An in-depth guide to how younger Americans interact with the new clas of cultural tastemakersEngaging Gen Z and MilennialsTHE INFLUENCER REPORTTHE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and Milenials2How much influence do influencers have over young Americans and why they folow them.1Introduction3How brands can engage with influencers and the platforms to engage on.42The Influencer MarketBeing an InfluencerInfluencers and BrandsTABLE OF CONTENTS5The Top InfluencersWho are the most influential influencers and what young Americans think about them.The degre to which young Americans want to be influencers and why. THE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and MilenialsInfluencers have become a central part of social media for young Americans, and social media is an increasingly central driver of consumer decisions. Nearly thre quarters of Gen Z and Milenials follow influencers on social media, and a majority say social media is where they most often learn about new products theyre interested in. Because of this, influencers provide brands with a key oportunity to reach young Americans so long as they adequately understand how and where to engage them. Based on over 2,00 survey interviews with 13-38 year-olds, this report wil explore the scale and nature of influencer engagement. We lok at where young Americans folow influencers, who they like to folow, why they folow, how much trust they have in influencers, and how much interest they have in becoming influencers themselves. 3INTRODUCTIONTHE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and MilenialsMost Gen Z and Millenials follow influencers, and tenagers are more likely to folow many: 72 percent say they folow at least some influencers. For Gen Z, top YouTube influencers are as popular as major celebrities: As many Gen Z men know gaming YouTuber PewDiePie as Lebron James. And PewDiePie is more well-liked. And influencers are more trusted as spokespeople than celebrities: 50 percent of Millenials trust influencers they follow on product recomendations, compared to 38 percent for their favorite celbrities.Authenticity is the key trait people want to se in influencers they folow: 88% say its important for influencers to be authentic and genuinely care about their interests. The potential micro-influencer market is masive: Young Americans ofall stripes are wiling to post sponsored content, and a majority of them are likely to organically post about brands they like.123454FIVEKEY TAKEAWAYSMorning Consult empowersmarketing, comunications and brand insights leadersto make data driven decisions around their brand:Tracking over 3,00 brands in 12 countries everydayConducting over 10,00 interviews daily acros over 100 demographic variablesMeasuring industry and competitor benchmarks dailyStreaming over 10 milion social media posts to aggregate social media, news, and economic dataREQUEST A DEMOBRANDINTELIGENCE2THE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and MilenialsHow much influence do influencers have over young Americans and why they folow them.6THE INFLUENCER MARKETTHE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and Milenials23%30%26%22%24%15%49%46%52%56%50%43%27%24%22%22%27%43%All Gen Z andMilenialsAge: 13-16Age: 17-21Age: 2-26Age: 27-31Age: 32-38Yes, many Yes, some No, none at alDo you folow any people on social media who could be considered influencers?72% of Gen Z and Milennials folow influencers, and teenagers are more likely to folow many 7THE INFLUENCER MARKETTHE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and MilenialsDo you folow any social media influencers who post regularly about the folowing?Men prefer following gaming and sports influencers. Women prefer beauty and fashion.8THE INFLUENCER MARKET62%41%35%27%27%24%23%12%9%GamingFitnes / sportsFoodTravel / lifestyleHealth / welnesPolitics / social causesFashionBeauty / skin careFamily / parenting59%49%47%40%40%32%30%26%21%Beauty / skin careFashionFoodTravel / lifestyleHealth / welnesFamily / parentingFitnes / sportsGamingPolitics / social causesMEN WOMEN THE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and MilenialsIn their own words: Why young Americans folow influencers9THE INFLUENCER MARKETRespondents were asked an open-ended prompt: Why do you like to follow influencers?Some quotations are lightly edited for gramar or clarity. Inspiration andaspiration“Seeing their succesful lives inspires me to do beter in my own.”“They inspire me to be who I am and they make me fel good about myself.”“To get ideas on how to start your own business or become an entrepreneur yourself.”“They can make a big positive change to society.”Voyeurism“They are fun to watch and its close as I get to meet someone famous.”“Honestly, I am a very nosy person and like to see what other people are up to.”“To se what they do with their lives and their wealth. Its intriguing to follow their life.”Learning aboutnew trends“To stay trendy. I like to know whats hot.”“I like to se the new beauty trends and what works and doesnt work. I like to make sure the products Im going to spend my hard earned money on are worth it.”“They are more in tune to the things that I like so I folow them to se the newest trends.”Interesting, fun content“They provide interesting content in a more personal seting.”“Usualy they are very entertaining.”“To learn about new and interesting things they have to show, such as adventures and their lifestyle.”“I folow social media influencers because they produce content and information in a very entertaining way.”THE INFLUENCER REPORT:Engaging Gen Z and Milenials58%53%48%44%42%36%33%33%20%17%16%10%10%10%30%35%37%39%41%42%39%38%32%32%32%22%21%19%12%12%15%17%17%22%28%29%48%51%52%68%69%71%Very important Somewhat importantWhen deciding whether to folow an influencer on social media, how important are the folowing?Authenticity is the most important trait for influencers while having a large folowing is les so10THE INFLUENCER MARKETThey are authenticand genuinely care about their interestsThey are funyor have engaging personalitiesThey are knowledgeableon something I care aboutThey are intelligentor thoughtfulThey have intereststhat are similar to meThey have good taste, and I trust their recomendationsThey have good styleor have their own sense of styleThey are personal and open about sharing things they're dealing withThey post beautiful imagesThey have a lifestyle that is more exciting or interesting than mineThey have a lifestyle that is similar to mineThey are physically attractiveOther people I know follow themThey have a large following