How social media influencers are gaining trust

Posted on March 1, 2023 in Online Marketing

It seems that more and more consumers are more willing to trust social media influencers over individual brands. This seem especially true for the younger, consumer oriented generations. Social media, and the online communities that spring up, have become quite influential with regard to how many shoppers are choosing products and brands. Some recent research done by Oracle seems to reflect this shift. The following is taken directly from that published research:

  • 80 percent of consumers have purchased products in direct response to social media content
  • Only 13 percent discover new products or brands via traditional TV advertising
  • 98 percent find customer service interactions frustrating
  • 37 percent consumers trust social media influencers over brands; Gen Z and Millennials are two times more likely than Boomers to trust influencers.
  • 28 percent of consumers discover new products and brands through influencers. Gen Z are the most likely to discover products and brands this way (32 percent), compared to only 13 percent of Boomers.
  • Only 13 percent discover new products or brands via traditional TV advertising. Boomers are seven times more likely than Gen Z to discover new products and brands via traditional TV advertising.
  • 44 percent turn to social media ads and 13 percent turn to influencers to inform their purchasing decisions. 84 percent of Gen Z has purchased products in direct response to social media content, compared to only 46 percent of Boomers.

  • When it comes to following influencers, YouTube is the most popular channel with 21 percent of consumers following influencers on YouTube. Gen Z favors TikTok (25 percent), followed closely by YouTube (23 percent) and Instagram (22 percent), while Boomers favor Facebook (23 percent), YouTube (15 percent) and TikTok (5 percent).
  • 98 percent of consumers find customer service interactions frustrating and 15 percent would rather sit in traffic than engage with a brand’s customer service channels.
  • Only 18 percent of consumers want to pick up the phone and call customer service when they have questions. 26 percent of Boomers want to receive service this way, compared to only 14 percent of Gen Z.
  • When submitting a service inquiry to a brand, 31 percent of consumers would prefer to comment on a brand’s social media page and 24 percent would prefer to direct message a brand on social media. Gen Z is two times more likely than Boomers to want to receive customer service in this way.
  • 93 percent of consumers turn to social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok to get questions answered and get the most out of a product or service. 95 percent of Gen Z use online communities in this way compared to 79 percent of Boomers.
  • Consumers trust YouTube and TikTok videos because they are created by other consumers (20 percent), easily searchable (19 percent), illustrative (16 percent) and there are a plethora to choose from (14 percent).
  • “I rebuilt my car during the pandemic all by watching YouTube videos. This is a testament to how empowered we all are to learn about anything we wish and at any time. And we do so by watching content made by people with similar interests,” said Jeff Wartgow, vice president, Oracle. “The powerful dynamic between user generated content and today’s social platforms is an opportunity for brands to reimagine experiences as younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z, increasingly have more buying power.”

-Written by Kevin Sawyer