Influencers in the Crosshairs! [STUDY]

You would be hard-pressed to find an influencer among trusted professions – this is according to a study* commissioned by LoveBrands Group, an agency specializing in brand image management, and conducted by the research institute SW Research. Influential online creators, who make money from advertising products and services for various brands thanks to their reach, shamefully close out the race with a score of 16%. Ahead of them were: civil servants (30%), construction workers (36%), and even politicians (19%)! Who do we trust the most? Firefighters! Between them and influencers, there is a chasm of 65 percentage points.

Analyzing the study results, one can notice an increasing level of trust in online creators as the age of the content recipient increases: up to 24 years old – 16%, 25-34 years old – 24%, 35-49 years old – 27%; over 50 years old – 33%.

Comparing this data, we can posit that the older the internet user, the greater their trust in the content they consume. A puzzling change year-over-year (2022 vs. 2021) is the decline in trust toward influencers in the 25-34 age group by 4 percentage points – comments the research Zuzanna Bieńko, Head of Brand & Influencer Marketing at LoveBrands Group.

TOP 5 sins of influencers

What are the reasons for such a low level of trust among Polish society toward online creators? Among those most frequently mentioned by respondents were: exaggerated or pushy product presentation (41%), controversial and vulgar material (35%), as well as overly long and drawn-out post content (33%). Also strongly highlighted were the excessive frequency of sponsored content (27%) and its unprofessional aesthetics (19%).

The research shows that we will give a wider berth not to the influencer who was part of a media scandal, but to the person with intrusive ads, whose advertising collaborations overshadow the original message of the channel – explains Zuzanna Bieńko.

Caught on the hook of attractive content

Despite all this criticism, we still observe online creators, brands establish collaborations with them, and influencers themselves are doing quite well and do not intend to furl their professional sails. So what makes an online creator capture our attention and time? The primary factor increasing reach is interesting and inspiring content (46%).

For women, interesting and inspiring content is primarily that concerning changing habits, ways of thinking, or time organization, while for men it is content through which they discover new possibilities and applications of already known products – says Zuzanna Bieńko.

How to build trust in influencers?

Comparing the attitudes of both genders toward influencers, they would live somewhat better on Mars, as they enjoy greater trust among men than among women (18% vs. 14%). Regardless of gender, in influencers we also seek what pleases the eye, namely the aesthetic qualities of published photos and videos (38%), as well as real savings, i.e., promotional actions such as discount codes (31%).

Influencer vs. brand. Image transfer – who benefits from it more often?

3 out of 10 internet users began following a brand advertised by an influencer, while 2 out of 10 internet users began following an influencer after they established a collaboration with their favorite brand. Here we are dealing with an interesting phenomenon in marketing – the image transfer effect, i.e., the transfer of values associated with a brand or a person who has gained recognition from an audience group to other organizations or figures.

We see this effect here in both directions, however, it is brands that, thanks to collaborations with online creators, expand their reach to a greater extent – says Dorota Bieniek-Kaska, President of the Management Board & CEO at LoveBrands Group.

How do we follow online creators?

As many as 46% of internet users follow influencers. The conducted research shows that 26% of them are active followers – they not only browse content but also rate, comment, and send messages, while 74% responded that they usually only browse online content – this is the group of passive followers. Nearly 3/4 of surveyed internet users who follow creators on the global web remain passive in their interaction with the influencer or the content they present. There is therefore considerable room for action and activating one's audience – comments Zuzanna Bieńko. And she adds: Referring to the previously presented results, good advice for influencers is primarily to care about the quality and aesthetics of the content presented, as well as to present the brands with which they have established collaborations in a non-intrusive and unconventional way.

*The study was carried out on May 2-4, 2022, using the CAWI technique on a representative sample of n=1026 adult Poles.