Influence: the most comprehensive media lever

Television remains a powerful channel in respondents’ minds, but audiences are increasingly shifting to social media.

Influencer marketing and social ads have become key tools for building brand awareness, especially among under-35s who no longer watch TV or read traditional press.

Keyword targeting allows advertisers to pinpoint consumer intent with precision. Next comes press—thanks to the thematic focus of publications—and influence marketing in third place, leveraging the affinity-based and editorial segmentation of influencers.

These are highly effective channels for advertisers seeking specific audience categories. The same applies to social ads, which enable interest-based targeting.

We’re witnessing a major media shift among those under 35. A decade ago, YouTube reigned supreme. Then came Instagram. Today, younger audiences and young professionals are on TikTok—or even Twitch for some.

In short, to reach Gen Y and Z—trendsetters in their own right—it’s essential to invest in influencer marketing, complemented by social ads and targeted SEM campaigns (focusing on the right age groups).

Looking to promote a shop, restaurant, or region? According to respondents, traditional media like outdoor advertising and radio are the most effective. For digital, prioritise social ads or geo-targeted acquisition campaigns (email or SMS).

Your clients are professionals? Respondents favour SEO (content creation strategies) followed by SEM as key marketing channels. The goal is to reach professionals searching for providers on Google. Meanwhile, PR helps establish credibility and maintain 'top of mind' awareness in industry-recognised media. Email, on the other hand, bridges the gap with prospecting and CRM tools.

Note that B2B influencer marketing is a channel that respondents rate as moderately impactful.

To present your offering in detail, you need space. Respondents believe SEO—which allows you to showcase your service directly on your site while controlling the content—is the best lever for this. Influencer marketing—through briefed influencers who speak the same language as their audience and have strong persuasive and explanatory power—is also highly favoured.

Lastly, acquisition email is an effective lever as it enables clear, in-depth communication with qualified contacts. However, GDPR constraints make this channel far more complex to manage.

Today, a brand is a vital asset. Digitally native vertical brands (DNVBs) quickly recognised this by fostering direct relationships with consumers. Developing brand love is a key objective for marketing and communications directors. Influencer marketing is seen as the best lever for building brand love. The power of influencer recommendations—much like PR through journalists—helps strengthen a sense of community belonging.

If my influencer recommends a product or service, and I trust that influencer, I’ll indirectly grow to love the product they endorse—knowing they wouldn’t promote something they don’t believe in.

Of course, this phenomenon—what we call the ‘Best Friend Effect’—only works with influencers who have organically built a community on social media. It wouldn’t hold the same weight with reality TV ‘influencers.’

Respondents also highlighted loyalty email as a key lever for building brand love. This requires defining a distinct brand voice (copywriting, editorial guidelines, and precise email segmentation).

Beyond a strong social media strategy, the question is: ‘How do you build a genuine community—both on and off social media?’ Traditional media lag behind here. Influencer marketing is the most effective way to attract new, authentic fans. It creates a positive feedback loop: ‘I find an influencer whose community aligns with my brand. They promote my brand, encouraging their followers to join my community. I then nurture this community through community management (and may even highlight influencers who’ve endorsed my brand).’

Our DNVB study revealed that the winning formula for brand love and community growth combines a consistent community management strategy with influencer marketing. By expanding their communities, DNVBs can bypass traditional distribution and achieve high-margin business models. Personalised loyalty emails also emerge as a valuable community-building tool, complementing community management. Social ads are mentioned as well, as they allow precise targeting of audiences aligned with the brand.

Even with a fantastic brand, an extraordinary community, and a well-explained offering, the next step is reaching buyers at the right moment.

SEM is clearly a last-click lever for purchases and, naturally, a key driver of traffic (though conversion remains essential).

Respondents also identified loyalty email as a crucial traffic driver, emphasising the importance of building a loyal email base.

SEO ranks third. While it generates traffic, its unpredictable and complex nature may have made it less favoured among respondents (though it still makes the top three).

Acquisition emails and social ads—more customer-focused than buying-context-focused—round out the top five traffic-generating levers.

Note that influencer marketing ranks sixth.

Naturally, loyalty emails are cited as the primary tool for retaining customers. However, it’s also essential to push engaging content and personalised offers to make them effective. Social ads (thanks in part to the power of retargeting) rank as the second most important tool.

Influencer marketing also performs exceptionally well. This is likely because seeing an influencer discuss their favourite brands has a significant impact on loyalty and reassurance—the sense of belonging to the same community is key, as highlighted in the Best Friend Effect mentioned above.

Surprisingly, radio ranks fourth. The intimacy of voice likely contributes to its perceived effectiveness in fostering loyalty among respondents…

SEO is the preferred method among respondents for boosting sales. In the consumer’s mind, if a site ranks highly on Google, it must be trustworthy for that search query. Beyond driving traffic, Google acts as a legitimising factor for sales—and consequently improves conversion rates.

SEM—being at the end of the purchase journey and offering precise, reassuring performance tracking—is the second most cited tool, on par with loyalty emails (highlighting the importance of nurturing and CRM). Affiliate marketing is also noted as an effective tool, as its economic model is directly tied to sales.

As expected, sending emails to customers costs virtually nothing and is the foundational tool every advertiser should implement when starting out.

SEO requires only effort, but results can be unpredictable (ranking among the least reliable tools for achieving outcomes). SEO is also becoming more complex with the rise of AI, which is transforming how brands position themselves in search engines and now in LLM responses.

SEM and digital advertising may be preferable for a 'test and learn' approach with controlled budgets.

Tools based on algorithmic and tracking logic are favoured for their reassuring—at least on paper—performance. However, this criterion heavily depends on the objectives set. For example, affiliate marketing will have little impact on brand awareness or love. This ranking focuses solely on objectives tied to the communication tool.

Notably, influencer marketing ranks sixth (ahead of all traditional media), demonstrating a strong ability to meet expected results.