The risk of appearing ‘fake’ and dishonest increases when followers see influencers promoting a large number of products every month. Social media personalities are being called out for the unrealistic amount of products they claim to use, as they appear to prioritise financial gain over authentic endorsements, which reflects poorly on the brands being sponsored. Influencers need to be highly selective about the partnerships they make to build trust and credibility.
Brands are turning to micro influencers in their marketing strategy, with 16-34 years olds are most likely to have become a brand ambassador in the last 12 months. Social media personalities with smaller followers are more enjoyable to watch, due to their relatability and stronger connection with their audience. Having a smaller follower base allows more time for meaningful interactions, such as responding to questions and comments, which can be useful for brands to tap into.
However, older generations are an underutilised demographic, whose diverse life experiences can help tap into new audiences, particularly the overlooked spending power of older age groups. There is opportunity here and brands should position older generations as role models, rather than influencers in ambassador programmes, to highlight the real influence they can have in the community.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Usage trends of major social media platforms with Facebook leading the way but younger demographics leaning far more towards YouTube, Instagram and TikTok
- Who people follow on social media and the difference by platform, with Facebook more focused on friends and family and TikTok and Twitch heavily focused on social media personalities
- Trends in followers preferred topics from social media personalities, such as TV/film, travel and sport
- Follower preferences, including the type of content they create, levels of engagement and being advocates of important issues
- Advertising and social media personalities, including the preference for tutorial style ads, product comparisons and the risk of ad overload harming authenticity
- Attitudes towards social media personalities, such as idea transparency, perceptions towards controversies, and regularly featuring children in content
Micro influencers are on the rise and can be a valuable asset for brands, with their relatability building, more meaningful connections and authentic interactions.
Nikita Shergill, Technology and Media Analyst
Market Definitions
This Report looks at the content created for social media, with particular focus on figures with followings outside their own social circle.
These can be separated in to two categories:
Social media personalities are people primarily known/famous for their social media content, such as YouTubers and Instagram stars.
Traditional celebrities are primarily famous for their activities outside of their social media presence, such as athletes, actors and reality TV stars.
Those whose social media accounts can be used to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions, eg via sponsored posts and endorsements can also be referred to as Influencers, and content creators.
Social media is defined as any platform focused on facilitating users to upload/share content and interact with other people.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Opportunities for content creators on social media
- Drop the script and give influencers the freedom to speak in sponsored adverts
- Build trust by acknowledging where ideas come from
- Support male influencers to talk about their mental health
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Facebook is the most popular platform overall
- Graph 1: use of social media platforms in the last three months, by 16-34s, 2024
- Threads and Bluesky may benefit from those leaving X
- Influencers face tighter regulation
- What consumers want and why
- Social media personalities are a core element of Twitch and TikTok
- Male interest in beauty and fashion is growing
- Graph 2: topics covered by social media personalities that social media users follow/frequently view, 2024
- Make followers feel valued and appreciated with more direct engagement
- Graph 3: what social media personality followers want social media personalities to do more, 2024
- Beauty and fashion followers want result focused adverts
- Graph 4: preferred format of sponsored adverts posted by social media personalities, 2024
- Brands don’t need to sever ties with influencers because of controversies
- Graph 5: attitudes towards social media personalities, 2024
- Brands can target older age groups through micro ambassadorship
- Make ‘underrated’ tags for influencers with smaller followings
- Graph 6: attitudes towards social media personalities, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
- Meta launches Meta AI chatbot
- Emily Blackwell shares momentous life occasion with ClearBlue
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market background
- YouTube and Instagram are most popular among 16-34s
- Graph 7: use of social media platforms in the last three months, by 16-34s, 2024
- TikTok is the main growth platform
- Graph 8: social media usage in the last three months, 2024
- Meta moves toward community notes
- Loss of fact-checking could bring regulatory change
- Market drivers
- Ofcom introduces online safety codes to combat illegal harms
- Finfluencers face a more accountable and regulated future
- Australia approves social media ban on under-16s
- US TikTok ban highlights the need for platform diversification for creators
- Demand for VPN services may grow if localised social media platform bans come into force
- Brands increasingly optimising micro influencers in their marketing strategy
- Younger age groups want to cut back on social media
- Graph 9: new year’s resolutions for 2025 to spend less time on social media, 2025
- Market share
- Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram following continues to grow
- Threads tops App Store but lacks big celebrity and influencer engagement
- Despite controversy, Mr Beast keeps expanding YouTube follower base
