Digital Quicksilver – How Marketers Can Harness the Power of Influence on Social Media to Drive Brand Affinity

By Rob McLoughlin, SVP Consumer Insights at Buzzmedia

Influence is a fluid social currency connecting those who possess knowledge or topical expertise and those that seek it. At Buzzmedia, we study these dynamics every day to provide insights into the complex relationships between brands, content and millennial consumers.

To that end, we partnered with NewStream Research on original research project to explore this important topic and are thrilled to present the results for the first time at Social Media Week today at 12 p.m. EST.

Here’s a preview of what we found:

+ Social media plays a critically important role in the dynamic relationship between brands, content and influencers. Seventy-six percent of millennials follow brands on social media and when seeking to obtain information about brands and products, social media influences four in ten millennials. Recommendations from friends and family are most influential, but recommendations from a perceived topic expert carry nearly equal weight in social media. Over 70 percent of millennials share items from brands and nearly 40 percent of millennials have had their view of a brand and site changed positively due to a mutual association. Branded content on social media is influential and helps drive positive and sometimes immediate action for brands. Influential content has driven over 82 percent of millennials to visit a brand website and over two-thirds of millennials have purchased, saved or shared something that they viewed as influential or interesting.

+ There exists a strong synergistic relationship between brands, online content and individual influencers. Each element adds logic and strength to one another in the consumer mindset. The combination of all three can help to reinforce the core values of the consumer, but it is a relationship that has preconditions and needs to be actively managed with care in order to truly be considered influential. Over 80 percent of millennials rank “trustworthiness,” “credibility” and “authenticity” as either the first, second or third most important element that impacts whether content, brands or people (influencers) are influential to them online.

+ Millennials consumers hold strong and definitive impressions about brands. These impressions are developed over time based on a mix of both online and offline experiences. Eighty-one percent of millennials view brands as a “measure of quality” and 77 percent consider brands to be “what distinguishes a product,” and therefore they are seen as “more than just companies.”  In order to build trust and foster credibility and authenticity, brands need to actively manage interactions to ensure that each exposure is constructive and fostering increased affinity and loyalty towards the brand.

+ Brand characteristics are incredibly important in creating influence among millennials. Brands that are viewed as “creative,” “innovative,” “compassionate” and “stylish” are key characteristics cited by millennials as helping to create and sustain influence. Female millennials in particular are slightly more likely to think that creativity is what makes a brand influential. Females are also more likely than men to consider “compassion” and “style” important brand characteristics for driving influence.

+ Brands can also drive influence via actions to connect with millennials and increase affinity. Millennial consumers see value in brands that provide “excellent customer service,” that create and share “humorous and engaging advertising” and “contributing to charitable causes.”  Additional actions that drive affinity include brands that “sponsor online content or events of consumer interest” and brands that “partner with companies that are perceived as cool or cutting edge.” Brands that execute these actions for consumers stand to reap significant rewards in terms of increased affinity and loyalty.

+ Millennials have strong opinions about the relationship between the type of information they seek online and the person they deem most credible at delivering that information. We asked millennials to rate four different types of influencers based on their credibility when delivering information on various product categories as well as their influence on a variety of brand dimensions. Across all product categories, topical expertise is most important for driving influence. Millennials feel that topic experts with broad fame and topic experts with contextual fame are most influential for sharing credible information across every product category.

+ Brands, content and influencers live a complex and ever changing ecosystem. In order to obtain, build and sustain influence and affinity with millennials, each must build a relationship that is based on a foundation of trust, credibility and authenticity. Influence is not an entity and therefore does not reside within one individual, site or brand. Influence is a process – and every piece of the process needs to be managed properly to have an impact.

Our presentation will be Livestreamed from 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST today. Please join us to learn more. 

IAB Names Buzzmedia As A Presenting Partner For The 2013 Digital Content NewFronts

Buzzmedia is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to participate in the second annual Digital Content NewFronts and will host a special invitation-only event on Friday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

The Digital Content NewFronts is a weeklong series of presentations from digital content powerhouses like Buzzmedia which will offer marketing and ad agency execs a look at the latest opportunities available for brands to expand their consumer reach on digital platforms. In addition to the six founding media partners (AOL, Digitas, Google, Hulu, Microsoft Advertising and Yahoo!), those on the slate to showcase original programming include Alloy Digital, Blip, Buzzmedia, CBS Interactive, Condé Nast Entertainment, Crackle at Sony Pictures Television, Digital Broadcasting Group, Disney Interactive, VEVO, Wall Street Journal, The Weather Company and Zynga.

We’re hard at work on making sure our NewFronts event will be an unforgettable experience and will be revealing details very soon. If you’re a brand, agency or member of the press and would like to register your interest in our NewFronts event, please email press@buzz-media.com.

To learn more about the Digital Content NewFronts, please visit here.

Celebuzz, AT&T and Michael Voltaggio Give D.C. Family ‘A Gift Money Can’t Buy’

What did you get your mom for the holidays? Thanks to Buzzmedia’s Celebuzz, AT&T and Celebrity Chef Michael Voltaggio, one lucky daughter was able to give their mother ‘A Gift Money Can’t Buy.’

As part of the special holiday campaign, which celebrated the gift of giving, Bravo’s Top Chef season six winner Michael Voltaggio treated Washington D.C.’s Morgan Sykes, her mother, Shireen Dodson, Morgan’s grandmother and another close friend of Morgan’s mother, to a post-holiday, personally prepared four-course feast at Dodson’s D.C. area home this past Saturday.

“The holidays often become more about giving gifts you can’t afford than giving something meaningful,” said Michael Voltaggio. “Thanks to Buzzmedia, Celebuzz and AT&T, I was happy to be able to able to give something that puts the focus back on the important things: family and food. There’s nothing that gives me greater pleasure than sharing my love of cooking.”

Sykes was chosen as the lucky winner from thousands of entries, and proclaimed that the dinner was one she’ll never forget. “I think this is by far the best gift I’ve ever given my mother. She is definitely a self-proclaimed foodie with years of food experience to back it up,” said Sykes. “I will venture out on a limb and say that hopefully I have provided her one of the best meals she has ever had, especially considering that it was not only cooked in the comfort of her own home. Thank you so much to Celebuzz and AT&T for providing this wonderful experience and allowing us to all come together and have a delicious meal with chef Voltaggio.”

Was there a better Christmas gift that a mother could ever receive? When asked, Dodson couldn’t think of one.

“This was a one in a million, experience of a lifetime, and I love my daughter Morgan for giving this to me as a Christmas present. You could not ask for a better Christmas present than an amazing dinner at your own home with a chef like Michael Voltaggio,” said Dodson. “Every course was unique and interesting — I wish I could keep him as my personal chef.”

Check out Celebuzz’s slideshow on the evening here.

BUZZMEDIA PUBLISHER SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Socialitelife.com’s publisher: Michael Preive

When was Socialite Life founded and what was the inspiration behind the site?
I founded Socialite Life back in August of 2003. I have always been a huge fan of pop culture and celebrity gossip. At the time I was working as a business banker for Citibank, and while I had been in banking for a number of years, I was beginning to get bored. So I decided to launch a celebrity/pop culture blog. So every night, once I got home from work, I’d post my opinions about celebrities and pop culture from a “socialite’s” point of view on SocialiteLife.com.

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