Facebook, Kantar Research Shows How CPG Brands Can Benefit From Influencer Marketing

As some consumers stray from their go-to brands for the first time due to the pandemic, marketers have an incentive to switch their focus from product-centric messaging to messaging that focuses on the intangible benefits of their offerings. To help fulfill this new goal, brands are calling on influencers to craft authentic content that will generate a greater connection between the influencer’s audience and the brand they’re promoting. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers of beauty and beverage brands in particular have much to gain from influencer marketing. 

To understand how consumer insights can help CPG brands further their return on influencer marketing, Facebook has published the results of an online survey it commissioned Kantar to conduct among 15,003 consumers, ages 18 and over, in the US, the UK, Brazil, Germany and South Korea. Though the survey was fielded before the pandemic, the findings reveal why brands have good reason to embrace influencers in the age of COVID-19, as twice as many consumers say they prefer influencer advertising to traditional advertising. 

Kantar’s beauty, food and beverage research spans nine markets, but Facebook’s post primarily focuses on Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and the UK to explore the nuances of influencer marketing globally.

The data show that creators drive consumer purchase decisions. In fact, 60 percent of global consumers say they’d follow a brand/product/service on Instagram after seeing it promoted by a creator if the creator shares their values and interests. 

In addition, among US makeup shoppers ages 18–34, some 44 percent say influencers affect their purchase decisions, and 55 percent say they’re likely to buy a product based on a social media post

In Indonesia, the case is similar: Over a third of carbonated beverage shoppers there ages 18–34 say creators help them discover new products.

In the beauty and food industries, influencers are effective at showing consumers the function and quality of products.Three-quarters of global consumers say they would take a positive brand action if an influencer’s content has clear commercial intent. 

Another benefit of deploying transparent creator-brand partnerships is the influence it has on buying behavior. For example, three-quarters of global consumers say they would be likely to try a product or service being featured if they feel the creator shares their values and interests.

It’s also worth noting that many consumers use social media solely for the sake of interacting with their favorite influencers, as 68 percent of global Instagram users say they turn to the platform specifically to connect with creators.

Lastly, Kantar’s research shows that consumers are craving more content from CPG brands in food, beverage and beauty. In fact, 81 percent of US consumers ages 18–34 say they would like to see more food-related content in their Facebook and Instagram feeds.

“The one industry that we’ve seen turn to influencer marketing in the past six months is CPG [consumer packaged goods]. It’s not that CPG companies weren’t doing influencer marketing before, but it had been a sideshow. Now it’s become part of their core strategy. And we’re talking about companies and brands that write larger checks than anybody,” Pierre-Loïc Assayag, CEO and co-founder of Traackr, told eMarketer.

With these findings in mind, it’s critical that CPG brands strategically partner with influencers who can create authentic, relatable content that resonates with the brand’s target audience.