How Influencers Improve Content Marketing

New survey reveals that 86% of marketers use influencer marketing to fuel their content marketing strategies, 57% say it performs better than brand-created assets

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (PRWEB) APRIL 5, 2017 – Linqia, the first performance-based influencer marketing platform, today released the results of The Value of Influencer Content 2017, a survey designed to better understand how B2C marketers are using influencer marketing to fuel their content marketing strategies.

As influencer marketing enters the mainstream, marketers are exploring synergies between the two channels and are turning to influencers as a new, cost-effective source for content creation at scale. The survey found that 86% of marketers use influencer marketing as part of their content strategy, 88.5% of whom find influencer content to be a valuable part of their marketing plan. Marketers also report spending 2.6X less on average for content creation when working with influencers versus working with a professional to produce the same output.

In addition to its cost-efficiency, influencer content has also proven to be more effective at inspiring consumers to take action than professionally produced content. 57% of survey respondents indicated that influencer content either somewhat or greatly outperforms brand created content.

As marketers look to become even more efficient with their media spend, many are opting for programs that include the ability to repurpose content as part of the influencer media buy. With this model, brands can market test a large quantity of influencer content, determine which pieces of content perform best, and then put paid media behind proven assets to scale the success of the program. According to the survey, between 38% – 40% of marketers are now choosing this route.

“According to McKinsey & Company, 15 to 20 percent of marketing spend can be released through better marketing return on investment (MROI) efforts, striking a more efficient balance between non-working marketing spend and working marketing spend,” said Nader Alizadeh, co-founder and CEO of Linqia. “When marketers choose to run influencer marketing programs as media, they become 100% working marketing spend, maximizing ROI for the brand.”

Influencer marketing’s rise in popularity can be attributed to the fact that consumers trust online influencers more than they do traditional advertisements or celebrity endorsements. When asked why they chose to work with influencers for content creation, 73% of respondents said it’s because of their relevance to the target audience, 72% use the tactic for the influencers’ authenticity and trusted voice, and 60% use influencer marketing to spark audience engagement.

Additional findings from the report include:

  • 66% of marketers repurpose influencer content on other digital channels, with the most common being organic social media (84%), paid social media (72%), website and product pages (50%), and email marketing (40%).
  • 26% of marketers spend 2.2X more to professionally produce photos versus working with influencers, 45% spend 2.7X more for professionally produced video, and 49% spend 2.9X more for usage-based content such as a recipe or how-to article.
  • Case studies and results from the influencer marketing programs of Gerber, Mezzetta, GOODFOODS, Dorot, and Fab.com.

207 marketers participated in The Value of Influencer Content 2017 survey across a variety of industries, including CPG, Food & Beverage, Media, Retail, as well as their agencies. To download a full copy of the report, visit http://go.pardot.com/l/153091/2017-03-30/hmv78g.

About Linqia

Linqia combines the science and accountability of online media with award-winning service to deliver guaranteed influencer marketing results for our clients. Our AI-driven platform and team of experts are leading the transformation of influencer marketing into a scalable media channel. Linqia Performance Platform also serves as a social content lab, where marketers can organically test and amplify the best performing influencer content to drive greater ROI from their paid, owned and earned media.

Founded in 2012, Linqia works with over 300 leading national brands including Black & Decker, Gerber, Herdez, Kimberly-Clark, Mezzetta, McDonald’s, NBC, Nestle, Purina, Square, Unilever, Uniqlo, Viacom and Walmart. Linqia is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Bentonville.

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