Imagine biting into a slice of cake from your favorite bakery. You expect that familiar burst of flavor, but instead, you’re met with staleness. In an instant, your trust wavers. This scenario mirrors what happens when influencer recommendations fall flat—consumer trust can crumble just as quickly.
In influencer marketing, authenticity is the secret ingredient that keeps your audience coming back for more. It’s no wonder that 57 percent of consumers find influencer content most credible when showcasing genuine, firsthand product experiences.
For marketers partnering with influencers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. How do you ensure your influencer collaborations maintain that fresh, authentic taste that consumers crave?
Let’s go over three proven strategies to create engaging influencer content that preserves trust while guiding consumers from initial interest to that coveted “add to cart” moment.
In this excerpt from The State of Influencer Marketing for Consumers in 2023, audiences reveal what feels most authentic in product reviews.
Key takeaways from this blog
- Allow influencers sufficient time to engage with products, leading to authentic content that 57% of consumers find most credible.
- Encourage product demonstrations and reviews, which reassure 35% of consumers about their purchase decisions.
- Offer substantial discounts or promotions after influencer exposure to drive conversions.
- Foster long-term partnerships with influencers to create more compelling and convincing content.
- Give influencers creative freedom to produce content that resonates with their audience, enhancing authenticity and effectiveness.
3 ways to turn influencer recommendations into purchases
Consumers are more informed than ever, performing product research and weighing their options before purchase.
Based on impact.com’s research, here’s what consumers say inspires them to go from interest to purchase:
- Generate product demonstrations and reviews.
- Offer discounts or promo codes.
- Recruit long-term partners to post about your brand multiple times.
#1 Generate product demonstrations and reviews
Influencers can reduce purchase risk for consumers by showing their first-hand experience with a product or service. After all, consumers need to trust what you’re selling (and see it in action) before purchasing.
Our research showed that product demonstrations and reviews play a crucial role in motivating consumers (35 percent) to follow through on influencer recommendations.
To foster authentic content, brands should let influencers create what resonates with their audience.
One influencer we interviewed added: “Don’t make me read scripts in my videos. This comes off as inauthentic, and it won’t resonate with my audience.”
Influencers need time to develop authentic recommendations
Some brands fall into the trap of asking influencers to post about a product immediately. To create an authentic experience that resonates with consumers, give your partners more time with your products before reviewing them. Influencers want to confidently stand behind your product before recommending it to their trusted audience.
YouTuber Matt D’Avella has nearly 3.9 million subscribers, and he often recommends books, productivity tools, and lifestyle products that align with his ethos. In one YouTube video, he recommends nine books that changed his life. In this instance, if a publisher sent him books to review, he’d need time to read each book and gather his thoughts before recommending it.
But this is just one example. Various industries can take a page out of this book: technology, beauty, and beyond. The more time an influencer invests in a product, the deeper their understanding becomes. This allows them to craft insightful reviews or demonstrations, instead of unboxings that offer little consumer value.
An influencer’s first-hand experience with a product, such as Matt D’Avella’s book reviews, inspires genuine interest in audiences and could boost book sales.
#2 Offer discounts or promo codes—who doesn’t love a deal?
Once consumers see your product—through demonstrations, reviews, or otherwise—a large discount or promotion will decrease the purchase risk and motivate them to take the final step.
Large discounts (30 percent) and promotions (29 percent) are the second and third biggest factors encouraging consumers to act on influencer recommendations, respectively.
Providing your partners with a unique promo code can help you track their leads. Plus, performance-based compensation motivates many influencers, so consider giving them a cut of sales in addition to a flat fee (read more on influencer compensation here).
An excerpt from The state of influencer marketing for consumers in 2023.
3 proven ways brands and creators align [+ how to stay on track]
Find out how influencers align with brands, and learn how to strengthen your partnerships in this blog.
Read here#3 Recruit long-term partners to post about your brand multiple times
For consumers, one-and-done posts are seen as transactional between the influencer and a brand—and ultimately, it feels disingenuous.
Brand promotion feels most authentic to consumers when an influencer posts about a brand several times (29 percent) or occasionally over a month or two (28 percent).
Posting multiple times ties into the importance of long-term partnerships. When an influencer partners with a brand for an extended period, the audience takes notice. Once they’re familiar with a brand’s product/service, influencers can test new ways to keep audiences engaged—especially for new product launches.
Another excerpt from The state of influencer marketing for consumers in 2023.
Mike Montgomery—AKA Modern Builds on YouTube—built an impressive following of nearly 1.8 million subscribers with his DIY videos. Mike consistently promotes Squarespace on his channel, offering a discount code and product walkthroughs in his videos.
DIY guru @modernbuilds has a long-term partnership with Squarespace, offering promo codes in his videos.
FAQs
Giving influencers more time to test products allows them to create genuine and credible recommendations. A reported 57 percent of consumers find it most authentic when an influencer shares a product experience. This authenticity builds trust with the audience and makes them more likely to purchase.
Product demonstrations and reviews significantly impact consumer purchasing decisions by reducing perceived risks. According to research, 35 percent of consumers are encouraged by these factors to act on influencer recommendations. Consumers gain confidence in their purchase decisions by seeing a product in action and receiving detailed reviews.
Discounts and promotions play a crucial role in converting consumer interest into purchases. Once consumers are exposed to a product through influencer content, substantial discounts or promotions can decrease purchase risk and motivate them to buy. These incentives rank as the second and third biggest factors, with 30 percent and 29 percent of consumers, respectively, being influenced to act on influencer recommendations.
Offer customer value and come out on top
While impulse purchases are common among consumers, many want to reduce their purchase risk—and get the best value for money. Offering value to your customers will instill confidence when they’re ready to purchase.
Research shows that brand-influencer partnerships are most effective when they offer genuine product demonstrations, discounts or promo codes, and consistent posting.
Using the right technology will help you track conversions and nurture consumers along each stage of their journey. impact.com/creator offers a robust partnership platform covering influencer recruitment through campaign management and more.
Ready to learn more? Request a demo today.
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