Is 2021 the end of the influencer? During a time when being authentic online has never been so in demand, we explore whether “influencer culture” is coming to an end.

Are you being influenced? It’s a good question in 2021. 

Sharing life updates from a yacht in Dubai isn’t quite the same as us all being in the same boat. In recent months, the 10-billion-dollar influencer marketing industry has come under scrutiny after a number of high-profile social media account holders flocked to sunnier climates for a spot of influencing. With some deeming this essential for work, it’s been hard to show empathy whilst the rest of us are stuck at home patiently waiting for a pandemic to end. 

The question is, is the industry really in the firing line, or are we just seeing this culture shift in a different direction?

We vote the latter. Let’s not forget that in social media years, this is a very young type of marketing, which is bound to hit a few bumps in its formative days. The tone-deafness of a select few individuals and management teams cannot undo the success of everybody else, but what it can do (and has done), is raise red flags of how quick and easy it can be to get it wrong. Influencer marketing is a powerful branding tool with live access to a wealth of direct audiences. When done right, with conscientiousness and a clear strategy, it can elevate awareness and drive impressive results (even during a pandemic). According to research by SocialPubli last year, 44% of those who launched influencer campaigns during COVID-19 saw better results than previously. 

An influencer is anyone who has the ability to sway potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending on social media. However, the paths that can be taken to reach this entitlement come from an increasing number of directions. There’s a difference between content creators specialising in a field who have built their following from the ground up, and those celebrities who have fallen into the sector via flash-in-the-pan-fame on reality TV. It’s a loose term, which is developing a problematic paradox: influencers position themselves as being highly relatable, yet mass relatability only widens the gap between the individual and the audience. 

That’s why it’s worth recognising the emergence of ‘micro’ and ‘nano’ influencers. These are those with typically less followers (say no more that 10,000), but with a more niche theme to their accounts. Usually specialising in a particular field like cooking or fashion, they’re likely to have higher trust levels, where quality is there to override quantity. They know their audiences intimately and can share with an interested brand their likes, interests and aspirations. In that sense, influencers can be one of the most reliable and accurate audience insights tools on the market. 

Essentially, brands and marketing departments just need to be more educated and strategic with their choices in this field. What this recent backlash is highlighting is a heightened demand for authenticity in this new digital age and tainted reality. Our aesthetic ideals are changing. Flawless lighting, latte art and great stretches of sun and sea hold little relevance to our daily lives now. We’ve gotten used to a life unfiltered, without the bells and whistles, so to help us feel seen by the content we receive, our Instagram feeds should emulate this. The challenge for brands and influencers is to work out the fine line between realism and aspiration in this current climate.

Of course, acknowledging the sign of our times can be inspiring too. We like it when brands tell the truth and being so outwardly self-referential can be entertaining or, in New Zealand’s case, pretty hilarious too. The latest campaign from their tourism board entitled ‘travelling under the social influence’ is a mockumentary type skit, featuring comedian Tom Sainsbury as a member of the Social Observation Squad (SOS). The ad, which went viral, urges people to stop following the crowd, to stop being influenced by the same picture-perfect Instagram holiday snaps, and instead, to “do something new”.

It’s a refreshing, stand-out stance from New Zealand and, though people cannot travel right now, its relevant and comedic undertones have engaged and inspired, leaving a mark on people’s dreaming states of mind. For all travel brands, replicating this approach offers an opportunity to leave behind the same old stock footage and image libraries and find deeper, more creative routes to connection. 

This definitely isn’t the end of the influencer, but as we pivot between reality and normality, the industry needs to get smarter with how they relate to real people in the real world and, most importantly, hold on to our trust. This starts with reading the room. Yes, it’s a big playing field, but this just means marketers have no excuse not to find the perfect fit.

Time for brands and influencers alike to wake up and smell the authenticity.