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Consumers are losing trust in traditional marketing and prefer to seek their own credible sources when making buying decisions. Because of a major disconnect between marketers and consumers, brands must change their spending priorities in order to successfully market their products.
That’s the conclusion of a new research from Experticity, which connects brands to influencers. Main findings from the research are:
• An overwhelming majority of marketers (83 percent) believe that traditional advertising is the most effective means of influencing buying decisions. However, advertising is almost the least trusted source, according to consumers. Only 47 percent say they trust brand advertising.
• The majority of marketers (82 percent) believe social media is extremely or somewhat effective in influencing buyer decisions, yet only 49 percent of consumers report that they trust brand social media campaigns.
• Most consumers rank family or friends (72 percent), online reviews (72 percent) and third-party experts (61 percent) as their top trusted sources when making a buying decision.
The study findings suggest that brands would be more successful if they invested less in advertising and put more muscle behind content marketing and public relations.
Marketers Undervalue People
“Consumers clearly value interactions with credible, trustworthy people much more than traditional advertisements,” said Tom Stockham, CEO of Experticity, in a press release. “Across the board, marketers are overvaluing traditional advertising and not placing nearly enough emphasis on actual people — who, it turns out, are what actually impact consumers most.”
According to the research, marketers are overconfident in the advertising tactics they think will resonate with consumers. Most marketers (between 78-86 percent) report their company is somewhat to extremely skilled in every marketing tactic listed in the survey. Their confidence and priorities do not line up with what consumers respond to, showing marketers may not understand what really impacts buying decisions.
Recommendations for Marketers
Experticity recommends that marketers:
- Map their customer’s buying journey and determine whose opinion their customers value,
- Identify everyday experts and influencers, and
- Provide them information and product access.
Solution to the Disconnect
The research indicates that companies can better reach consumers by emphasizing influencer marketing and public relations. Most consumers (75 percent) see positive articles and quality online reviews as possibly increasing their chances of purchasing a product. That was higher than everything except first-hand recommendations. In addition, most consumers (62%) find articles and news sources somewhat or extremely helpful when completing purchase decisions.
Other research has uncovered consumers’ lack of trust in advertising and highlighted the benefits influencer marketing. A study from Burst Media (Now RhythmOne) found that influencer marketing results varies across industries. Companies in the packaged food industry attained outstanding results because mothers, the key audience, are highly connected on social media.
“Influencer marketing is all about leveraging the power of community and like-minded people,” the concluded. “To that end, the tighter an audience is defined and the more focused the influencers are, the better the results will likely be. Influencer marketing is not for reaching the masses. It’s for reaching your brand advocates and then getting consumer-generated content to do the work for you.”
Bottom Line: Although marketers believe traditional advertising is effective, consumer surveys reveal that most consumers don’t trust advertising or brands’ social media marketing. Instead, online reviews, third-party experts and positive media mentions are more likely to influence their purchase decisions. Brands that pursue earned media mentions and influencer marketing are more likely to build consumer trust and successfully market their products.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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