Facebook has published a new report on the benefits that influencer marketing can provide to businesses in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) category, with a specific focus on beauty, beverage and food brands. And with shoppers increasingly looking to influencers for guidance on their purchases, these insights provide some interesting, yet not unexpected, results, which may help in your strategic consideration. 

Facebook commissioned Kantar to conduct a survey of 15,000 consumers, aged 18 and over, in Brazil, Germany, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom. As noted, the focus here is on beauty, beverage and food products, but the results are likely indicative for all businesses looking to utilize influencer marketing across Facebook and Instagram.

Some key notes:

• Among US makeup shoppers, 44% indicated that creators affect their purchase decisions, with 55% saying that they are more likely to buy a product based on a social media post
• 73% of food shoppers in Indonesia said that they’ve made a purchase after seeing a creator or celebrity consume or prepare a food product on social media
• 68% of global Instagram users say that they turn to the platform specifically to interact with creators
• 60% of global consumers say that they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by a creator who shares their values and interests

The benefits of influencer marketing are already fairly well-documented, but it’s interesting to note these specific pointers and stats, especially the notes on the improved performance of influencer promotions over traditional ads.

If you hadn’t considered influencer marketing as yet, maybe this will prompt a re-think. You can read Facebook’s full report here or check out the infographic below.