More than half (59%) of consumers are interested in seeing influencer content about food and beverage products, and 52% say this type of content prompts them to act (e.g., purchase). But, they want authentic content from relatable personalities, rather than celebrities.

These data come from Matter Communications, who surveyed more than 1,000 consumers about their social media consumption, influencer perceptions, and purchase habits in the past year.

Other key takeaways:

• 81% of consumers have either researched or considered purchasing a product or service after seeing friends, family, or influencers post about it.
• 69% trust recommendations from friends, family, or influencers over information directly from brands.
• Consumers are most likely to follow relatable (61%) and expert (43%) influencers. only 11% prefer celebrity influencers.
• Food and beverage is the top category wher consumers want to see influencer content. Their favorite types of content are how-to content (e.g., recipes, 42%), stories with short bits of information with video and/or photos (35%), and photo- or image-based posts with information in captions (33%).
• YouTube is the platform wher consumers say they find the most authentic/beneficial influencer content.