More and more companies – from household brand names to your local restaurant – are integrating social media influencers into their marketing stack. Interest in influencer marketing is growing exponentially, with ad spend expected to reach between $5 billion and $10 billion in 2022, according to a report from Business Insider Intelligence.
However, it can be difficult to evaluate whether a social media influencer is right for your brand. In a recent survey we conducted, we found that relying solely on follower count can lead a brand astray. In fact, our survey found that although micro-influencers may have a smaller fan-base, they deliver big results when it comes to impacting consumer decisions.
To be specific, 72% of people prefer these micro-level influencers, defined as social media users with less than 100,000 followers, over those influencers with larger followings. Other highlights from the survey include:
- 68% of respondents have made a purchase based on a post from a non-celebrity influencer
- Celebrities here are defined as TV and movie stars, musicians, athletes, authors and politicians
- The majority (51%) of respondents’ favorite non-celebrity influencers had less than 30,000 followers, with 30% having less than 10,000 followers
What does this mean for brands utilizing influencer marketing?
Consumers prefer recommendations from people they trust.
“Third-party recommendations from those you trust – whether its family, friends or the person you want most to emulate on social media – are some of the biggest drivers of consumer purchases,” said Jessica Donelson, social media director at Uproar PR.
It’s much more important to evaluate a potential social media influencer partnership based on the relationship that influencer has with their followers. High engagement on their posts is a strong indicator that an influencer’s following is active and trusts their opinions. Other factors a social media firm may consider include how well the influencer’s brand aligns with your company values, budget and art direction preferences.
What should brands looking to use influencer marketing take away from this survey?
A huge following doesn’t always equate to massive sales. The most important consideration when choosing an influencer to partner with is the connection they have with their audience.
“Influencers with those relationships are the ones worth the marketing investment from a brand,” said Donelson.
This survey was recently put into perspective when Arii, a social media influencer with over 2 million followers on Instagram, couldn’t sell 252 items in 13 days. Adweek utilized Uproar’s expertise on how this could have happened in an article about the influencer.
Other coverage this survey has received include an article in PR Daily and Bulldog Reporter.
Do you have more questions? Our social media team is ready to answer them! Reach out to us on our contact page.
