Till the occurance of Web 2.0 and all its information and interactivity, people relied on experts or acquaintances when looking for opinions about a new service or product. This is no longer the case. It is not that new, but yet a very interesting trend which many people are unaware of, that Internet users seek the advice of other Internet users they have never met before.

This is just one of the many findings of the When did we start trusting strangers? study carried out by the Universal McCann. The study included around 17,000 people from 29 countries. The study showed that rather than being passive, consumers have taken not only active, but also creative roles in consumersim.

The study describes a “new influencer landscape” which is defined by three significant trends: the rise of social media, the importance of digital friends, and the proliferation of influencer channels. The study also points out the impact of this phenomenon: an influence economy, the democratization of influence, and the new “super-influencer”.

  • 44% of people surveyed have a blog (compared to 28% in 2006)
  • 57.5% have a page on a social network (compared to 27% in 2006)
  • 42% download video clips (compared to 10% in 2006)
  • 34% of users share their opinions about music
  • 55% share their photos online

Internet users no longer rely on just the brands to inform themselves. While 69% visit brands’ official websites, 82% prefer to search for information on a search engine or to read people’s comments on personal profiles on social  networks like Facebook, Myspace, for example (55%). Internet user’s preferred method for exchanging information about a product is MSN Messenger (44.5%). E-mail comes in at a close second (42.4%), followed by blogs (30.4%), and social networks (27.6%).

The occurance of social media has allowed millions of people to create and publish content. Social communications have become virtual and interaction now takes place online, mostly with writing. Thanks to social networks, we are able to “meet” people whom we’d probably never have otherwise met in real life.

Interactive digital media facilitates interaction and influences sharing (sending Youtube links, for example). Thanks to these new tools, it no longer requires huge efforts to become an Influencer. The study’s most interesting finding is: We trust the recommendations of strangers as much as we trust those of our trends. We also trust information found in social media more than the information given to us by brands.

According to McCann, we are finding ourselves in an influence economy. Brands are forced to respond to numerous opinions published on the web so that they become more transperant and to open up to social media.

Considering the Cluetrain Manifesto:

“Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.”

Internet users have a penchant for music, movies and technology, but the same phenomenon can be found in a variety of other spheres like finance, housing and insurance. Contrary to popular belief, Asian countries with emerging markets are the key to this development.

The democratizaion of influence: many individuals can become influencers, or even “super influencers”, the so called evangelists. Super influencers are very active in social media; they create and share rich content.

The  most interesting part is how this implicates business:

According to McCann, brands should act according to these 4 principles:

  • Transparence and honesty with customers, without becoming “hyper-transparent”
  • Participate in conversations that generate discussion: create blogs, be present in social networks, etc.
  • Consider every person as a potential influencer and encourage the target audience to share its opinions
  • Approach new creators: bloggers, video creators, podcasters, etc.

(N.B. – Check the Cluetrain Manifesto)

According to McCann, it’s these new creators who will have a powerful infulence on wide audiences in the years to come. Brands should try to work with them, and above all, not understimate them.

If you are interested in the topic you can check an older article i have published: Social Media and Success Online

When did we start trusting strangers – Universal Mac Cann

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