing. In fact, new reports find that this year alone 39% of marketers plan to increase their IM budgets. Nevertheless, there is still much more to learn as the space continues to mature. In June 2018, we partnered with YouGov to survey more than 1,100 U.S. adults (representative sample of U.S. adults 18+) to explore the role of influencer marketing in driving purchasing decisions, the difference between celebrities and influencers, how engagement varies by social channel, and more. I am excited to share a digest of the results of the survey in this report and would like to thank the YouGov team for their work in compiling the study. Toby Daniels Founder & Executive Director Social Media Week 2.

3 1Word of mouth drives the most consideration, but half of U.S. adults have purchased a product based on influencer content Word of mouth marketing is the most influential marketing channel when it comes to product and brand consideration. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults cited a friend's recommendation as most influential, with 18-to-34 year-olds more likely to say peer recommendations influence (49% vs. 39% for adults 34+). That said, nearly half of U.S. adults (48%) say they have purchased a product after learning about it via an online influencer. Women are more likely than men to say influencers inspire their future purchases (52% of women vs. 44% of men). Only 6 percent of respondents said influencer endorsements were the number one factor when it comes to their purchase decisions. Younger consumers (18-to-34 year-olds) were slightly less likely to cite traditional advertising than older demos (17% vs. 21% of the total). 3.

4 2There s a difference between celebrity and influencer The definition of influencer is evolving and lines are blurring between influencers and traditional celebrities. When asked if there is a difference between the two, U.S. adults were split: 57% said yes, 24% said no. Meanwhile, 18% reported that they were undecided. This trend was further reflected by a survey conducted for Variety by celebrity brand strategist Jeetendr Sehdev, which found that the five most influential figures among U.S. teens aged 13 to age were YouTubers, not mainstream celebs. Sehdev asked 1,500 respondents a variety of questions about the personalities that focused on themes of approachability, authenticity, and other umbrella characteristics comprising their overall influence. 4

5 3Influencer engagements vary by social channel and age group One-third of respondents overall said they follow influencers on Facebook, but behavior across other major social platforms varied by demographic: 18-to- 34 year-olds were more likely to follow influencers on Instagram (34% vs 17% of and 4% of 55+); YouTube (39% vs. 23% of and 10% of 55+), and Snapchat (13% vs. 7% of and 3% of 55+). Within these channels, 44% of U.S. adults say they are spending at least one hour with influencer content per day. In fact, 16% of adults reported spending three or more hours per day with content created by online influencers. 5

6 4U.S. adults are well educated when it comes to how influencers are compensated by brands; authenticity is key to maintaining an audience Most consumers are aware of the influencer-sponsorship model: 56% believe that influencers endorse a brand because they are getting paid to do so; on the contrary, 29% of adults believe that influencers endorse contents because they actually like the brand or product. Nearly one-third of respondents say they have unfollowed an influencer because of a product or brand they have endorsed. 6

7 MARKETER TAKEAWAYS 7.

8 1Influencers are a major factor when it comes to inspiring purchase decisions, which comes to no surprise seeing how rapidly the influencer marketing landscape has grown over the past few years alone. 8

9 2Younger generations of consumers view influencers as celebrities, with the two groups conflating. As digital culture becomes more and more central to mainstream culture, this evolution will only continue. In order to stay abreast of the movement and evolving definitions, the FTC is redefining its endorsement policies around influencer marketing and word of mouth that contain updated regulations around disclosure of sponsorship deals. 9

10 3Facebook is the most common platform for following influencers; in fact, Facebook is building its own internal CMS for finding and partnering with influencers. That said, video platforms like Instagram (owned by Facebook), YouTube, and Snapchat are more popular among younger generations of consumers. 10

11 4Given the number of adults who have unfollowed an influencer due to a brand partnership, authenticity is critical for forging these types of partnerships. Brands and creators should ensure their values line up before entering an agreement. 11

12 Many thanks to those who took part in the survey. If you have specific questions or would like to learn more about forthcoming research reports, please Social Media Week (SMW) is one of the world s premier conferences and industry news platforms for professionals in media, marketing and technology. For the purposes of this report, SMW partnered with YouGov, an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.