Kiss FM presenter Felix Odiwour popularly known as Jalang'o was on Thursday, August 13, ranked the top influencer in Kenya in a survey by GeoPoll.
In the report titled Online Influencers’ Influence In Kenya And Nigeria, the media personality was announced to have 11% of the mentions from samples taken and was followed by Njugush the comedian in second place.
Comedian Eric Omondi was ranked third and Musician Size 8 came in fourth with former K24 TV anchor Betty Kyalo closing of the top five.
Blogger Robert Alai came in as the sixth most influential figure with singer Akothee and comedian Churchill taking the seventh and eighth spots respectively.
Citizen TV Anchor Jeff Koinange was ninth with vlogger Maxine Wabosha ranked tenth. Singer Bahati was eleventh, Xtian Dela (12), The Wa Jesus Family (13), Azziad Nasenya (14) and Rapper Khaligraph Jones (15).
According to the survey, journalists and media personalities were found to be the most believable types of influencers, followed by industry experts (46%) and celebrities such as musicians and actors at 44%.
"In influencer marketing, everything rests on if influencers and their reviews or recommendations can be trusted. This trust is the premise for the growth of influencer marketing, as people tend to believe the voices of people they know or like more than the brand owners," Geopoll observed.
The research firm found that lifestyle, fashion, and technology influencers were the most popular categories of influencers with Facebook being the most popular social network in Kenya at 85%, YouTube (73%) and Instagram (63%) closing out the top three in Kenya.
On average, an impressive 69% of respondents in Kenya stated they have been directly influenced to make purchase decisions by influencers’ recommendations. A further 32% said influencer reviews had contributed to their purchase decisions to some extent.
"Influencers with relevant content continue to have a strong following as they win and retain consumer trust, which ultimately impacts purchasing decisions. Social media influencers who are trusted and followed by consumers still play an important role in affecting their purchasing decisions," the firm noted.
The Survey was conducted in the last week of July 2020 via mobile application mode by targeting a random sample of 2,615 GeoPoll App users in Kenya and Nigeria.
The rise of internet use and the global digital revolution over the last decade has given rise to a modern way of marketing known as ‘influencer marketing’ and more personalities are leveraging on the online platforms to grow their brands.
Digital Strategist Brian Muuo opined that digital is the future and young people should explore the avenue in the face of unemployment.
"The only limit on digital platforms is a person's creativity and if you establish yourself with a loyal following you can easily be approached by corporates to advertise for them," he told Kenyans.co.ke.
