Is Influencer Marketing Overrated?
Brands - big and small - have been wooing the social media influencers to create awareness, engagement, and sales for a long time now.
But nowadays, skeptics point out “All eez not well” as incidents of fake followers, declining engagement rates, and shifting consumer trust are reported.
Let’s break down the reality behind the hype.
Pros of Influencer Marketing
Authenticity, Trust - People trust recommendations from people they admire. A study by Nielsen found that 92% of consumers trust peer recommendations over traditional ads (1). Hence, enter Influencers, who have highly engaged audiences who view them as credible sources.
Mamaearth, a beauty brand, relied on mom bloggers, skincare influencers, and celebrities (Shilpa Shetty) to position itself as a safe and natural alternative (2) and became popular among young parents and skincare enthusiasts.
Reach, Engagement - Traditional advertising target broad audience (hence, they “broadcast”), while influencer marketing targets precisely by collaborating with niche demographic-influencers
Zomato and Swiggy leveraged food bloggers and YouTube influencers like "Curly Tales" and "Foodie Incarnate" to create relatable content and boost brand engagement (3).
Cheaper – Why give Deepika Padukone, or Alia Bhat Rs 1-2 crore (!!!) for an Instagram post (4), when brands can using micro-influencers who can create engaging content for a fraction of the cost.
boAt, the brand for audiophiles, has consistently used influencers across tech, fitness, and music niches and become a dominant player without relying on traditional advertising..
Cons of Influencer Marketing
Fake Followers – A pain point in influencer marketing is the existence of fake followers and bots to jack up the ‘influential quotient’. But, these fake accounts lead to wasted advertising budgets.
In 2019, a study by HypeAuditor found that ~63% of Instagram influencers globally were involved in "fraudulent activities" ( read buying followers or engagement). Brands like Unilever publicly announced they would no longer work with influencers who used such tactics (5).
In 2020, Mumbai Police busted an international racket for creating fake social media profiles to boost engagement numbers (6).
Audience Fatigue - Due to overexposure, its ‘wow’ factor is on the wane and customers are questioning the hypocrisy of influencers. E.g. why one Bollywood celebrity publicly preaches (“Sugar is Bad for Health”) one thing and practices (endorses sugary drinks) another personally (7).
Views ≠ ROI - Measuring ROI of influencer marketing is challenging. While engagement and reach metrics are available, direct sales attribution remains difficult.
In 2017, Pepsi faced backlash for a campaign featuring influencer Kendall Jenner (star of the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians). Pepsi took it down after a day of launch depite millions of views as the brand (and the influencer) was accused of being insensitive to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. (8)
Verdict
Influencer marketing isn’t dead—it’s just evolving.
Brands are now favouring influencers with loyal, engaged audiences. AI is helping brands choose influencers by analyzing engagement authenticity and audience insights. Performance-based deals, e.g. commission-based payments, are replacing fat flat fees to track real sales impact.
Brands that focus on trust, authenticity, and data-driven decisions will win, while those chasing vanity metrics may struggle.
Reference
1.https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2012/consumer-trust-in-online-social-and-mobile-advertising-grows/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwUCFhEyhls
5. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1396109/average-fraud-rate-influencers/
7. https://storypick.com/alia-bhatt-tagged-a-hypocrite/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_for_Now