Influencer marketing on social media is a billion dollar industry, and for good reason. Brands that want to cultivate greater awareness pay celebrities, athletes, and social media influencers to post an #ad showing they use and love their products. While this certainly gets the brand’s name “out there,” there’s little doubt about its lack of authenticity. For example, Sofia Vergara — the highest paid television actress of 2017 — pitches Head & Shoulders shampoo for Procter & Gamble. Do consumers really believe that the actress who made more than $41M last year relies on an $8.00 bottle of shampoo to keep her locks looking luscious?
The unfortunate truth is: consumers see through it. They recognize the disingenuousness of it all, and they’re not likely to buy something just because their favorite actor, athlete, or mommy blogger told them to.
Before making a purchase, consumers don’t check the Instagrams of celebs, they ask experts. They go to retail stores, visit specialized websites, they even post in online forums looking for advice on what to buy because they believe, and we agree, that people who are reputable in their industry — coaches, sales associates, and professionals — have the knowledge to provide more credible product recommendations than the Kardashians. We surveyed 1,000+ of these experts to find out where, when, and how often they make brand and product recommendations in these online and offline conversations.
The responses were astounding. 83% of the respondents declare they make at least 6 product recommendations in an average week while 24% of respondents state they give more than 30 product recommendations to people looking for advice what to buy every week!
Let’s do a little math.
On average, each expert makes 11-20 recommendations per week (see chart below)
Multiply that by a million (number of experts in our network)
Then divide it by 7 (days in a week)
The result: our experts give between 1,571,428 and 2,857,142 product recommendations every day.
It boils down to this: people who are leaders in their industry have conversations where they share recommendations with consumers looking to make a purchase, not people just scrolling through Instagram. And because these experts know the ins and outs of the industry, they’re able to provide these consumers with more authentic, more personalized recommendations on which product would best suit their needs (another thing you can’t get from a celebrity).
So yes, advertising with social media influencers is a popular way for brands to create buzz about their products, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to conversion. If you want to turn browsers into buyers, you need to know about expert recommendation behavior, and how to get your brand in the conversation.
Check out our ebook to discover the factors experts consider important before making recommendations. After all, it’s the audience you should be paying attention to — they’re the ones helping consumers decide what to buy.
