Report on a study aiming to evaluate perception and attitude towards 'paid partnership...' posts in Instagram.

1. Instagram influencer
marketing
Brand partnerships uncovered

2. Objective – Smart investing in influencer marketing
2
1. Determine consumers’ awareness of the influencers’ partnerships with
brands
2. Examine how likely consumers are to change their perception and level of
trust towards an influencer, who discloses their content as paid
advertisement.
3. Investigate how such disclosures will impact consumer purchase intent
Understand to what extent sponsorship disclosure (“paid
partnership with ‘brand’…”) impacts the consumer purchase
decision in order to take more informed decisions to grow
and engage with customers in long term:

3. Methodology – testing Instagram influencers’ post
3
ORIGINAL POST ORIGINAL POST
MODIFIED MODIFIED
Click each photo to
investigate the profile 1. Choosing 2 fashion influencers with core audience from UK aged 27 female, outstanding
engagement level & influence score >80 (based on Klear.com data & ratings)
2. Testing 2 of their latest original posts (to ensure actuality of the topic for the audience) & 2
modified post regarding “paid partnership with…” notice by separate samples
Such approach guaranteed the possibility of a clear experiment & further analysis of the results

4. Samples and details
4
Online survey distributed
through social media
platforms
April 26-29 2018
100 respondents
To evaluate 2 original posts
100 respondents
To evaluate 2 modified posts

5. 5
MISSION AND DECISION

6. Demographics
6
Random users’ selection demonstrates 20-35 average age, mainly female
15-19
20-24
25-2930-34
35-39
40-49
50-59
Female
Male
n/a
AGE GENDER
Married / in a
relationship
Married / in a
relationship
with kids
Single,
incl. with
kids
FAMILY STATUS
Gen X
Gen Y
Gen Z
Biggest share of the sample, over ½, represents the Gen Y (or Millenials). Next comes Gen Z with 30% of users
Female audience slightly prevails
Family status is rather equally distributed with 33% of respondents having kids
Sample: 200

7. Activities in Instagram
7
Almost 60% are daily users with ‘following others’ activities prevailing
Multiple times a day
Once a day
1-3 times a week
1-3 times a month
Rarely / never
Visit Instagram Post photos Post stories
Like, comment/share influencer’s post Like, comment/share friend’s post Explore new influencers
Multiple times a day
Once a day
1-3 times a week
1-3 times a month
Rarely / never
Posting own photos usually happens 1-3 times a week. Stories are less frequent with share of those who rarely/never do it being
the highest among other activities.
Engagement with influencers’ posts is more frequent vs. friends’ post (explained by activity of the first)
Explore function mainly used couple times a week – opportunity for brands to enter audience’s feed
Sample: 200

8. Self Activities by generations
8
Gen Z leading the crowd with their hyperactivity on Instagram
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Visit Instagram app
Multiple times a day Once a day 1-3 times a week
1-3 times a month Rarely / never
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Post photos
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Post stories
Gen Z is the most active audience, with 80% visiting the app multiple
times a day. They lead as well in share of users making daily posts with
photos & stories
Gen Y tends to more weekly activities, while Gen X remains monthly
Sample: 200

9. Activities vs. Others by generations
9
How often do you perform following activities on Instagram?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Like, comment or share influencer’s post
Multiple times a day Once a day 1-3 times a week
1-3 times a month Rarely / never
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Like, comment or share friend’s post
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Explore new accounts of influencers
Engagement with influencers is also more frequent for Z, while Gen X
shows incredible unity with 91% engaging weekly
Sample: 200

10. Key authority in fashion
10
Friends & relatives are top opinion leaders when it comes to fashion
Friends / Relatives
Fashion influencers’ accounts
None, my own
Brands' social accounts and
websites
Regular users’ accounts
Celebrities
Street style from Fashion
weeks
Fashion magazines (both
print & digital)
Sample: 200
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-49
50-59
TOP3 Gen Z
Friends / Relatives
Fashion influencers’
accounts
Celebrities
Gen Y
Friends / Relatives
Fashion influencers’
accounts
Brands' social
accounts and…
Gen X
None, my own
Friends / Relatives
Fashion influencers’
accounts
Friends/relatives remain on top for all Generations, with just Gen X preferring already their own
fashion feeling (ages of experience)
Fashion influencers are highly appreciated by more narrow age groups – 15-19 & 25-29.
Youngster while being more image dependent have also Celebrities in their Top3. For Gen Y this
place is taken by brands’ accounts in social media
Opportunity for brands to investigate UGC as regular user’s & brands’ accounts share similar scores

