CREATORS > INFLUENCERS.
According to a new TikTok trend #deinfluencing influencer marketing is no longer working. This hashtag alone has over 41 million views right now. And #deinfluencer has another 5 million views.
This might be confusing for some, as the whole internet (Shopify, Amazon, Meta) and other companies releasing their reports and articles on how influencer marketing will grow drastically in 2023. We’ll I can tell you now that of-course these platforms say this, they want you to spend more money on their platforms and keep their creators happy. I am currently part of the millions of people on TikTok that no longer believe influencer marketing is special nor that it works. This trend is a great show to why you should listen to your consumers right now much more closely.
These hashtag users (#deinfluencing; #deinfluencer) are your customers, and they are tired of influencers trying to sell them products. These people are telling you everything you need to know, and they’re making it clear that they’re not interested in this type of advertising. I truly believe that researching this trend will benefit you more than any other article you’ll read right now.
This was before the whole Michaela and L’Oréal mascara saga or Tarte’s extravagant trip(which you can learn all about below in this newsletter). As much as that demonstrates how influencer marketing can sometimes result in major backlash, not only for the influencer but also for the brands, this trend existed long before those videos. Creators of this trend are warning people not to buy that mascara or those mini Uggs they keep seeing everywhere because they have discovered that influencers are attempting to sell them those products instead of recommending.
People are reconsidering everything they bought and consumed since 2020, questioning why they needed these products in the first place and why they bought them at all. And these people are desperate right now to find brands that offer authenticity, creators that offer authenticity, which is why Alix Earl popped up and blew up all of a sudden, because she offers this sense of authenticity.
Learning lesson: Focus on your brand, understanding your customers and what their needs and desires are.
