Who’s influencing the social and savvy customer?

userby Amy Rountree

In a time where the UK high street seems to lose another retailer by the week, both B&M Bargains and Primark have continued to trade strongly in store. B&M have announced the opening of new stores, while Primark are expected to report a 4% rise in sales amid the opening of 14 new stores globally.

Maybe* listened to the online conversation created by and about Primark and B&M Bargains through August 2019. After examining how the brands engage online and create their own content, in the final installment of our three-part blog series, we explore who’s leading the online conversation about the brands, and how they feel about them.

The findings

1) Know your customers
2) Let’s get visual
3) Work with the right influencers

Who’s got influence?

During August there were 43,000 conversations created about Primark. While there were only 9.5K about B&M, Primark enjoy a much larger store footprint and a global one at that. Both brands benefit from a group of mums and self confessed bargain hunters who like to share new products and offers with their following.

In addition, despite Primark already being famed for their low price points, Twitter users such as @Topsiegirlshops create conversation about the brand through online selling sites such as eBay. Primark’s prices already appeal to bargain hunters, but there is a secondary customer who will seek out the brand either at a lower cost, or who will source products online that they may have missed in-store.

As well as social and savvy money saving mums, B&M see a lot of their conversation generated from the competition space. As we saw in our last post the brand will engage audiences frequently with contests, and these are readily shared by an online community of ‘compers’. But the B&M product also attracts attention and influence from other types of communities. 

Primark influencers

Influencers in the Primark conversation. Discover your own social media influencers.

B&M Bargains influencers

Influencers in the B&M Bargains conversation. Discover your own social media influencers.

Bragging about bagging a bargain

In particular B&M Bargains product draws appeal from pop culture fans with ranges such as Dr Who. As well as loyal customers who love to bag and brag a bargain, businesses can benefit from listening and partnering with influencers who, while not necessarily influential in their core demographic, are influential in other spaces and who would definitely have a desire to come along for the ride.

The key takeway

When looking to identify influencers, think inside and outside the box. Look for those who’s online voice and presence represents your core customer and their needs, but don’t be afraid to look for those in other communities that you know you have coveted product for. Identify the most visible individuals and cultivate engagement where it matters most. Be it Fortnite, Disney or Doctor Who, do not underestimate the spending power of super fans.

Leverage our insights to build long-lasting relationships with future brand advocates who will showcase your content to their network. Get started for free.

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