Are Influencers Really Influencing ?

An influencer is someone who has:

the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience.

Aa following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages. The size of the following depends on the size of his/her topic of the niche.

It is important to note that these individuals are not merely marketing tools, but rather social relationship assets with which brands can collaborate to achieve their marketing objectives

Social media influencers have an advantage over traditional advertisements because people are more likely to buy things if they are reviewed by a real person than when they see the product in an advertisement. Many social media influencers are able to make it a full-time job because they can get paid through brand collaborations. So, that means influencers are able to influence the decisions of common people.

But people are now more aware of the brand collaborations and the fact that influencers get paid for promoting the products. So, many people do not buy products depending solely on the reviews by social media influencers. But influencers do give exposure to the products.

Even now, some people are not aware of the brand collaborations or the concept of sponsored content. So, they are more likely to be influenced by social media influencers.

These days, people are vexed by repetitive influencer content. Many influencers have similar ways of promoting products and moreover, many promote the same products due to the aggressive influencer marketing campaigns by a few companies. This may make a negative impression on the products promoted by the influencers who have lost the trust of their followers.

So, yes. Influencers can influence their followers. But not all influencers can. Now, people are unfollowing those who promote too many products and are not genuine in their reviews. Social media influencers who are relatable and who can blend the brand campaigns into the rest of the content without making them look like advertisements can gain the trust of the people and hence can influence the purchasing behaviour of their followers.