Perhaps Facebook’s estimation of its buying influence is not exaggerated after all. eMarketer reports that “Millennials,” who are now aged 18 to 34, widely use and create online content to recommend or dissuade each other in brand, product or service purchases. Fully 49% of millennials will rely upon anonymous, user-generated content from third-party websites (51%) to influence a buying decision, and presumably, will not question the source of that content. The remaining 49% relies upon friends and family, while 67% of baby boomers (aged 47 to 65) do the same.
What millenials rely upon far less is advertising, branding, or a company’s website. The upshot for brands is that they need to be transparent, says Lisa Pearson, VP of global marketing at Bazaarvoice, the company that provided the data. They need to understand that “There’s a huge group of consumers right now who just don’t trust them.”
As to where they relate their own positive experiences, 42% prefer to do so on social media, versus just 17% among baby boomers. Sixteen percent of boomers will call a company directly, versus just 4% of millennials.
