2017 Consumer Content

Report: Influence In The

Digital Age
 White
The State Of Content In The Digital Age

Digital ad investment is skyrocketing worldwide. Beginning to

surpass TV ad expenditure for the first time in many countries, online
ad spend is expected to see double digit growth globally through at Methodology
least 2020. Worldwide digital ad spending will reach $223.74 billion
in 2017 representing 38.3% of paid media investments, according to An online survey was conducted to a panel of potential
eMarketer. The brands who can break through that noise have a lot respondents 18 and older from the United States,
to gain. United Kingdom, and Australia between September 29,
2017 and October 5, 2017. There was a total of 2,008
But as marketers face fierce competition to attract audience’s attention respondents with 1,007 from the United States, 501
online, big budgets may not be best spent on production and flash. In from the United Kingdom, and 500 from Australia. The
this report, we explored the content being created and shared online, sample was provided by Market Cube, a research panel
and asked consumers what influences their purchasing decisions most. company with a margin of error of 2.2%.

In a consumerism and celebrity-centric culture, it's authenticity that

shines through, with 86% of consumers saying that authenticity is
important when deciding what brands they like and support. This
matters when it comes to who you have represent your brand: the
survey found that nearly 3X as many people said content from
friends and family influences their purchase decisions compared
to content from celebrities. But with the majority of consumers
thinking that less than half of brands create content that resonates
as authentic, there is a lot of room for brands that can accomplish
this to rise above.

2 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Contents
Contents
3 The State of Content In the Digital Age

4 Key Takeaways

5 Consumers Are Brands’ Best Advertisers

7 Authenticity Matters

8 Brands: Don’t Try to Mimic UGC, Consumers Know The Difference

9 How Are Brands Stacking Up?

11 Where Do Consumers Think Brands Are Succeeding?

12 Consumer-Created Content Influences Purchasing Decisions

14 Consumers Are Sharing Positive Experiences Marketers Can Tap Into

17 Influencing Food & Beverage

19 Consumers Fuel Food UGC Cycle Of Posting And Purchasing

21 Influencing Travel

23 Consumers Fuel Travel UGC Inspiration And Validation

24 Influencing Millennial Travel Decisions

26 What Does This Mean For Marketers?

27 About Stackla

3 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Key Takeaways make easier to read

Authenticity Drives Brand Affinity Massive Amounts of UGC Are at Brands’ Fingertips

• 86% of consumers say authenticity is important when • 85% of people share their positive travel experiences
deciding what brands they like and support on social media, 63% will post about a positive food or
beverage experience
• More than half (57%) of consumers think that less than half
of brands create content that resonates as authentic • Nearly 52% of people say they post on social media at least
once a month about products they've purchased

Consumers Can Spot Professional Vs. User-Generated

Content (UGC)

• On average, people are able to identify if an image was

created by a professional or brand vs. generated by a
consumer 70% of the time.

UGC is More Authentic and Influential Than Brand and

Celebrity Content

• Consumers are 3X more likely to say that content created

by a consumer is authentic compared to content created by
a brand

• On average, 60% of consumers say content from a friend

or family member influences their purchases decisions,
while just 23% of consumers say content from celebrities
influenced their purchasing decisions

4 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

Consumers Are A Brand’s
Best Advertisers
 86 %
of consumers said authenticity is
important when deciding what brands
they like and support
 Authenticity Matters To Consumers

Most consumers (86%) greatly value authenticity

in brands. Yet, consumer-created content is seen as
Authenticity Matters Most To Millennials
most authentic.

The overwhelming majority of Millennials say

What kind of content is most authentic? authenticity is important to them when deciding which
brands they support.

Created by
consumers 60%

90 %
Created by
brands 20%

Millennials

85
Stock
8%
Imagery %

80 % Gen X

Boomers

3X
Millennials: Under 35

Gen X: 35-54

Baby Boomers: 55+

UGC is seen as 3x
more authentic

7 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Brands: Don’t Try To Mimic UGC, Consumers Know The Difference

We put consumers to the test, asking them to identify which

images were consumer-created versus marketer-created. Millennials Are Best At Spotting
Brand-Created Content
Before the test, less than half of people (49%) said they
thought they could tell the difference between UGC Percentage of time age groups can distinguish
and brand-created content more than half the time. In between UGC and brand-created content:

actuality, they can do much better than that.

