NEW YORK–(Business Wire)–Social influencers increasingly have greater impact on consumer brand
awareness and purchase considerations, as 31 percent of consumers across
the U.S. and Europe said they have purchased a product or service based
on a social influencer post. This finding came from the new “Psychology
of Following” survey, commissioned by Olapic and conducted by CITE
Research. The survey polled 4,000 active social media consumers ages
16-61, across the U.S., U.K., France and Germany, to better understand
the psychology behind why consumers follow, listen to and trust social
media influencers and how they act on those recommendations.

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“Through our extensive work with brands, we’ve found that influencer
content is most resonant and powerful when influencers apply their own
expertise, style and creativity – without heavy brand influence,” said
Pau Sabria, co-founder, Olapic. “Brands understand social influencers
are essential to helping build brand equity, engagement and sales. And,
consumers are more astute when they are marketed to – both directly and
indirectly by the brand – which is why it’s no surprise that this study
found that authenticity is the single-most important factor to
‘following’ an influencer.”

Results of the “Psychology of Following” study uncovered a variety of
interesting insights around following behavior, important attributes of
an influencer and preferred platforms.

Definition and Behaviors of an Influencer

When asked to define what qualifies as a social influencer:

• 53 percent of total respondents said it’s someone who has more than
  10,000 followers;
  • German respondents had a higher threshold, with 34 percent of
    respondents suggesting an influencer has 50,000 or more followers.
• 42 percent said it is someone brands engage to help promote their
  products and services; and
• Only 21 percent classified these influencers as someone “famous.”

When asked to describe how the behavior of influencers is different from
that of average social media users:

• 42 percent of respondents said influencers share more information;
• 39 percent said they have higher quality posts; and
• 31 percent said they use more ads in their posts.

Authenticity or Bust

Authenticity is the most important factor when it comes to following
influencers and trusting their endorsements.

• 43 percent of respondents said authenticity was the top reason to
  “trust” an influencer;
• 39 percent said it was important for the influencer to show any
  “endorsed” product in use; and
• 39 percent said the expertise of the influencer would make them trust
  the endorsement.

Content and Platform Preferences

According to the survey, Images and video content are the most preferred
types of influencer content while Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were
the most favored platforms for following influencers.

• 33 percent of respondents said videos with sound in their feeds (as
  opposed to stories) is their favorite type of content;
• 25 percent of respondents said still images in their feeds was their
  preferred content;
  • However, 35 percent of 19-24 year-olds listed still images in a
    feed as their preferred content.
• Followers primarily turn to visual platforms like Instagram and
  Snapchat to find influencers in Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle.
  • Within the Beauty segment, followers placed the highest importance
    on the aesthetic of visuals (25 percent) and informative content
    (22 percent) as to why they follow influencers in this market;
  • 27 percent of followers said they wanted to be “inspired” by the
    content that Fashion influencers post; and
  • Lifestyle segment followers said that inspirational content (24
    percent) and authenticity of content (23 percent) were the most
    important factors in determining influencers within this market.

Taking Action Based on Influencer Content

Social influencers are increasingly prompting consumers to consider
purchasing a product or service, particularly in the U.S. and U.K.

• 44 percent of all respondents said they have considered purchasing a
  product or service based on a social influencer post;
• 31 percent said they have already purchased a product or service based
  on an influencer post; and
• 24 percent said they have recommended a product or service based on an
  influencer post.

For information about Olapic, or to request more information or view an
infographic about the “Psychology of Following” report, visit: www.olapic.com.

About Olapic

Olapic is an innovator in visual content solutions for user-generated,
influencer-generated, and brand-generated visual content. Through a
unique combination of technology, content, and expertise, Olapic enables
brands to generate, curate, enhance, and distribute authentic,
brand-relevant visual content across the entire customer journey driving
brand engagement and performance, at scale, for hundreds of the world’s
top brands. An official member of Facebook Marketing Partner program,
Instagram Partner program and Pinterest Partners, Olapic is
headquartered in New York City with offices in Berlin, Córdoba, Hong
Kong, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. For more information on
Olapic, visit www.olapic.com.
Olapic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monotype Imaging Holdings, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TYPE).

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Monotype
Andy Rodger
andy.rodger@monotype.com