Dan Alaimo
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the monthly e-zine, CPGmatters.
According to research from Inmar, 83 percent of shoppers are more likely to buy products recommended by friends or social network influencers.
“Influencer marketing presents a tremendous opportunity to bolster traditional marketing initiatives to drive activation and begin building a brand’s relationship with the shopper,” said Brooke Smith, senior director, brand solutions at Inmar, in a recent webinar.
According to Inmar’s findings:
- Seventy-one percent of shoppers say they are more likely to purchase a product after a social media recommendation;
- Seventy-four percent use social media to make purchase decisions;
- Sixty-one percent have made a purchase based on a blog post.
One of the most essential aspects of influencer marketing is understanding the relationship between the influencer and the follower, notes Dave Momsen, SVP, business development, Collective Bias, an Inmar company. “These relationships are grounded in trust. In order to keep these relationships intact, content must be authentic and relevant.”
Beyond the customization of content, “the channels where you are delivering content have to cater to your target shopper,” Ms. Smith said. For example, Millennials come in contact with nearly twice as many media touch points as their older demographic groups.
One step in trying to reach them is to learn what media touch points they are intersecting with, she notes. Another step is to know what the net influence of those touch points really are, because messages are not created equal.
“Understanding the net influence becomes really key. Equipped with that data, we are empowered to make sound decisions, not only about what content to deploy, but where exactly to place it and how shoppers are likely to respond to it,” Ms. Smith said.
