THE INFLUENCER REPORT Engaging Gen Z and Millennials An in-depth guide to how younger Americans interact with the new class of cultural tastemakers TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 The Influencer Market 3 Influencers and Brands How much influence do How brands can engage with influencers have over influencers and the platforms young Americans and why to engage on. they follow them. 4 Being an Influencer 5 The Top Influencers The degree to which young Who are the most influential Americans want to be influencers and what young influencers and why. Americans think about them. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 2 INTRODUCTION Influencers have become a central part of social media for young Americans, and social media is an increasingly central driver of consumer decisions. Nearly three quarters of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media, and a majority say social media is where they most often learn about new products they’re interested in. Because of this, influencers provide brands with a key opportunity to reach young Americans – so long as they adequately understand how and where to engage them. Based on over 2,000 survey interviews with 13-38 year-olds, this report will explore the scale and nature of influencer engagement. We look at where young Americans follow influencers, who they like to follow, why they follow, how much trust they have in influencers, and how much interest they have in becoming influencers themselves. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 3 Most Gen Z and Millennials follow Authenticity is the key trait people want 1 influencers, and teenagers are more likely 4 to see in influencers they follow: 88% say to follow many: 72 percent say they follow it’s important for influencers to be authentic at least some influencers. and genuinely care about their interests. For Gen Z, top YouTube influencers are The potential micro-influencer market is 2 as popular as major celebrities: As many 5 massive: Young Americans of all stripes are Gen Z men know gaming YouTuber willing to post sponsored content, and a PewDiePie as Lebron James. And majority of them are likely to organically post PewDiePie is more well-liked. about brands they like. And influencers are more trusted as 3 spokespeople than celebrities: 50 percent FIVETAKEAWAYSKEY of Millennials trust influencers they follow on product recommendations, compared to 38 percent for their favorite celebrities. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 4 BRAND INTELLIGENCE Morning Consult empowers marketing, communications and brand insights leaders to make data driven decisions around their brand: • Tracking over 3,000 brands in 12 countries everyday • Conducting over 10,000 interviews daily across over 100 demographic variables • Measuring industry and competitor benchmarks daily • Streaming over 100 million social media posts to aggregate social media, news, and economic data REQUEST A DEMO 2 THE INFLUENCER MARKET How much influence do influencers have over young Americans and why they follow them. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 6 THE INFLUENCER MARKET 72% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers, and teenagers are more likely to follow many Do you follow any people on social media who could be considered influencers? Yes, many Yes, some No, none at all All Gen Z and Millennials 23% 49% 27% Age: 13-16 30% 46% 24% Age: 17-21 26% 52% 22% Age: 22-26 22% 56% 22% Age: 27-31 24% 50% 27% Age: 32-38 15% 43% 43% THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 7 THE INFLUENCER MARKET Men prefer following gaming and sports influencers. Women prefer beauty and fashion. Do you follow any social media influencers who post regularly about the following? MEN WOMEN Gaming 62% Beauty / skin care 59% Fitness / sports 41% Fashion 49% Food 35% Food 47% Travel / lifestyle 27% Travel / lifestyle 40% Health / wellness 27% Health / wellness 40% Politics / social causes 24% Family / parenting 32% Fashion 23% Fitness / sports 30% Beauty / skin care 12% Gaming 26% Family / parenting 9% Politics / social causes 21% THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 8 THE INFLUENCER MARKET In their own words: Why young Americans follow influencers Respondents were asked an open-ended prompt: Why do you like to follow influencers? Inspiration and Voyeurism Learning about Interesting, fun content aspiration new trends "Seeing their successful “They are fun to watch “To stay trendy. I like to “They provide interesting content in lives inspires me to do and it’s close as I get to know what’s hot.” a more personal setting.” better in my own.” meet someone famous.” “I like to see the new “Usually they are very “They inspire me to be who “Honestly, I am a very beauty trends and what entertaining.” I am and they make me feel nosy person and like to works and doesn’t work. I “To learn about new and good about myself.” see what other people are like to make sure the interesting things they have to up to.” products I’m going to show, such as adventures and their “To get ideas on how to spend my hard earned “To see what they do with lifestyle.” start your own business or money on are worth it.” become an entrepreneur their lives and their wealth. “I follow social media influencers yourself.” It’s intriguing to follow “They are more in tune to because they produce content and their life.” the things that I like so I “They can make a big information in a very entertaining follow them to see the way.” positive change to society.” newest trends.” Some quotations are lightly edited for grammar or clarity. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 9 THE INFLUENCER MARKET Authenticity is the most important trait for influencers while ‘having a large following’ is less so When deciding whether to follow an influencer on social media, how important are the following? Very important Somewhat important They are authentic and genuinely care about their interests 58% 30% 12% They are funny or have engaging personalities 53% 35% 12% They are knowledgeable on something I care about 48% 37% 15% They are intelligent or thoughtful 44% 39% 17% They have interests that are similar to me 42% 41% 17% They have good taste, and I trust their recommendations 36% 42% 22% They have good style or have their own sense of style 33% 39% 28% They are personal and open about sharing things they're dealing with 33% 38% 29% They post beautiful images 20% 32% 48% They have a lifestyle that is more exciting or interesting than mine 17% 32% 51% They have a lifestyle that is similar to mine 16% 32% 52% They are physically attractive 10% 22% 68% Other people I know follow them 10% 21% 69% They have a large following 10% 19% 71% THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 10 3 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS How brands can engage with influencers and the platforms to engage on. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 11 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS Social media is a crucial driver of consumer decisions for young Americans 88% 56% 50% of Gen Z and Millennials have purchased a product say social media is where learn about products after seeing a post from they most often learn about they’re interested in someone they follow. new products to buy. buying on social media. 7% say they do this often, and 49% say they 20% say they most often learn about new do this sometimes. products from advertisements on social 24% say they learn about new products media, 12% from social media posts from often on social media, 46% say they do friends and family, 18% from influencers, 15% sometimes, and another 18% say rarely. from TV, 1% from newspapers or magazine, 3% from blogs, and 15% from word of mouth. Some quotations are lightly edited for grammar or clarity. THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 12 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS Nearly 1 in 4 Gen Z women say influencers are where they most often learn about new products to buy Where do you most often learn about new products you're interested in buying? Social media posts from influencers Advertisements on social media Social media posts from friends or family TV Newspapers or magazines Word of mouth Blogs Other Gen-Z Women 24% 23% 10% 7% 13% 3% 6% 14% Gen-Z Men 16% 24% 10% 12% 12% 8% 16% Millennial Women 20% 19% 15% 14% 15% 5% 4% 6% Millennial Men 12% 17% 12% 23% 17% 4% 9% 6% THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 13 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS Among men, YouTube is the most popular platform for following influencers. For women, it’s Instagram. What is your favorite site or platform for following influencers? GEN Z MEN GEN Z WOMEN MILLENNIAL MEN MILLENNIAL WOMEN YouTube 53% 43% 41% 40% Instagram 34% 42% 25% 27% Snapchat 5% 4% 19% 26% Twitter 3% 3% 7% 2% Facebook 1% 3% 4% 2% TikTok 1% 2% 2% 1% Twitch 0% 0% 1% 0% THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 14 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS 13-16 year-olds are as likely to use TikTok as Facebook and Twitter Each logo represents the share of that age group who say they use the platform YouTube Facebook Instagram Snapchat Twitter Twitch TikTok AGE: 13-16 17-21 22-26 27-31 32-38 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 THE INFLUENCER REPORT: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials 15 INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS Just 10% say they have “a lot” of trust in influencers’ product promotions, while 39% have some.