11. 11
MISSION
AND
DECISION
SUMMARY
Random users’
selection demonstrates
20-35 average age,
mainly female
• Biggest share of the sample, over ½, represent the Gen
Y (or Millenials). Next comes Gen Z with 30% of users
• Female audience slightly prevails
• Family status is rather equally distributed with 33% of
respondents having kids
Almost 60% are daily
users with ‘following
others’ activities
prevailing
• Posting own photos usually happens 1-3 times a week.
Stories are less frequent, rarely/never do it is the
highest level among other activities.
• Engagement with influencers’ posts is more frequent vs.
friends’ post (explained by activity of the first)
• Explore function mainly used couple times a week –
opportunity for brands to enter audience’s feed
Gen Z leading the
crowd with their
hyperactivity on
Instagram
• Gen Z is the most active audience, with 80% visiting the
app multiple times a day. They lead as well in share of
users making daily posts with photos & stories
• Gen Y tends to more weekly self activities, while Gen X
remains monthly
• Engagement with influencers is also more frequent for
Z, while Gen X shows incredible unity with 91%
engaging weekly
Friends & relatives are
top opinion leaders
when it comes to
fashion
• Fashion influencers are highly appreciated by more
narrow age groups – 15-19 & 25-29
• Youngster while being more image dependent have also
Celebrities in their Top3. For Gen Y this place is taken by
brands’ accounts in social media
• Opportunity for brands to investigate UGC as regular
user’s & brands’ accounts share similar scores

12. 12
AWARENESS

13. Awareness about paid partnerships
13
Only 13% are aware that all posts are sponsored
All posts are sponsored
Depends on influencer /
brand
Only the posts marked as
“paid partnership with … ”
Sponsored or not, I trust it
reflects their honest opinion
Don’t know
Influencers’ posts are not
sponsored
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
54%
39%
39%
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Gen Z: “It depends on amount of
followers the user has.”
Gen Y: Seems to me most
influencers post in HOPES of being
sponsored, not often because they
are actually sponsoredGen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Daily users
Non-daily users
Influencer
followers
Ignorant to
influencers
Among Gen Z level of awareness reaches almost 30%, but mostly they think it depends on
influencer & brand. Daily users are also more aware vs. less regular app visitors.
Only 3% of those who named influencers as their fashion opinion leaders know about
sponsored posts.
Yet completely “naïve” users are not so numerous: 3% declare complete trust
Sample: 200

14. Purchase based on recommendation
14
Over half of users purchased at least once based on influencer’s recommendation
No, but plan
to
No, never
Yes, once
Yes, several
times
Purchase based on influencer’s
recommendation
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Influencer
followers
Ignorant to
influencers
Purchasing several times is obviously more common for those who named influencers as their fashion opinion leaders, yet
even among ignorant users there are such cases
Gen X tends to one-time purchase more than other groups
Sample: 200

15. Attitude impact
15
Over 1/3 of users declare their trust & purchase intent will drop with “paid…” post
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Will not trust anymore 3 4 5 6 Will trust as before or more
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Will not buy it for sure 3 4 5 6 Will definitely buy it
Purchase intent of a “paid partnership with…”
post
Trust towards influencer with “paid partnership
with…” post
Gen Z react more dramatically – 49% will not trust anymore the influencer with “paid…” posts. However the purchase intent
falls not as much: probably, even while trusting an influencer, they don’t usually finish the journey with a purchase.
Gen Y shows slightly less trust drop vs. Z with corresponding level of purchase intent decrease.
Gen X stay quite undecided: with overall very low level of influencers’ influence, they don’t expect much from them
Sample: 200

16. Attitude impact
16
Male users & daily active instagrammers show higher scores vs. total drop of trust
Daily users
Non-daily users
Will not trust anymore influencer with “paid partnership with…” post
Daily users
Non-daily users
Female
Male
No, but plan to
No, never
Yes, once
Yes, several times
Will not buy it for sure after “paid partnership with…” post
No, but plan to
No, never
Yes, once
Yes, several times
37%Total
Will not trust anymore
35%Total
Will not buy it for sure
Sample: 200
Those, who never bought anything based on reco, tend to have higher levels of trust/purchase intent drop: possibly users
who didn’t have much trust before & considered it all advertising find additional prove for their previous decision. Should be
overlooked carefully as being 40% of the sample they create negative score without being potential buyers.

17. 17
AWARENESS
SUMMARY
Only 13% are aware
that all posts are
sponsored
• Among Gen Z level of awareness reaches almost 30%,
but mostly they think it depends on influencer & brand.
Daily users are also more aware vs. less regular app
visitors.
• Only 3% of those who named influencers as their
fashion opinion leaders know about sponsored posts.
• Yet completely “naïve” users are not so numerous: 3%
declare complete trust, none believe all posts are free
Over half of users
purchased at least
once based on
influencer’s
recommendation
• Purchasing several times is obviously more common for
those who named influencers as their fashion opinion
leaders, yet even among ignorant users there are such
cases
• Gen X tends to one-time purchase more than other
groups
Over 1/3 of users
declare their trust &
purchase intent will
drop with “paid…” post
• 49% of Gen Z will not trust anymore the influencer with
“paid…” posts. However the purchase intent falls not as
much: probably, even while trusting an influencer, they
don’t usually finish the journey with a purchase.
• Gen Y shows slightly less trust drop vs. Z with
corresponding level of purchase intent decrease.
• Gen X stay undecided: with very low level of
influencers’ impact, they don’t expect much credibility
• Male users & daily active instagrammers show higher
scores vs. total drop of trust
• Those, who never bought anything based on reco, tend
to have higher levels of trust/purchase intent drop.
Should be overlooked carefully as being 40% of the
sample they create negative score without being
potential buyers.

