Creators for Christmas??

I'm baaaaaaaack.

That's right folks, I've decided to bring the newsletter back to LinkedIn full-time! That means I'll be posting these issues every Wednesday, so you can keep doom-scrolling LinkedIn (what is happening to this platform?) without having to go to your email.

But if you're a good ol' fashioned email newsletter type of person, you can subscribe by clicking here.

Today, we're jumping into a report recently published by Mavely, which covers the role that influencers play in purchasing habits, specifically during the holiday seasons.?

Let's dive in.?

-Luke

I said it on LinkedIn the other day, and I’ll say it again: Using massive creators for your small brand is a waste of money. Now, talent managers for big creators got upset at me for sharing that thought, but I’ll stand firm in my opinion (and ignore passive-aggressive comments on social media because we’re literally adults???).

As both small and large influencers gain more traction, their impact on consumer behavior is massive, particularly during the holiday season.

Mavely recently just dropped a report after surveying over 1,000 U.S. consumers to explore how influencer recommendations shape shopping decisions, particularly around the holidays. Let’s dive into the details:

• 28% of consumers purchased a gift based on a recommendation from a creator or influencer in the past year.
• 52% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials made purchases based on influencer recommendations (something tells me this number goes up when expanding to a larger survey sample size).
• 34% of consumers trust gift recommendations from local or micro-influencers, rising to 58% for Gen Z and 45% for Millennials.
• GUYS… The above stat is why working with larger creators is a waste of money, especially as a smaller or localized brand. Utilizing the creators around you for easy, accessible, and affordable marketing will be the best decision you’ll make when it comes to optimized marketing. Not sure where to find local creators? Shoot me a DM and I’ll connect you with creators in your area through CreatorPad !
• Getting back to the stats, 56% of consumers buy holiday gifts promoted by influencers or creators.
• On the above stat (I have to say this because LinkedIn doesn't let me put sub-bullets? Pls fix LinkedIn ) over half of these consumers are impacted by the recommendations of local and micro-influencers, you should start to reconsider where you’re spending your marketing budget this quarter.
• 25% of consumers used gift guides to make decisions; this rises to 47% for Gen Z.
• On the above stat, I found this to be interesting because I thought those gift guides were just SEO farms. Turns out people actually read ‘em!
• 36% of consumers need to see a product promoted by a creator 2-3 times before considering purchase.
• This stat should give you a look into how often to work with creators, and if you need to work with a creator 2-3 times before getting a purchase from their audience, working with smaller, localized creators is a fantastic way to make the most out of your marketing budget.
• 23% of Gen Z need to see a product promoted 4-5 times before considering purchase.

We can boil this all down to consumers ?? creators.

With most consumers looking towards creators and influencers to guide their purchasing habits this holiday (especially younger generations), working with these creatives should be a no-brainer for your brand as we approach winter.

And if you missed it the first or second time it was mentioned, you should prioritize working with smaller and more localized creators rather than those folks with massive followings this holiday season.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s post. See you next week ??