This is a key finding of the first empirical impact study on brand content from influencers in the DACH region, which the Content Marketing Forum e.V. (CMF) published today. "The positive effect of influencer content for brands and products has been impressively proven with this study," says Olaf Wolff, Chairman of the CMF. The evaluation shows this along the entire customer journey: from the awareness phase to the purchase and customer loyalty, the use of influencers can have a very positive effect for companies - "if companies rely on the right partners," says Wolff. "In the study, we explicitly asked about our favorite influencers. They achieve top engagement scores. The task for companies and agencies is therefore clearly on the strategic side: defining the target group and selecting the right influencers."
Age, gender and formal education play a major role in the consumption of influencer content - but also many other factors beyond pure socio-demographic differences, as can be seen from the detailed results of the impact study: "We can also differentiate in the results according to personality traits and lifestyle typologies," explains study director Prof. Clemens Koob from the Scion research institute. "Here we see clear differences in usage behavior and impact. For example, people with high self-control and emotional stability are less likely to follow influencers, but still rate their favorite influencers and their content positively - as do recommended brands."
According to the study results, brand recommendations are significantly better received by people with a modern lifestyle and a high level of sophistication than by traditionalists and conservatives. "The difference here is truly remarkable and significantly higher than we have seen in previous studies on printed customer magazines, digital corporate content and corporate social media posts," comments Wolff.
Facts Facts from the study:
- The main platforms for influencer content are Instagram and YouTube
- On average, users follow 4.6 influencers in 3.6 areas of interest - health, lifestyle, food and comedy are particularly popular.
- Age plays a major role in usage: Younger consumers use in-fluencers particularly intensively: They follow more and more often, are more active on TikTok and spend significantly more time with the content of their favorite influencers.
- On average, consumers spend 20 minutes a day with the content of their favorite influencer.
- Brands recommended by favorite influencers are viewed positively by the majority of consumers. Brand recommendations in the areas of home & interior, lifestyle, health, self-care & wellbeing and gaming are particularly well received.
The complete study results are now available can be ordered via the CMF. The study is free of charge for members, for non-members it costs € 395 plus VAT.
The BCM Awards are a family of awards consisting of the established umbrella award "Best of Content Marketing" (BCM) and the two new awards "Best of Influencer & Content Creators" (BICC) and "Best of Corporate Print (BCP)". All three competitions highlight the best of the best from all relevant works of content-driven communication in German-speaking countries. They are the only awards that consistently focus on content in the judging process. The jury process and the evaluation criteria are transparent. Expert juries with more than 200 jurors decide on the awards in the advertised categories. All entrants receive high-quality feedback on their work, and the gold winners receive points in various rankings, including the Horizont Creative Ranking. The awards are not profit-oriented.
Content Marketing Forum (CMF):
The Content Marketing Forum e.V. stands for Best of Content Marketing. It is the association of content marketing experts in German-speaking countries. Individual companies, agencies, service providers and content marketing companies find a platform for professional exchange and a stage for their services in the CMF.
The submission phase for the "BCM-Best of Corporate Print-Award" (BCM-bcp), the first content marketing award in the German-speaking world made exclusively for printed corporate media, begins on December 2 - before the BCM-Best of Content Marketing Award (BCM) starts in its usual form for all forms of media on February 1.
All print media for content-driven corporate communication, such as customer and employee magazines, annual reports and corporate books, etc., can be submitted to the BCM-bcp until February 28. It is the first of two new, additional BCM awards that will be launched for the first time in the 2025 award season. The second will be the BCM-Best of Influencer & Content Creators (BCM-bicc) and will accept submissions from April 1. In between, the established BCM-Best of Content Marketing Award will be held as usual from February 1.
The new role of print in the content marketing mix
"Printed corporate media enjoy a high level of trust, they are perceived as valuable by consumers and score points not least because of their feel and look," says Olaf Wolff, Chairman of the BCM organizer Content Marketing Forum e.V. (CMF), "our series of studies on the impact of various content marketing media has clearly shown this."
At the same time, the importance of print in the content marketing mix is changing: whereas it used to be a basic matter of course, it has now become a premium channel - and is perceived as such by consumers.
"That's why we decided to create our own print award as part of the expansion of the BCM award family, which, with the "Best of Content Marketing" label, has the charisma to give the premium product its own stage," explains Peter Matz, CMF award representative.
The award is independent, but embedded in the established "Best of Content Marketing Award". "This means that submissions made for the BCM-bcp can also be submitted for the BCM Award in the same submission portal for a small additional fee," says Regina Karnapp, Managing Director of the CMF. The award ceremony on October 9, 2025 will be held jointly for all awards in Munich.
]]>