Millennials 75%

Gen X by
Created 73%
brands

Boomers 66%
Stock
Imagery

70 %
of the time, people can identify if
an image was created by a brand as
opposed to a consumer

8 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 How Are Brands Stacking Up?

We asked consumers to share their opinions on the

content brands produce and publish across their Brands Must Work Hardest to Maintain
marketing channels. Millennials’ Loyalty

The majority of consumers think most brands aren’t creating

content that resonates as authentic. Age groups that have unfollowed a brand on social media:

68% 44% 24%

57 %
Boomers
Gen X
Millennials

of consumers think that less than

Consumers who have unfollowed a brand based on
half of brands create content that inauthentic content:
resonates as authentic

Millennials 30%

Created by
Lack of Authenticity is a Threat to Brand Loyalty Gen X
brands 16%

20
of consumers have unfollowed a brand on social media
% because they thought the content was too corporate or
Stock
Boomers
Imagery 11%
not authentic enough

2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Europeans Are More Likely To Think Brands Need To Be More Authentic

Consumers who think less than a quarter of brands create authentic content:

23
32%%

22%

27%

10 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Where Do Consumers Think Brands Are Succeeding?

Of all the core marketing channels, the majority of consumers believe brands are doing the best job at creating and
posting the content they want to see on Facebook. For Millennials, Instagram is rising as a channel of influence, with
30 percent saying it’s a platform where brands are creating content they want to see – more than 2X the amount of
Gen X and Boomers that feel that way.

Where brands are doing the best job creating and posting
content consumers want to see:

69% Millennials Gen X Boomers

65% 65%

36%

30% 30% 29%

27%
24% 23%
22%

17%
14%
13% 12% 13%
11% 10% 12% 11% 10% 9% 10% 9% 8% 7% 7%
6%
4 %

0%

Facebook Instagram YouTube Snapchat Twitter Website Email Pinterest Ads Review Sites

11 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Consumer-Created Content Influences Purchase Decisions

Although younger generations are more likely to say Social posts or reviews from the following groups
celebrities and influencers have an impact on their would be impactful in purchasing decisions:
purchase decisions (33% of Millennials, compared to
20% of Gen X and 6% of Boomers), they are more
Millennials Overall
influenced by everything they see online… and UGC
dominates by a landslide.
70%
Family Member
61%

70%
Friend
59%

47%
Brand
42%

39%
Acquaintance
31%

Demographic 35%
Qualities 25%

Celebrity or 33%
Influencer 23%

12 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Australians Are Least Likely Be Influenced By Celebrity Content

Celebrities as an influencing factor by country:

23%%

23%

17%

13 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Consumers Are Sharing Positive Experiences Marketers Can Tap Into

People are not just consuming content on the web — What type of reviews are trusted most on social review sites?
they are adding to it in droves. And people are much
more likely to post about their positive experiences
Trust
than negative ones. That means there is a lot of content Neither
out in the world that marketers can be leveraging for
their own campaigns. Trust 13%
Negative

People post at least 2X a month about:

9% 48% The only channel people
Trust
30 %
Equally are more likely to post
Trust a negative experience is
Positive on a social review site.

