The attention economy is all about influence. This is the reason that influencers are such a prominent part of today’s internet culture. A select few even make a good living by applying their influence. And in the process of doing so, they attract brands and products that want to be in their blast radius.
Further propelling this trend is the fact that social media – the primary vessel for influencers – is the most trusted and consumed source of information today. This was one of many takeaways from the 2025 Sprout Social Index that we examined last week. 90 percent of survey respondents rated it highest.
Second on that list was word-of-mouth, at 66 percent. This is of course the timeless medium that consists of recommendations from friends and family. It’s always been dominant in the list of influential factors for local commerce. But is its reign now being challenged by this new class of influencers?
A new study from GoDaddy suggests this may be the case. Based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted in September, the report signals that recommendations from family, friends, and colleagues are losing their potency, given the greater trust that’s now put in the influencer economy.
Sprout Social Emphasizes the Why and How of Social Marketing
Unfriendly Advice
Though this takeaway applies across the board, it’s pronounced within younger generations, not surprisingly. Specifically, 41 percent of Generation Z respondents trust products or services that are peddled/plugged by influencers over traditional brand marketing, compared to 46 percent of Millennials.
That’s not too surprising, given a longstanding lack of trust in brand advertising. But more surprising – back to the main theme – is the low influence reported for friend recommendations. Both Gen Z and Millennials reported low likelihood of buying products that are recommended by friends on social media.
In fact, friend recommendations came in last place among Gen Z, according to the survey – an alarming finding, given how impactful friend recommendations have always been. Here’s how the answers ranked for Gen-Z respondents, considering sources of influence when it comes to online buying decisions.
- An influencer’s post (57%)
- A post from a business I follow (54%)
- An ad in my feed (49%)
- A friend’s post (40%)
The results are different when looking at Millennials. They’re most influenced by content that’s posted by a business that they follow, followed by ads they see in their social feeds – both surprising results. And deviating from Gen-Z sentiments, influencers ranked lowest. Here’s the full list for context.
- A post from a business I follow (57%)
- An ad in my feed (51%)
- A friend’s post (48%)
- An influencer’s post (44%)
Know Your Audience
Stepping back from the types of entities that wield influence on social media, what’s the power of social media in general? Indeed, social is one of many macro channels to pursue in a given brand’s media mix. Like the Sprout Social Index noted above, GoDaddy signals strong results for social presence.
- Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (47%) regularly rely on social media to discover new products.
- Gen Z (53%) and Millennials (57%) are served an ad that results in them taking action at least every week.
- Gen Z (28%) and Millennials (32%) find social media ads helpful to learn about new products and/or businesses.
So what’s the actionable takeaway? It’s not terribly new or groundbreaking but all the above validates a key fundamental principle in digital marketing and commerce: know your audience. Branching from that principle is the need to target the medium and the message to proclivities among audience segments.
A big part of that is to draw on sources of influence, and what each audience segment – in this case, generational divides – trust. That’s a moving target, especially as generations collectively mature. Today, influencers have influence, but cultural winds will shift as they always do. To the agile go the spoils.
Header image credit: Matt Botsford on Unsplash
