Are ‘influencers’ still influencing?

[mrgarlicdip]

Hmmm, it completely depends on who do you consider an influencer and how much their audience vibes with them. If you have been paying attention to the platform then you might have observed that Instagram has become a platform where aggregators/curators have bigger numbers than the actual content creators these days and it is kind of killing the game.

I see so many genuine wildlife photographers who invest in their tools, travel and multiple other resources to click amazing wildlife pictures. A photographer invests his time, money, skills and clicks some amazing pics and then edits them. It all takes a lot of time. How often do you think he is gonna be able to make unique yet amazing posts?

Now, some random guy owning an Instagram page about wildlife picks this guys best pictures and posts on his IG while giving him credits. He is catering content from 1000 different photographers and is choosing their best pictures on his feed. So obviously his feed > most of the individual photographers. His account grows much faster than any average photographer and builds a huge base of 300k followers, whereas most of the wildlife photographers he has been giving credits to only sit at 10-30k followers.

Now, here comes the tricky part. This admin/curator here is an anonymous entity with no content or personality of his own on this page. He has a huge audience yes, might even have a decent engagement rate, but he never is gonna be able to compete with actual individuals with a personality defined Instagram, where their audience vibes with their content, captions, polls and everything they do.

Numbers do not define influencers, their work/personality does. So yes, promotions sent through huge accounts with 1 million followers but no personal touch/bond with the audience would not convert very well. But products promoted through 10 different accounts with 10k followers each but with a bond with audience are going to convert really well.

Influencial marketing is supposed to have a personal touch with it rather than it being a blatant ad from a huge account with mass audience. I can go on and write 10 pages on this topic but I hope I provided a jist of what I am trying to convey.

[JordanMencel]

I’ve never quite understood the whole ‘influencer’ thing that seemed to boom recently, a lot of the self appointed ‘influencers’ seem like the sort of people who flog MLM/pyramid schemes, or salesman who tell you they’re a salesman (instant turn off)

The real influencers seem to be regular professionals who have a brand and push content related to their niche and their actual work, maybe I’m just cynical

[Waveshaper666]

I think this works better if you are working for the **niche customers** and your business is mainly online. I am not sure about the discount thing but I am pretty much sure whenever they tag a business on their story, Most of their followers at least visit that tagged business profile.

[9BadWolf9]

People’s perception is definitely changing. People tend to value honesty and transparency now more than ever. As a beauty fan I have seen so much drama and backstabbing. I can’t speak for everyone but personally I never minded the codes. They have to make money and that’s ok, I get 10 percent off (or more). However I was never sold on the trends or the “you have to have this” but for every single thing. Influencers became sales people and that alienated the audience, there was no transparency on affiliations or gifts or being paid. I always did research before buying something and that research still includes influencers and reviews in any form so I can’t say that something has really changed for me. I always saw their work rather than heard their words and I can tell when something is drastically photoshopped. There are still some that hold their integrity (for the beauty community I will say Temptalia). If I end up wanting to buy X product I will use someone’s code because it saves me money and why not support someone like that? Pages like the ones you mentioned existed during the rise of blogs and frankly, they are oftentimes petty. Some influencers do need a reality check, some wannabe influencers do need to stop acting stuck up or demand irrational things. However, it has become a job. Those who work hard get (and should get) rewarded for their work, not with the 10% but with actual money that pays the bills.

That being said there is certainly a shift in the industries where influencers are being used. We just have’t seen the next step yet.

Edit: the tag says influencer but I’m not even close to one, but I am also not a social media manager or professional , I joined to learn.

[HZLFC]

It won’t go away – brands have always partnered with famous people, and this is just the logical step and a new name for it. Trust is pretty low at this point, but the awareness driven from putting a product in front of an audience in this way still exists.

Personally, I think it’s becoming less valuable than it has been recently – audiences are becoming blind to it, or actively distrusting of it. But in niche markets and with the right influencers, it’s still working. Clothing brands in particular should find it easy – there’s a lot of product to demo, it can be displayed naturally, and people are interested in getting the look from the image.

I would love for this bubble to burst. I hate it. For now it’s still working well for brands and influencers though.

[Crackmacs]

I’m still signing contracts and making agreements happen. Things are actually picking up for me too, since businesses are starting to reopen and attract customers again.

Hate the word ‘influencer’ so much btw. I believe every single person can have an influence.

[Iradecima]

Real influencers still influence.

Ex. If their brand is doing makeup tutorials and they are using a certain product and their audience wants to do that look, it is likely they will use that product and use the code. But the marketer’s challenge is to find the right makeup artist with the right audience.

Not every influencer is right for every brand. And not everyone who calls themself an influencer actually has influence.

[jay_mak]

It’s shifted to micro influencers, so people with 5-10k followers ideally. The belief is that these audience are more passionate and engaged and therefore more receptive to more organic ‘advertising’. Those mega-influencers are in a league of their own and still making bank, but those with a few hundred thousand followers likely saw a fall in offers from brands because the ROI was, overall, decreasing and so too was consumer trust with these brands and influencers.

[Suitable-Concert]

Social media is where young kids around 14 or 15 (and younger) go, where they’ve almost always gone, to get updates about current events to celeb drama to music releases and everything in between. When you grow up on social media, you’ll naturally turn to platforms like Instagram for validation and to have someone else say yes, *today* you are worthy enough to stay in x, y, or z social circle. But as soon as they can’t keep up, they risk losing friends and losing social status. If they follow someone who makes the veiled promise that whatever product they’re being paid to promote will keep them in their social circle, they’ll jump on it.

That’s why I don’t think influencers are making a big impact on people over the age of maybe 21 or 22, because at that point, most people stop caring about what others think so they don’t need a certain product to maintain friends. But junior high and high school are a whole different world and if you don’t fit in, you’ll be miserable for years.

It’s fascinating to dissect “influencer marketing” and how it became popular. And now if you ask a 5th grade class what they want to be when they grow up, you’re guaranteed to hear at least a few kids say they want to be influencers.

[[deleted]]

“influencers” have always existed, and will always exist. The term “influencer” though is relatively new and might cease to exist one day, but the act of being somewhat famous and recommending products far predates the internet, social media and will always exist.

[nathanbeam]

Somehow I used to watch vlogs of influencers, And yah even the products that they sell online I tried and buy a lot. They really influence me. lmao.

[ickN]

It’s still very effective.

[theworldreviews]

influencers “influence”. they carry contents that is aligned with their values and passion. the term “influencers” nowadays is so loose, anyone can just claim they are one because they have a huge number of followers :/

[bengonline]

I think the influencer trend has be milked too hard for too long. It’s always been mocked but now it’s a joke. There were lots of fake influencers exploiting brands and lots of brands creating fake influencers. It’s not as trusted. Ppl see behind the curtain.

Also consumers are getting bearish. Influencers count on people who have money to spend on wants.