The way people shop has changed. Today, the customer buying journey is over in a blink, often without consumers leaving the comfort of their favorite social media platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After conducting a recent consumer survey<\/a>, we found that content creators are now central to each phase of this journey\u2014from discovery to purchase and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this blog, we\u2019ll illustrate this evolution and help you get a feel for influencer marketing\u2019s place within the new landscape. By the end, you\u2019ll have the foundation you need to set forth on creating a full-funnel marketing strategy that touches every corner of the modern buying journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See Also: Influencers for Every Stage of the Influencer Marketing Funnel <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n If you want to learn more about a certain product, your first instinct might be to \u201cGoogle it.\u201d But how much longer before \u201cTikToking it\u201d becomes the new norm? It certainly doesn\u2019t have the same ring to it, but the transition has already begun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, Google is still the #1 place consumers discover new products online. But TikTok is the future<\/strong>. Data shows that the younger you are, the more likely you are to use social media over traditional search engines. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the numbers\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gen X and Baby Boomers<\/strong> are still fully on board with Google for product discovery. In fact, they prefer it (no surprise there):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things start to get a bit more interesting with Millennials<\/strong>. They also prefer Google, but not by much: <\/p>\n\n\n\n For Gen Z<\/strong>, social media (specifically TikTok and Instagram) is where it\u2019s at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The data makes it clear that over time, social media will be the go-to destination for product discovery online<\/strong>. TikTok has even rolled out paid ads features<\/a> mimicking Google\u2019s paid search to capitalize on this trend. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe discovery phase<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why influencer marketing is critical to the discovery phase of the customer buying journey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n