Below are the key findings –

How frequently are influencers sought out for their opinions?

• Micro-influencers have up to 22.2 times more “buying conversations” that include product recommendations each week than an average consumer.
• 87% of influencer recommendations happen face-to-face compared to 78% of general population recommendations.
• Influencers are more direct in their recommendations with 74% encouraging someone to “buy it or try it” compared to 66% of the general population who encouraged those actions in their recommendations.

The value of an influencer recommendation

• 82% of consumers are “highly likely” to follow a recommendation made by a micro-influencer, compared to 73% who are highly likely to act on a recommendation from an average person.
• 53% of influencers’ recommendations happen at work, compared to 19% of general population recommendations.
• 26% of the general population became aware of brands through friends & family while only 15% of influencers find brand information that way.

What drives influence?

• Individuals that received recommendations were also asked to help shed light on what made an influencer more impactful.
• 94% find an influencer’s recommendation more credible and believable.
• 94% also believe that influencers are very knowledgeable when it comes to their selected niche and the products they recommend.
• 92% of respondents feel that influencers are also better at explaining how products work.

The results show that micro-influencers are more valuable compared to the general population. While being passionate about or working in a particular category leads to an even higher impact than the average expert, the mere fact of being an expert leads to higher influence overall.