- Mr Beast continues to rack up millions of views
- Notable figures leave X for Bluesky
- Influencers over celebrities on TikTok
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Who users follow on social media
- Gen Z follow influencers as much as they follow friends and family
- Graph 10: who social media users follow/frequently view on social media [NET], by generation, 2024
- Twitch’s emphasis on real-time interaction makes it a leading platform for social media personalities
- Graph 11: social media platforms used to follow/frequently view posts from social media personalities, 2024
- Short form video a success for TikTok creators
- Graph 12: social media platforms used to follow/frequently view posts from social media personalities, 2021-24
- Facebook groups are a key tool for niche communities and influencers
- Graph 13: who users follow/frequently view posts from on Facebook, 2022-24
- Creators will benefit from early adoption of Threads
- Social media personality topics
- TV and film lead the way but influencers focus on wide-ranging topics
- Graph 14: topics covered by social media personalities that social media users follow/frequently view, 2024
- Solo travel drives growth in following travel influencers
- Interest in male beauty and fashion content is set to grow
- Build consumer trust in beauty and grooming content with YouTube
- Graph 15: attitudes towards beauty/grooming content on selected social media platforms, 2024
- Follower preferences
- Followers want more engagement
- Graph 16: what social media personality followers want social media personalities to do more, 2024
- Snapchat and Pinterest are lagging behind in engagement with social media personalities
- Specify a time to followers when you will be available
- Graph 17: preference for more engagement with followers by social media personalities, by generation, 2024
- Social media activists need to engage more with their followers
- Graph 18: preference for more engagement with followers by social media personalities, by topics covered by social media personalities that social media users follow/frequently view, 2024
- Millennials want influencers to influence meaningfully
- Brands can support male influencers to talk about their mental health
- Graph 19: preference for social media personalities to talk about their mental health experiences and personal life more, by gender, 2024
- Sharing is fundamental to building genuine relationships with followers…
- Graph 20: preference for social media personalities to share about their personal life more often, by generation, 2024
- …and helps brands build authentic bonds
- Trust in partnership adverts
- Videos demonstrating daily product use are the most liked advertising format
- Graph 21: preferred format of sponsored adverts posted by social media personalities, 2024
- Beauty and fashion followers want adverts that educate and offer real proof of results
- Product demos, results, and comparisons are key to beauty advertisements
- Men are more likely to prefer adverts with in-depth reviews
- Graph 22: preference for sponsored in-depth reviews posted by social media personalities, by gender, 2024
- Turn finance and investing adverts into tutorials
- Tutorial-style ads can empower consumers to use financial services
- Leverage unboxing videos to drive engagement
- Attitudes towards social media personalities and advertising
- Ditch the script
- Graph 23: response to the statement ‘I don’t trust social media personalities who promote a large number of products every month’, by generation, 2024
- Graph 24: response to the statement ‘I ignore adverts from social media personalities that feel scripted’, by generation, 2024
- Give creative freedom to influencers to advertise products
- Niko x Shopify sponsorship feels natural and entertaining
- Influencer partnerships should be highly selective
- Behaviours of social media personality followers
- Health brands can harness social media personalities to build trust
- Seeking health information from influencers has become commonplace
- Micro influencers can drive brand growth
- Graph 25: social media users who say they have become a social media ambassador for a brand in the last 12 months, by age, 2024
- Tap into the diverse life experiences of older generations in influencer marketing
- Create ‘underrated’ tags to amplify audience sentiment
- Attitudes towards social media personalities
- Be transparent about where ideas and information come from
- Creators must acknowledge where their ideas come from
- Controversies are inevitable but audiences are largely forgiving
- Graph 26: social media users who agree that social media personalities should be forgiven for past mistakes they’ve apologised for, by generation. 2024
- Address concerns around children being featured in content
- Graph 27: response to the statement ‘I like it when social media personalities regularly feature their children in their content’, 2024
- Maintain reachability to prevent alienating followers as numbers grow
- Create content designed for offline sociality
- Use influencers for genuine connections, and celebrities for brand elevation
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS
- Competitive Strategies
- Meta AI launches in the UK
- Reddit launches new engagement tools
- Instagram launch Teen Accounts to create safer online environments for young users
- Graph 28: top three concerns parents have about children having smartphones at school, 2024
- TikTok launch AI generated video tool
- Launch activity and innovation
- YouTube and Instagram extend short video clips to 3 minutes
- Social media platforms homogenising can help creators to easily post across multiple channels
- Meta introduces labels for AI generated content
- TikTok launches AI Group shot tool
- Bluesky introduces Trending topics
- ‘Kylie themed’ cookies elevates brand status
- Emily Blackwell shares momentous life occasion with ClearBlue
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Appendix
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Consumer research methodology
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