WHAT IT MEANS

he start of each year usually demands a little reflection on what the previous year yielded. Mike Sharman, co-founder and owner of digital communications agency Retroviral, says “content digestion” was overwhelming in 2014. People were exposed to more information than ever before and had less time to absorb it. “Breaking through the online clutter is difficult and poses a challenge for brands,” says Sharman.

Statistics illustrate that more than 70% of online purchasing decisions are based on peer-topeer recommendations, and though lagging slightly behind international trends, in the past year there was an increase in SA brands and agencies focusing on the value of “influencer marketing” and bloggers.

“This is the value of influencer marketing. People are switching off from traditional media and relying more and more on wordof-mouth comments to guide them,” says HaveYouHeard joint MD and cofounder Ryan McFadyen.

Collaboration with prominent online influencers, brands and agencies has proven that influential blog posts add impetus to a brand, product or business’s search engine optimisation