Authenticity in the age of social

Global Web Index have released another insightful social media report for 2018 and it’s jam packed with useful information for digital marketers.

Social provides the most important insights on the world of social media, from the very latest figures for social media engagement to the key trends within the social space and a comprehensive view of which social platforms are most popular. In particular the report focuses in on the power of recommendations which got us thinking… How can a brand stay authentic with it’s social messaging?

Brand discovery is where peer-to-peer recommendations on social media have the most impact – as much as 27% of Millennials cite this as a way of discovering new brands. Younger audiences tend to fall back on the #authenticity of content created by their peers with similar interests in their decision-making process.

Elsewhere, a fifth of internet users say that lots of “likes” or good comments on social media would increase their likelihood of purchasing a product, climbing to almost a quarter of Millennials and Gen Zers

Without a doubt, this provides great direction to brands which can tap into such content when building their ongoing marketing and content strategies.

We’ve previously talked about the need for digital marketers to consider influencer marketing for their campaigns. Every brand should by now know the concept of influencer marketing, but many don’t know why it’s so important. The figures above help provide data to back up the case.

The extent to which younger age groups value their peers’ opinion is shown in the GWI report: 4 in 10 Millennials and Gen Zers say they are easily swayed by other people’s opinion, but this figure drops sharply among Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Having an authentic voice will provide trust, underline your authority in a market and build stronger pathways to purchase with your customers. An authentic brand voice, that stays true to it’s potential and doesn’t react to a situation will provide your brand or start up the foundation it needs to grow and sustain a valuable social media community.

You can read the GWI report in full here.