Influencer Marketing: Importance of Trust

Influencer marketing 2018: Influencer marketing examples for every unique influencer marketing strategy for your brand. Label Insight, conducted research into the importance of trust in consumer relationships.  Their team aimed to improve trust and encourage long-term loyalty with consumers, all by focusing on brand transparency. The study concluded that consumers already have strong views on all of these! And perhaps most importantly, the vast majority of consumers already know exactly what they want from brands.

In short, consumers want brands to be completely transparent in their branding and marketing – by making comprehensive and accurate information available to all.

But that’s not all. Perhaps even more significantly, the study learnt that consumers do not currently trust brands to provide this information. Clearly, this indicates massive discrepancies between brand procedures and consumer expectations, which could represent a huge problem for brands across various industries.

Addressing issues for influencer marketing 2018

Ultimately, this means that brands need to address influencer marketing 2018 issues in order to keep consumers inside and meet expectations effectively. But in order to do this, marketers need to dig a little deeper into the study and ask themselves some important questions. Crucially, what information do consumers want from brands? And how exactly should brands deliver this?

Learning what Consumers want

It’s fair to say that consumers aren’t asking too much of the brands they invest in.

According to the study, all consumers are really asking for is a little bit of extra information on the products they buy. Of course, many brands are required to disclose certain things by law. But this research tells us that consumers truly appreciate when brands go and above and beyond that legal expectation, and demonstrate real transparency. In fact, according to the study, this has the potential to generate over 56% more trust among consumers.

That’s a pretty incredible statistic. It tells us that brands can completely transform the way consumers view them… All by stepping up the game ever so slightly.

How to give Consumers what they want in Influencer Marketing 2018

In terms of achieving this, the path to success is pretty simple. Consumers are looking for transparent and comprehensive information on the products they invest in. This could be as simple as offering consumers a thorough ingredient breakdown or circulating detailed information as to how products are sourced, produced and handled.

Now, clearly, how you choose to circulate this information will vary hugely, depending on your brand, your industry, and your market.

The Potential Drawbacks of influencer marketing strategy

However, on the flip side, it’s not all good news. Whilst consumers are willing to invest in brands they know to be transparent, they are equally not happy to support brands they don’t trust. In fact, 39% of those interviewed said they would turn to another brand if they didn’t feel assured they were being offered full transparency.

This is the crux of the issue. Now that we know how seriously consumers value transparency, we can see just how vulnerable brands are. The relationship brands and consumers share is a delicate one – and it must be considered carefully.

The Impact on Buying Behaviour

Consumers truly value transparency from brands and that this can massively shape consumers’ opinions of different brands and products. We’ve also learnt that it only takes a few simple changes to begin establishing more positive and trustworthy relationships.

But the real questions for brands is this: how do these tips relate to buying behaviour among consumers?

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The answer is simple – there’s a clear correlation between trust and buying behaviour. Transparency will gain you consumers’ trust. What’s more, 73% of consumers will pay more for products from transparent brands. This proves just how much consumers value transparency, and reveals a great opportunity for brands to boost their ROI.

Of course, it’s important to be aware of the issues for a successful influencer marketing strategy. But there are still ways to get around these issues, as the situation also creates opportunities for your brand…