Falcon Media House : How influencers and millennials are changing the content game

18 July 2017

The last few years has witnessed hikes in investment and hype levels around the increasingly impactful online influencers - people with large numbers of followers or fans that can help sell products, services, ideas or add weight to campaigns, whether politically or commercially driven. In the UK, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his team have been lauded for their effective use of influencers to engage millennial voters in the recent General Election, by gaining the endorsement of a variety of highly popular and outspoken musicians and cultural icons.

In April, Forbes Magazine launched its inaugural Top Global Influencers List shining a light on the vast audiences they have, and the extent of their reach across social media platforms. The top ten fitness influencers have a collective reach of 106 million fans, including 39 million instagram followers and 5 million YouTube subscribers. The top ten entertainment influencers have an even bigger reach - 246 million, comprising 88 million followers on instagram and 74 million YouTube subscribers. The ability to let people into their lives, and gain an authentic, often live insight into their homes, shopping baskets or gyms has allowed them to amass huge numbers of loyal and devoted followers who watch, comment and share their latest images and more frequently videos, in the same way they might for one of their closest friends.

The growth of online influencers, and their mastery of creating short form videos, has not only developed the popularity of online video as a platform, it has also had a significant impact on the growth in user generated content. 46% of millennials are creators as well as consumers of video content, and on average watch 2.5 hours of user generated content more each week than other age group. When you consider almost half (45%) of Millennials use ad blocking software, it's clear that they are looking to curate and control their sources of information and entertainment whilst restricting unauthorized approaches from advertising.

Amazon, in March, beta launched a new social media influencer program, designed to promote the sale of products from endorsement from the most influential Youtubers and instagrammers. With headline grabbing opportunities such as this, and the increasing pressure on marketers to demonstrate effective ROI on every idea invested in, the trend for authentic, non-promotional, and original content is anticipated to gain even more momentum.