Instagram is a powerful channel for converting inspiration into purchases. New research by influencer marketing expert, Social Soup, has found that only 14 per cent of Instagram-inspired purchases were directly from sponsored or ad content.

From Social Soup’s survey of 329 Instagrammers, it is clear that users act after seeing a post featuring a product they’re interested in, with 83 per cent reporting that they had bought products online after seeing it posted on Instagram. 

Of these, 29 per cent of users said their most recent Instagram inspired purchase was a brand they follow, while 27 per cent were inspired by an Instagrammer they don’t know in real life. Just 3% of purchases from Instagram were inspired by celebrities, showing that high-profile sponsored content wasn’t as effective as smaller influencers with a more engaged audience.

Social Soup CEO, Sharyn Smith said, “It’s really clear from our research that influencers are punching way above current levels of investment and brands should be investing more in the influence space if they want to drive sales.”

“The research underscores just how important it is to always be authentic when brands partner with influencers. In the context of influencers, it’s authenticity and engagement, not size, that matters,” Smith said.

Product validation in the comments

The research also investigated how purchases were made through Instagram, revealing a pattern of behaviour as people confirmed they read comments as a way to validate purchases and searched product hashtags to see real people using the product and their experience.

Smith said, “The research uncovers how effective Instagram influencers are in driving purchase through authentic content along with the perfect blend of social proof and immediate product validation. It also reveals how important it is to encourage customers to create content as they play a pivotal role in the purchase ecosystem”.

“These results speak to the power of Influencer marketing, showing that Instagram users are not only following influencers and researching the products they promote, but interactions between the influencer and their followers are helping to drive purchases.”

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