I’m here to answer the question we’ve all been asking – no, it’s not “does the rosemary hair oil actually work?” – instead it’s why influencer marketing is still cutting through in 2023.

Don’t worry I will come back to the hair oil…

Whatever your platform of preference there’s still a community and those trusted to be the tastemakers in it. They are people who either curate or create content in a way that your audience identifies with, enjoys, or strives to adopt in their own life.

Visibility factor: Seen and heard is the way forward!

Yes, we are all special little people with unique personalities – but we also strive to be seen or see people who are like us in raised positions. Think of who your favourite creators are on social media – ask yourself: what about them interests you? Social media has made a safe place for those who haven’t always been the normal mainstream conventional choice to have a platform to speak and influence others.

Speaking for myself – my favourite creators share similar styles and tastes to me because there’s parts of their content I would like to adopt in my own life (who doesn’t want a hack for making a tasty cake in just 5 minutes).

More openly social media has created a space for people within marginalised groups to find others like them and unite to increase visibility.

Why does this matter for marketing: When your brand helps to solve an issue these communities care about you now have a trusted face who can help share information about your product or offering (it’s a match made in marketing heaven).

De-influencing deconstructed: Hate is stronger than love

With the current trend of de-influencing hitting the community hard, we’ve unconsciously created a contradiction – as these de-influencing posts are coming from “influencers.”

Hate is a form of passion, and trust me: nothing fuels hate like spending money on a product only to find out it does absolutely nothing for you. It’s very easy for your inner Disney villain to come out and seek revenge.
Damn you, Rosemary Hair Oil – you were supposed to cure all my problems.

Why are we so passionate about this? – short answer from someone who isn’t a therapist or psychologist is these products are often purchased as a treat to ourselves, they are coping mechanisms to escape away from the real things happening in your life. TikTok shop has pointed me in the direction of some amazing stuff – but it’s the ones that do nothing that stings that extra bit in my soul.

But where do Influencers come into this? The de-influencing trend has picked up steam unexpectedly, often we are trained to see influencers plugging the newest sneakers on the market or sharing tips for the best pre-workout drink mix. De-influencing was a moment of cutting through as we could now see these people who are trusted promotional sources living their villain era and instead calling out products they hate.

Why does this matter for marketing: if your product is good – you’ll be praised… if not – that’s a problem for a different blog.

Let us entertain you

I could go into every reason influencer marketing is important but it all boils down to one simple fact – it’s entertaining.

Social media has been a form of escapism since the beginning of it all – Charlie Bit Me, Evolution of Dance and popular creators like Smosh all found early internet communities. Nothing has changed, and the Covid-19 pandemic was such a dark time for many people, influencers and social media were a form of escapism while the world was going through something so strange.

Why does this matter to marketing: the old ways of talking about your products are gone – instead trust the creators and your agencies to work and find the unique story to tell through Influencer marketing.

Written by Alexandra