The global influencer market is worth $21.1 billion in 2023, with this number predicted to largely grow to $139 billion by 2030. These days, most brands use influencers to help market their products, making it the norm for consumers to expect to see this type of selling method. Today, 49% of consumers admit  they rely on influencers' recommendation when it comes to making a purchase. Consumers' interactions with influencers are always important to note because they give a key indication of the customer-approved ways of marketing. To give insight into the relationship between consumers and influencers, data-driven influencer marketing platform Traackr has released the 2023 US Influencer Marketing Impact Report. The study provides data from 1,000 Gen Z and millennial consumers who were surveyed about their social media usage, purchase behavior, and perceived impact from influencers across the past year. BeautyMatter breaks down the key information:

Consumers Still Prefer Legacy Social Platforms

In the past year, several new social media platforms have surfaced, promising to change how we consume and share on social media. Apps including BeReal and Threads have entered the market and captured the attention of many. However, the report shows that US consumers still focus on “legacy” platforms, including Instagram, X (previously Twitter), and YouTube. The most used platforms for posting content by age were:

All Consumers
1. Instagram
2. YouTube 
3. Facebook
4. TikTok
5. X

Millennials
1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. YouTube
4. TikTok
5. X

Gen Z
1. Instagram 
2. YouTube
3. TikTok
4. X
5. Snapchat

Different Social Media’s for Different Purposes

Consumers are now branching out with their app usage, choosing varying platforms to consume content and others to post their own personal content. The most used apps for consuming influencer content by age were:

All Consumers
1. YouTube
2. TikTok
3. Instagram
4. Facebook
5. X

Millennials
1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. TikTok
4. Instagram
5. X

Gen Z
1. YouTube
2. TikTok
3. Instagram
4. X
5. Snapchat

Top Content Choices

Video content reigns supreme across the types of posts consumers engage with on social media, with video-based apps topping the charts when it comes to the most used platforms. Seventy-five percent of consumers said their favorite type of content was short-form video (three minutes or less). The other top forms of content were:

1. Short-form video
2. Photos
3. Long videos
4. Livestreams
5. Text-based posts
6. Direct message
7. Private chat groups

Top Content Types

When asked which type of content made them interact with a post more, humorous and funny videos took the top spot. Millennials were 13% more likely to state comical content as their favorite form than Gen Z, and females were 19% more likely to name it as their top choice than males. Other popular content types were:

1. Comical
2. Product recommendations/deals
3. Advice/inspiration
4. Current events
5. Educational

Consistency Is Key

For many surveyed, consistency across social media is highly valued. Seventy-eight percent of all consumers agree that they use at least one social media to consistently connect with their family, friends, and community. Fivety-seven percent said they would trust a new social media platform if an influencer they know and trust constantly posted on it.

Top Platforms for Product Reviews and Information

The days of Google reigning supreme for product discovery are gone, with YouTube ranked number one for product research, yet Meta still dominates the social commerce space. The most used platforms for product reviews and information were:

1. YouTube
2. TikTok
3. Instagram
4. Facebook
5. Reddit

The Top Platforms for Social Commerce

1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. YouTube
4. TikTok
5. Pinterest

Top Products Likely to Be Purchased on Social Media

1. Fashion
2. Beauty and personal care
3. Home goods
4. Electronics
5. Food and beverages

Consumers Pay Attention to Product Quality and Brand Values

When making online purchases, all consumers ranked product quality as their number one priority. This was followed closely by good reviews, affordable price points, sustainability, and ethical sourcing. These priorities stayed consistent among all age groups and genders of consumers, with 60% of all consumers saying that they at least somewhat agree that they would not buy a product from a brand that conflicts with their values. On top of this, 63% of consumers would stop following an influencer or brand if they said or did something that did not align with their values. Consumers that identified themselves as female were 13% more likely to have this sentiment about influencers than their male counterparts.

Influencers Can Drive Purchases

Influencers hold a lot of power regarding consumers making purchase decisions. Sixty-one percent of consumers feel that influencers’ posts have some sway on their purchase decisions, with 53% stating that they look to influencers for product recommendations. As influencer marketing continues to evolve, 41% of consumers somewhat agree they would pay for monetized content, and 56% stated they would purchase influencer-owned products.

Conclusion

There now seems to be no set-in-stone platform, content type, or influencer that works for everyone. Different generations are swaying to different types of social media, with millennials spending the most time on Facebook, while Gen Z prefers apps like Instagram and Snapchat. However, as previously reported, there is an ongoing theme with consumers seeking out diversity, authentic partnerships, and trustworthy products and services, regardless of the platform they’re using. All in all, as long as brands and influencers consider the values of their target audience and work towards meeting these, influencer partnerships and social selling are both effective ways to market—with a range of opportunities to think outside the box and present a unique brand experience for all consumers.