by Sofia Zafeiri
With technology finding its way into every aspect of our lives, it comes without question that the landscape of campaigns has changed rapidly over the past decade. It is now clear that aggressive sales not only won’t win customer loyalty but might end up even harming a brand as the aggression often comes out as desperate or irrelevant.
Analysis of the psychology of consumer and buying habits has been the holy grail for Marketers and PR professionals. Although consumers need to feel power over their own choices, in a mutually interdependent world, all of us rarely act on our own will without further influence. From peer pressure to online reviews, we seek out a group of people we can either relate to or trust to proceed with option A or B.
Within the reference group of influencing consumer buying behavior, several groups have been identified:
- Primary groups: Are groups within which people have strong ties and connections, such as family, friends, and coworkers.
- Secondary groups: Are formal groups which require less continuous interaction, such as religious and professional groups.
- Aspirational groups: Are groups of people buyers aspire to join. (Within this group falls the majority of today’s online influencers. A singer, an athlete or typically a blogger/socialite are the people whose point of view or advice will influence the final buying decision.)
Another tool buyers are turning to is YouTube. Being the second largest search engine after Google and with over 3 billion searches per month, Millennials view their way in or out of a brand based on the video content. Among 18-24-year-olds — a key buying demographic — a whopping 62% trusts endorsements from popular YouTubers.
How are Millennials engaging with brands on YouTube?
The skip ad button is inevitable, and paid ads barely get their five seconds of fame, as more than 80% of viewers will skip the ads if they can. On the other hand, with “How to” being the most used search words on YouTube it creates limitless PR opportunities for brands.
About the Author
Sofia Zafeiri is the Social Media Coordinator at IIL. She graduated from NYU with an Ms in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. Before moving to New York City, she worked for a variety of organizations in Europe.
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