Influencer Marketing is one of the most discussed topics lately and it’s time for you and your brand to take notice. Social media is no longer a luxury, but a staple in our social and professional lives. With this growing and disruptive phenomenon, the traditional ways of conducting business are out the window, as modern ways make their way in.
As the world shifted to social media, consumers began to look at fellow consumers to inform their purchasing decisions. The power no longer sits in the hands of the company, but in the hands of the individual behind their iphone, computer, or camera. Consumers are now looking at each other and their favorite personalities on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and other platforms for purchasing decisions. For these reasons, many believe influencer marketing to be the next big thing to advertising. And the best way to adapt is really…just to adapt. And we mean, FULLY adapt.
Here are the top 4 reasons why the value of influencer marketing shouldn’t be undervalued:
1) Consumers trust recommendations from influencers: In a research conducted by McKinsey, the team examined 20,000 Eurpoean consumers with purchase decisions across 30 product areas from over 100 brands. They found that social recommendations resulted in an average of 26% purchase across all 30 product categories. They also discovered that recommendations played a major role in influencing purchase decisions in all categories.
2) Social Media Continues to Grow at a Rapid Pace: No surprise here. According to Statista in 2016, 78% of U.S. Americans had a social network profile. Facebook took the lead with 1.55 billion monthly active users worldwide, Instagram at 400 million, Twitter at 320 million, and Snapchat at 200 million. Social media isn’t just an alternative to traditional media—it’s turning the traditional model on its head.
3) I Love Paid Ads…Said no one ever: We live in an ad-saturated world and every day, hour, minute, and second we are exposed to traditional ads. According to the 2015 Ad Blocking Report, analysts found that over 198 million people actively use ad-blocking around the world, and grew 41% in tjust 12 months. Clearly, traditional ads have dwindled as a trusted source by consumers. This means it’s time to move on to the marketing channels that consumers are listening to—influencers.
4) Competitors Are Competing: If you’re not sold on the phenomenon of influencer marketing, trust us…most others are and they are sailing away on their pretty little boat as we speak. Nearly 60% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2016.
