With media spend on the global influencer market expected to approach $6 billion in 2024, a new research report released by Snapchat and MAGNA Media Trials has revealed how content creators and brand-sponsored content could push the industry even further.
The robust study called “Unleashing Influence: A Marketer’s Guide to Influencer Success” explored users’ perceptions and preferences across five countries, including Australia, France, Saudi Arabia (KSA), The United States of America (USA), and the United Kingdom (UK).
The inclusive group of study participants, from different generations and diverse demographics, shared thoughts on positive influencer traits and how they feel about brands sponsoring influencer content on social media.
“Australian social media users are increasingly drawn to and engaging with product-related content, whether it be tutorials or product reviews, when consuming content on social platforms. This makes the influencer market a very attractive proposition for brands. However, rules of influencer engagement are important to ensure brands align themselves with positive user experiences. This research explored influencer qualities that are preferred by Australians to help establish a set of criteria brands should seek when selecting influencers to work alongside,” said Hannah Rook, head of intelligence and insights at Magna Australia.
Honesty was the #1 trait (67 per cent) that brands could seek from influencers to drive engagement in brand-sponsored content, more than creativity (47 per cent) and charisma (38 per cent). Creators who routinely shared personal experiences (58 per cent) and engaged with their audience’s comments (56 per cent) fared well in being perceived as honest and authentic. Transparency went together with trust across countries. Brand-sponsored content should be clearly identified as such, especially if you are in Australia, where 92 per cent of research participants ranked this as very to somewhat important. Moreover, transparency about sponsorship increased the likelihood of brand engagement (+63 per cent).
“Overall, this natural alignment made the content and influencer come across as trustworthy and authentic, which led to positive outcomes for the brand, including +51 per cent interest in researching the brand and +49 per cent product purchase intent.” Australians were in support of brand participation in social content, with research showing Australians,” Rook said.
Australians were highly receptive to brand-sponsored influencer content, with an average of 88 per cent receptiveness, and this was true for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X participants, all of whom were over 80 per cent receptive. A further 61 per cent agree they were primarily on social media to follow influencers (61 per cent).
“Snapchat has always been different to traditional social media – it’s where 8 million Australians come to express themselves authentically and connect with people they care about. For creators, Snapchat allows them to build real relationships with our community by showing a unique and more behind-the-scenes look at their lives,” said Tony Keusgen, managing director, Snap Inc. Australia and New Zealand. “The power of genuine connections creates a positive environment for advertisers on Snapchat”.
In the USA an additional content viewing experience was shown to participants on a platform that they regularly use. This line of inquiry presented insights on aligning purpose and platform to get the most out of brand-sponsored content partnerships with influencers. Of the users who were on Snapchat, on average, 57 per cent used the platform to keep tabs on their favourite creators’ daily lives. They divulged that Snapchat creators “felt like a friend” (55 per cent), which dovetailed with the data on how users engaged with Snapchat as compared to other platforms (nearly 60 per cent use Snapchat to connect with friends and family).
Additional Key Takeaways:
- Brand marketers can build trust by working with authentic influencers who create connections with their audience through effective behaviors such as talking about their mistakes and lessons learned (60 per cent), providing evidence and facts about their topics (58 per cent), and openly sharing their real lives, not just curated lifestyles (57 per cent).
- Transparency is a must for brand/influencer partnerships. Customising content disclosures for the audience goes a long way – Australians preferring voiceovers (26 per cent) followed closely by hashtags (25 per cent)
- Different platforms serve different purposes, from building community to exploring interests, and brands could better connect with target audiences by strategically aligning their products and brand-sponsored influencer content with their preferred platform.
- Marketers can position influencers as trusted partners for audiences in their brand decision-making journey. This can be amplified on platforms like Snapchat, where brands can leverage users’ attraction to personal connections.