18. 18
PERCEPTION IMPACT

19. Influncers’ posts evaluation
19
Overall evaluation changes insignificantly for “paid…” mark vs. none
Paid
Unpaid
OVERALL PERCEPTION OF THIS POST
“ VERY POSITIVE, LOVE IT” &
MEAN BY 8-POINT SCALE
TRUST THE FASHION RECOMMENDATION
“DON’T TRUST AT ALL” &
MEAN BY 8-POINT SCALE
Sample: 100 per post
That meaning the level of likes, comments & shares should not be affected – in this way ensuring brands would be still reaching
PR, awareness & image building objectives with such posts.
Level of complete distrust for @emmahill post aligns with declared behavior of respondents: “paid…” post reaches 48% of
distrust with mean loosing 1point.
*controversial result for @isabellath post explained in more details with an open question on next slide

20. Key reasons for trust/distrust the post
20
“Sponsored” named as top reason for negative values, yet not the only one
Positive grades
attractive imagery
feeling influenced
good styling
isabellath emmahill
Negative grades
sponsored
bad styling / fake attitude
not being influenced
not my style / doesn't fit me
not into fashion
isabellath emmahill
“good picture and trusted brand”
“Amount of likes”
“I know the brand already so I am aware”
“I trust my own judgment more”
“Not easy to be influenced by anyone”
“It is just somebody's opinion...”
Sample: 50 per post
In case users found imagery attractive, well-styled or influenced by trusted brand – they gave
higher marks on trust level, even regardless “paid…” mark
While among those with low trust scores, 26-30% are due to sponsored post.
Yet the rest (70%) were due to quality of the post itself: poor or unfitting style for users, them
not being inspired by the post.
What shifted isabellath post’s scores was named “fake attitude” – without “paid…” mark
users seemed to be even more irritated by it

21. Influncers’ posts evaluation
21
Purchase intent changes insignificantly for “paid…” mark vs. none
PURCHASE INTENT
“WILL NOT BUY IT FOR SURE” &
MEAN BY 8-POINT SCALE
PAID PARTNERSHIP WITH A BRAND
“DEFINITELY PAID” &
MEAN BY 8-POINT SCALE
Paid
Unpaid
Purchase intent test shows interesting shift from declared behavior: “paid…” mark didn’t neither increased, nor dropped
significantly the users’ intent. This can be explained that influencers’ posts do not possess a key place in shopper’s journey. Many
mentioned “if it fits me” which requires further investigation into the product with other key elements coming into play – fitting
style, price, availability. Similar shift we observed on Gen Z declared behavior results.
As for paid partnership, posts with “paid…” mark get almost absolute recognizing
Sample: 100 per post

22. 22
PERCEPTION
IMPACT
SUMMARY
Overall evaluation
changes insignificantly
for “paid…” mark vs.
none
• That meaning the level of likes, comments & shares
should not be affected – in this way ensuring brands
would be still reaching PR, awareness & image building
objectives with such posts.
• Level of complete distrust for @emmahill post aligns
with declared behavior of respondents: “paid…” post
reaches 48% of distrust with mean loosing 1point.
“Sponsored” named
as top reason for
negative values, yet
not the only one
• In case users found imagery attractive, well-styled or
influenced by trusted brand – they gave higher marks
on trust level, even regardless “paid…” mark
• Among respondents with low trust scores, 26-30% are
due to sponsored post.
• Yet the rest (70%) were due to quality of the post itself:
poor or unfitting style for users, them not being
inspired by the post/influencer.
• What shifted isabellath post’s scores was named “fake
attitude” – without “paid…” mark users seemed to be
even more irritated by it
Purchase intent
changes insignificantly
for “paid…” mark vs.
none
• Purchase intent test shows interesting shift from
declared behavior: “paid…” mark didn’t neither
increased, nor dropped significantly the users’ intent.
This can be explained that influencers’ posts do not
possess a key place in shopper’s journey.
• Many mentioned “if it fits me” which requires further
investigation into the product with other key elements
coming into play – fitting style, price, availability. Similar
shift we observed on Gen Z declared behavior results.
• As for paid partnership, posts with “paid…” mark get
almost absolute recognizing

23. 23
FINAL SUMMARY

24. How to succeed with influencers in fashion
24
Combination of
influencer’s,
brand’s & user-
generated
content
Know your
audience
Content is
king
Slightly over 30% named fashion influencers
among their opinion leaders – putting efforts
solely on them brands might be loosing other
opportunities
Every generation behaves absolutely
differently within Instagram & social media.
Having clear strategy will ensure best
instruments are chosen & in the right place
and time
Brands should coordinate
the sponsored posts, pre-
test them. Attractive,
natural & non-fake attitude
is key!
It is recommended to have an in-depth study of users being impacted by influencer’s opinion – to gain more understanding into
their purchase journey & weight of influencer’s credibility in decision-making process