The future of influencers

I’m writing this for 2 reasons: One, I live in New York so it’s not unusual for me to walk into an influencer photo shoot (and sometimes intentionally) and Two, but probably more importantly for the purposes of LinkedIn, my last 3 research projects have taken a look at the impact influencers have on the brand and if it’s the best marketing strategy for the brand. 

I don’t have a definitive answer, but there are a few trends that suggest where it’s headed. I’d love to hear your thoughts, below.

Trend #1: It’s no longer a number’s game. When influencer marketing became really big, brands wanted to partner with celebrities or others with a large following. Today, there’s a sentiment that it’s more about the type of influencer they are vs how many people like a post. 

Beyond the OG Celebrity influencer, we’re seeing an increase in industry experts e.g., psychologists, makeup artists, etc. These are people who actually know what they’re talking about. They most likely have an advanced degree or certification. They’re passionate about the topic and making sure more accurate information gets to the masses. They tend to have a more critical eye for brands and products because they know what to look out for. Followers find their content to be more genuine and will be more likely to buy into their product reviews.

Article about this trend: Scientific beauty bloggers are on the rise

Also, this is a new company, Desire List, delivers product reviews from the ‘pros’ . Their message is all about ‘being informed, not influenced’ 

I’m not saying people are going to stop following celebrities because they are definitely entertaining and that's valuable. But there’s a higher level of awareness that celebrities have tons of money, so if they are pushing a hair care product and their hair looks amazing, followers attribute it to thousands of dollars on hair extensions or a team of stylists, for example. My guess is that brands will start moving away from the macro influencers, like celebrities, and opt for the more specialized influencers ‘the experts’.

Trend #2: ‘ugly is the new pretty’. Instagram used to be a source for aspiration and escapism, but studies have shown how seeing the pretty pictures and these ‘false’ realities negatively impact consumers’ mental state. Recent quantitative and qualitative research shows that consumers are tired of perfect images in their Instagram feed. 

Findings from a recent YPulse study: 

• 9 in 10 consumers like it when people showcase their flaws and imperfections 
• 4 in 5, 13-36 year olds are tired of seeing perfect, polished images in advertising
• Clothing, beauty, music and athletic brands rank high as the top types of brands consumers feel should show imperfect images of their products and spokespeople

Culturally, this desire to see more authenticity in photos is showing up in #theuglylocationchallenge, Crying photos (see Drew Barrymore's Instagram) and the move away from ‘Instagram Glam’. 

Trend # 3 Consumers don't want to support macro influencers. Most of the consumers that I’ve interviewed in the last 6-12 months do not purchase directly from an Influencer unless they know them, or they have the credentials (Industry experts). Instead, people will take a screenshot of a post, do more research later and maybe buy. There’s a sentiment that they don’t want these more macro influencers getting the money from their purchase because they’d rather support the micro influencers. This will have the biggest impact for brands. Yes, there's a level of awareness that these influencers bring for the brand, but you can't track if this awareness bolsters sales.

I'd be curious to hear how you have seen the landscape shift. Share your thoughts below.