Millennials’ Preference for Authentic and Transparent Content Shakes up Global Influencer Marketing Industry, New Report Finds

The Majority of Consumers Express a Preference for Influencers Who Create Authentic, Engaging Content

The ‘Influencer Marketing 2020’ report, published by Influencer Intelligence in association with Econsultancy, found that for approximately 6 in 10 of the digital marketers surveyed, the purpose influencer marketing serves for their business has changed drastically in the last 12 months, with 56% claiming the younger generation of consumers is proving the biggest driver of change.

The report, which stems from a survey of 1,173 marketers and separately, 500 consumers, found that digital natives have come to more firmly reject the way that influencer marketing has been conducted in recent years, and are instead demanding higher levels of authenticity and relevance from the content they consume and brands they trust.

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Experts interviewed for this report stressed the need for due diligence in selecting an influencer to work with, to ensure they are not only a credible match for the brand and their audience, but also the campaign in question.

Contract terms are also changing to reflect the gradual rise in longer-term, organic and more meaningful partnerships that are being forged between brands and influencers.

The study found that micro-influencers, or those with less than 100,000 followers, continue to be in high demand. The matter of relatability and trust is what makes this segment more appealing with 61% of consumers surveyed saying they relate better to the content produced by micro influencers. Moreover, Industry experts agree unanimously (100%) with consumers on the importance of collaborating with influencers whose following is relevant to the brand. Three quarters of industry respondents say influencers should already be a fan of the brand, for example, to prove their relevance.

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Findings from the report underscore the shifting digital media landscape as social influencers and niche, emerging talent attach itself to the traditional celebrity endorsement space, not because of their fame or followers but purely for the influence they command online – changing the rules of engagement as we know it.

“Influencer marketing has evolved from a social media nice-to-have to a critical segment of the digital marketing mix in the short space of two years. Now the approach marketers take towards their influencer-led campaigns has to evolve with it too,” said Megan Falconer-Taylor, Director of Product at Influencer Intelligence. “The report findings are a wake-up call to marketers, proving that if influencer marketing is to sustain and deliver desired ROI, trust and authenticity needs to be established every step of the way, from influencer selection right through to campaign delivery.”

Other key findings include:

• 61% of consumers, aged 18 to 34, have at some point been swayed in their decision-making by digital influencers
• 100% of marketers agree that ‘relevance’ is the most sought-after attribute in influencers
• Confusion continues to plague disclosure guidelines
• More than half of brands are searching for influencers manually
• Proving the ROI of individual influencers is a big challenge for 84% of marketers

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