In spring, we studied Finns' attitudes towards social media and influencer marketing. Our goal was to gain a deeper understanding of consumer social media usage (under 18, 18-25, and over 25 years old, N=1703) and their relationship with different media and influencers. Here we reveal a few interesting findings from the study. You can download the full study here.
Although the number of commercial implementations in social media channels is increasing and brands' share of voice is decreasing, 43% of Finns still trust social media influencers' recommendations about products or services. 31% find a celebrity's recommendation supportive of their purchasing decision. The influencer relationship is thus still perceived as closer, and the influencer's word is trusted more than that of celebrities even in a commercial sense.
The era of uniform culture is over – social media and streaming service consumption accelerates media change
For the younger target group, the most important media channels were Snapchat (personal messaging channel), Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and streaming services. In the older age group, streaming services, Instagram, Spotify, and podcasts stand out. Entertainment and enjoyment are the primary reasons for consuming media, and humorous content remains memorable to consumers in both commercial and non-commercial content (61% of respondents).
The supply of content and media has become fragmented with abundant options for every schedule, life situation, and interest. Content is consumed at a time and place that suits each individual.
An interesting finding from the study was that although the younger generation is perceived as impatient consumers of fast social media content, it was precisely among young people (under 24 years old) that consumption of longer-lasting content, such as YouTube videos, stood out. More of these longer-form contents were also requested from content creators (80% of respondents). In the older age group (over 25 years old), faster-to-consume content, such as images, short videos, and text content, stood out instead.
Want to hear more about the study? Contact the Troot team business@troot.fi
