UGC Is B-I-G and so Is the Micro Influencer

Taye Marshall

In a blog titled “How Noise is Killing the Appeal of Traditional Marketing Strategies” we discussed why traditional forms of advertising media are failing:

• Brand generated ads threaten the intimacy of social sites.
• Consumer trust is being eroded contributing to paid advertising blindness.
• People simply do not like the intrusive nature of brand generated ads, so they ignore them.

It seems as though this “noise-induced attention deficit” is having a real impact on the large media companies. They are spending big coin on trying to figure out why paid advertising is failing and what the solution is.

UGC Generates Conversions

The folks over at AdNews recently did a study running a conventional TV commercial for a brand on Facebook. They then polled viewers on whether they were more likely to buy the product after viewing the ad; 25% of the viewers said they were more likely to do so. This speaks volumes to the trust people have for native content on social media platforms.

Hold on. In the same study they posted a user-generated video, created by a 14 year old, for the same product and those polled said they were 33% more likely to buy it after viewing the user-generated content (UGC).

Whoa Nellie! That is a 12% difference. That speaks volumes for the power of native UGC versus brand generated content on social media platforms. What is the difference? TRUST!

UGC = Trust

90% of consumers trust peer recommendations, when making purchases, and trust is on average is 22 times higher for UGC than brand generated, dropping down, in your face, get the hell off my screen, content.

So, agencies and brands are trying to figure out how to reach out to trusted millennial influencers to harness the power of UGC and get their message out. But, the question is whether paid UGC will have the same impact as unpaid UGC. Will millennial Insta-snap-twit-bookers trust content that comes from a paid source?

I believe they will, and here’s why. They already trust the source. They do. They have been following him and liking her, sharing his information and upvoting her photo, because a trusted connection has been made. If they were not interested in what the influencer had to say, or was wearing, then that influencer would not have 200,000 followers.

Smaller Circles = Bigger Influence

The smaller the circle, the more trusted the message. The person that uses social media as a tool to connect to friends and family and so has only built up a tribe of 600 or so loyal followers has value. We call these folks Micro Influencers®. By nature the information they share in their circles is authentic, trusted and has certain truthiness. The value of their influence will be heavier leading to higher conversion rates. In fact, 92% of consumers say they trust word of mouth and friends and family recommendations more than any other form of advertising.

If user-generated content in micro communities translates to a 92% trust rate, I want to be marketing in these circles. And, you should, too.

To find out more about Micro Influencers®, read this blog by Dean Thomas:5 Reasons Why Micro Influencers® Have a Better ROI

Previously Posted on www.blog.gnackapp.com