Most shoppers mistrust influencers, says survey – BBC News

December 29, 2018
|In Digital Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Growth Hacking
|By Nick Loggie

Most shoppers do not trust social media influencers, a survey has indicated.

In the research for BBC Radio 4, 82% of people who took part said it was not always clear when an influencer had been paid to promote a product.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has launched new guidelines to help influencers stick to the rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also looking at whether social media celebrities admit when they have been paid to promote a product.

The survey of more than 1,000 shoppers was carried out for Radio 4’s You and Yours by consumer analysts Savvy Marketing.

It found that 54% of 18-to-34-year-old beauty buyers were influenced by their suggestions.

Alastair Lockhart from Savvy Marketing said: “The shoppers of the UK are a knowledgeable lot and tend to be pretty wise when deciding how much to trust an influencer’s recommendations.

“However, we can see from the research that it’s not always clear and a lot of younger people in particular are influenced by their suggestions.”