How honest?

If you're a Millennial (aka Generation Y member) then you probably consume media a lot differently to previous generations. Millennials more often than not get their news from their phones (thanks Twitter), their television from their laptops (stay tuned for a Netflix blog post) and advice from peers (hello Youtube).Peer:

• a person of the same legal status

• a person who is equal to another in abilities, qualifications, age, background, and social status.

• something of equal worth or quality.

• a nobleman.

• a member of any of the five degrees of the nobility in GreatBritain and Ireland (duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron).

More than ever Millennials are taking advice from people who are like them in some way be it age, background or social similarities. Take Blair Fowler for example, an 18year old fashion and beauty vlogger with just over 1 million subscribers on Youtube. Blair's success on Youtube has been derived from giving fashion and beauty tutorials, advice and product reviews to young women. Marketers caught on quickly to the leverage of peer marketing.

Peer marketing includes product reviews, the use of a spokesperson, and use of a product. Product reviews in social media have been implemented in hopes of increased product trials, sales, and all-in-all word-of-mouth advertising. In my previous blog post about Google +, I touched on how Youtube should leverage partners to influence the use of the Hangout. Yes, they have that much influence on subscribers and followers. So, does great responsibility come with great power? The scales are tipping on the 'no' side.

Mashable recently reported some very interesting data. "By 2014, 10% to 15% of social media reviews will be fake and paid for by companies, according to a new study by tech research company Gartner."

This data is far from surprising to me and I will go even further by saying that Gartner is underwhelming the statistics. While legal sanctions are in place by the FTC to decrease the amount of fake reviews and ratings. I believe that marketers will continue to find a way to push their brand through peer marketing channels because it's working (at least for now).