48%
Places Visited People post to following platforms at least 2X a month:

72%

42% 39% 33%

Events Attended Food or Drinks 29% 28%

34% 26%
Products Bought Political Opinions

14 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 The U.S. Posts On Social Media Most Often

Percent of people that post 6X a month on Facebook:

23
35%%

42%

25%

15 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 78 %
of people said they would post on social
media after having a positive experience
taking a trip, dining out or buying a car
Influencing Food
And Beverage
 76 %
of people said they would post on social
media after a positive experience dining
out or purchasing a food or beverage
 Consumers Fuel Food UGC Cycle Of Posting And Purchasing

People are referencing a lot of content before they have What has more impact on food and beverage purchase
a meal, but also regularly post food photos while dining. decisions?
This consumer-created content is creating food FOMO
(fear of missing out) that greatly impacts dining decisions. Consumer
Posts 44%

Professional
Images 16%
39% 39%
Celebrity /
of consumers said they post of people decided to eat at a
Influencer Posts 4%
about food or beverages at least restaurant because they saw a
2x in an average month friend's social post

Millennials are Creating and Acting on

Food Photos

of Millennials said they post about food or

54% beverages at least 2x a month on average

of Millennials decided to eat at a restaurant

56 % because they saw a friend post content about
it on social media

19 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 The U.S. Has More Food Fomo Than Other Countries

Percentage that said social content from friends influenced a meal decision:

23
35%%

44%

33%

20 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

Influencing Travel
 85 %
of people say they would share a positive
travel experience on social media
 Consumers Fuel Travel UGC Inspiration And Validation

People look for travel inspiration and validation before

deciding to book their next adventures. Luckily,

42%
consumers are constantly sharing their travel memories of consumers say content posted by their

and experiences online, fueling travel FOMO for others. friends, family or other consumers is most
influential in their purchase decisions

19% say brand content influences

purchasing decisions

48% 43%
of consumers post about of consumers have made travel
After traveling, people are most likely to post travel
places they visited at least 2X plans to visit a certain location
in an average month based on a friend's social post content on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat:

69%

29%
20%

23 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 Influencing Millennial Travel Decisions

Millennials are more likely than other age groups to

57
reference content in every category before making a
purchase decision. However, consumer content still has
the greatest influence on their purchasing decisions.
%
of Millennials have made travel
plans to visit a certain location
based on a friend's social post

97 %
Content Millennial’s say is most influential in
of Millennials say they would share
a positive travel experience on making travel decisions:
social media

Consumer
Posts 49%

Professional
Images 18%

Celebrity /
Influencer Posts 5%

24 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 The U.S. Has More Travel Fomo Than Other Countries

Percentage that said social content from friends influenced a travel decision:

23
38%%

49%

38%

25 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 What Does This Mean For Marketers?

Since today’s consumers have more ways than ever to discover,

research, purchase and promote products and services, they’re
constantly confronted with a myriad of content competing for their
attention. Yet, when it comes to who they trust and what content is
most persuasive, brands can’t beat the authenticity and influence of
user-generated content.

Consumers can’t be fooled either, with the overwhelming majority of

people able to distinguish between consumer-created content versus
brand-created content. Not only can consumers tell the difference,
but they’ll also punish brands that try to fake it by disconnecting with
them online.

Sixty percent of people said UGC is the most authentic form of

content and that social content from their friends and family impact
their purchasing decisions. And this isn’t just talk. Over half of
Millennials have made travel plans or decided to eat a restaurant
because of consumer-created content they saw on social media.

But people aren’t just referencing UGC when making purchases,

they’re actively creating it. Consumers are constantly sharing positive
experiences on social networks about everything from the places
they visit to the products they purchase and food and beverages
they consume. This abundance of UGC is a goldmine for marketers
who are constantly struggling to break through the noise and reach
people with content that resonates. The content is out there—
marketers just have to tap into it.

26 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age

 About Stackla

Stackla is the leading user-generated content (UGC) platform that puts customer stories at the heart of brand marketing. Through predictive
intelligence and automation, Stackla helps brands identify authentic, compelling customer content across the social web and showcase them
at scale throughout their core marketing channels – increasing engagement, strengthening customer trust and driving sales. Trusted by more
than 450 brands across travel, hospitality, CPG, retail, sports and nonprofits, Stackla is designed to meet the content personalization needs of
enterprise-level organizations such as Disney, McDonald’s, Toyota, Sony, Expedia, Heineken and Virgin Holidays.

To learn how Stackla can help your brand attract, engage and convert consumers with UGC throughout the customer journey, please visit
www.stackla.com or email sales@stackla.com.

27 2017 Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age