Study: Sponsored Content Ups Authenticity

Sponsored Posts “Authentic” To Social Shoppers
Sponsored Posts “Authentic” To Social Shoppers

Influencer Marketing Helping Brands Engage

A new report out from Best SEO Companies may have more brands and merchants considering the benefits of influencer marketing campaigns. That, because 2 in 5 Gen Zers they surveyed said sponsored content makes the social space ”feel more authentic” and that more than one-third (35%) are more likely to make a purchase because of sponsored content versus targeted ads.

And, with the Gen Z generation dwarfing Millennials and Gen X, it makes sense to cater to these tastes.

Breaking Down Social Sentiment

Of course, different social networks deliver different experiences to consumers, and so it makes sense to deliver what is expected at each stop on the social highway. Most sponsored content is not accompanied by the ”#ad” hashtag. Researchers looked at consumer sentiment for the different social networks where that hashtag was used.

On YouTube about one-third of people found posts with the hashtage relatable, authentic and entertaining. Similar findings were uncovered for posts without the hashtag, although 40% of people found posts without #ad relatable (vs. 35% with the hashtag).

Similar findings on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: about one-third of people found posts with the #adhashtag relatable, authentic, and entertaining. About the same amount found posts without the hashtag relatable, authentic, and entertaining.

Consumers’ Social Spending Expected To Rise

Over the course of 2022, experts believe consumer spending within the various social networks will increase, making it important for brands in the space to offer the right content and with the right messaging. Social shoppers are expected to drop about $153 on products purchased on Instagram through the end of the year and at least $143 on TikTok during the same time frame.

More findings from the report can be accessed here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.