Based on a survey conducted by the Influencer Marketing Factory on virtual influencers, 58% of Americans follow at least one virtual influencer. That said, the number varies widely for different age groups.
For instance, 75% of people between 18 and 24 years of age follow at least one virtual influencer. However, this number takes a dive for people aged 55 and older. Namely, merely 26% of 55+-year-olds follow at least one virtual influencer.
When asked why they follow virtual influencers, 26.6% claimed they do it because of the engaging content, 18.6% stuck around because of storytelling, and 15.5% claim they follow influencers because they’re inspiring.
In contrast, 52.4% of people are not interested in virtual influencers, 24.5% prefer real (human) influencers, whereas 24.2% don’t even know influencers exist.
In fact, virtual influencers are not as popular as human influencers when it comes to product promotion. According to the survey, merely 35% of people buy products or services promoted by virtual influencers. In contrast, 88% of people buy something promoted by a human influencer.
On that note, when asked how mainstream will virtual influencers become in the next 12 months, 16% said they would become “very mainstream.”
If you didn’t already know, virtual influencers are digital characters created via graphic software. And just like real influencers, these fictional characters have unique features, different personalities, and interests, which helps people connect with them, making them more likely to buy products.
Virtual influencers are becoming increasingly popular as many brands are partnering with them for their marketing campaigns. As a result, they play a vital role in the marketing industry as a whole.
