3 out of 5 consumers likely to try products based on influencer recommendation: Report

Influencers act as a source of inspiration and medium to discover new products. INCA and Kantar's ‘Like, Share, Subscribe - The Market of Influencing’ report highlights that influencers enjoy higher trust as compared to celebrities.

INCA, GroupM’s influencer and content marketing solution unit along with Kantar, marketing data and analytics company, has unveiled the ‘Like, Share, Subscribe- The Market of Influencing’ Report. It tries to understand the role of influencers in impacting consumer habits and their influence on notable social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Moj, Snapchat, ShareChat, MX Takatak, Josh, Roposo, etc.

Kunal Sawant, Business Head, INCA India, GroupM said, “Influencers now play a significant role in shaping consumer behaviour. Influencers have been able to help brands increase their reach and encourage consideration among the consumers by using the platforms to share information. The report gives a better understanding of how marketing strategies are implemented because of the expansion of social media and the internet in India. The preferred platform for researching and discovering customer-inspiring reviews is Instagram. Influencers on YouTube would encourage product trials and lead to product discovery, whereas Facebook would be a major factor in purchasing decisions.”

In India, consumers follow influencers to learn about new products and get information from them. Following influencers has shown an impact on people’s decision-making. Influencers have a reach of more than 1 in 4 people, and 3 in 5 consumers are likely to try a product after hearing about it from an influencer.

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According to the report, about 2 out of 5 consumers follow more than 5 influencers on social media and the average number of influencers followed is 7.5. The report also shows that Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are amongst the most popular platforms preferred by consumers to connect with influencers.

The top genres that male consumers generally follow are Sports, Fitness, Travel, and Tech whereas female consumers follow Food, Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty, and Diet. Instagram is the go-to source for any genre of influencers but is more profound for Fashion and Lifestyle genres. Food, Health and Wellness influencers are more likely to be followed on YouTube. Facebook influencers’ followership is driven by Lifestyle and Fashion genres.

Puneet Avasthi, Director- Specialist Businesses, Insights Division at Kantar said, “It is safe to say that influencer marketing is an effective method for consumers to obtain information about products and services and to take decisions to purchase. It has gained popularity on the back of the user generated content fuelled digital eco-system, which defines our times. Influencers are increasingly seen as a credible channel for brands to connect with their consumers, across multiple social media platforms. Kantar is thrilled to partner with GroupM’s INCA to bring out this insightful report. We hope that marketers will find this report to be very enlightening in improving their influencer marketing efforts.”