Passionistas: A Marketer’s New Best Friend
According to a new study by Yahoo and MediaVest called “Passionistas: The New Empowered Consumers,” highly-engaged consumers are more likely than most to create and share content online about issues they are passionate about and even the brands associated with them. Should marketers tap into this community, they would find a “unique opportunity to engage these credible, influential advocates to spread brand messages through digital media,” according to the release.
The study tracked the behavior of online consumers interested in sports, health, food, entertainment and other passions. The results showed that Passionistas spend a significant amount of time engaged in their passion related activities than the average consumer.
Passionistas are 52% more likely to recommend or influence other about a brand. Mark McLaughlin, vice president of Audience Strategies at Yahoo said in the release, “Being passionate today means digital content sharing and influencing others’ brand perceptions and purchase behaviors. Marketers who build their campaigns from the start with the goal of tapping into passions are inviting consumers to get engaged and create an authentic dialogue.”
Additional findings included: 53% said they would try a brand they had not previously considered if it were associated with their passion, versus 41% of regular users; 49% said their opinion of the brand would be more favorable if associated with their passion, versus 34% of regular users; and 46% said a brand has greater credibility if associated with their passion, versus 34% of regular users.
Passionistas look for relevant and timely information, including ads that look and feel like content, email subscriptions and RSS feeds, and customized suggestions from vendors like Amazon or Netflix. Marketers looking to leverage this valuable audience should look at this study and recognize the trends in their appropriate product space and how those events can shape the activity of their passionistas.
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