Let's rewind a few years. Before "influencer" became a legitimate job title, people built audiences because they had something people genuinely enjoyed watching. They were funny. Educational. Relatable. Creative. People followed them because they liked them.
Then something interesting happened. Brands realised these creators had something traditional advertising didn't: trust. Instead of renting a billboard, you could borrow someone's credibility. It worked. Really well.
Before anyone gets offended, this isn't an attack on influencers. If anything, it's the opposite. I think brands have made being an influencer significantly harder than it needs to be. And in doing so, they've quietly broken one of the most effective forms of marketing we've ever had.
Brands forgot why it worked in the first place.
It wasn't because someone had 500,000 followers. It wasn't because they owned a ring light. It wasn't even because they were particularly good at selling. It worked because the recommendation felt natural.
You'd watch someone vlog their day. Halfway through they'd mention a product they genuinely used. There was no dramatic music. No over-produced script. No "Hi guys! Today I'm SO excited…" It felt like a friend making a recommendation. That's what people bought. Not the product. The trust behind it.
Then brands got involved.
And they got… involved. Now creators receive campaign briefs that are longer than some university assignments. "Say this." "Don't say that." "Mention the product in the first five seconds." "Smile here." "Hold the bottle like this." "Wear these colours." "Film it this way." "Include these five key messages." "Use this exact caption."
At some point, we stopped hiring influencers… and started hiring actors.
Here's my hot take.
If you're scripting every word, choosing every camera angle, approving every caption, controlling every creative decision, you don't actually want influencer marketing. You want an advert. So go make one. Hire a production company. Hire a creative director. Hire actors. Book a location. Film a commercial. Because that's what you're asking influencers to do anyway.
Influencers are becoming full production teams.
Brands often complain that influencers charge too much. Really? Let's look at what many influencers are expected to do. They concept the video. Write the script. Film it. Light it. Record audio. Edit it. Colour grade it. Create graphics. Take photographs. Write captions. Publish the content. Engage with comments. Deliver analytics. And somehow make the whole thing feel effortless.
That's not just influencing. That's an entire creative agency squeezed into one person. Compare that to a traditional advertisement, where you'd pay for a strategist, a creative director, a copywriter, a videographer, an editor, a photographer, talent, a production team, post-production, location hire and equipment. Suddenly that influencer's rate card doesn't look quite so expensive.
Then we ignore the audience.
This might be my biggest frustration. Brands choose influencers based on follower count instead of audience fit. A beauty creator suddenly promotes a car dealership. A fitness coach starts advertising luxury watches. A gaming creator is selling anti-ageing skincare.
Can it work? Sometimes. Should it be the first choice? Probably not. Influencer marketing isn't about finding someone with the biggest audience. It's about finding someone with the right audience. Because followers don't buy products. Relevant audiences do.
Stop treating creators like billboards.
The creators who build loyal communities do it because people trust them. The moment every second post feels like a scripted advertisement, that trust starts disappearing. You've probably noticed it yourself. You see "Paid Partnership" at the top of a post, and your thumb is already halfway to scrolling. Not because sponsored content is bad. Because most sponsored content no longer feels genuine. Ironically, the more brands try to control the message, the less believable the message becomes.
What brands should do instead.
Choose creators whose audience already matches your customer. Give them the campaign objective. Tell them what absolutely must be communicated. Share any legal requirements or non-negotiables. Then let them do what you hired them to do. They know their audience better than you do. That's literally why you're paying them.
And a note to influencers…
Protect your audience. Every partnership either builds trust or slowly chips away at it. The biggest asset you have isn't your follower count. It's the relationship you've built with the people following you. Guard that. Because audiences are incredibly good at spotting when something feels forced.
The takeaway.
Influencer marketing isn't broken because influencers have changed. It's struggling because many brands have forgotten what made it work in the first place. People don't follow influencers because they're perfect. They follow them because they feel real.
So if your campaign removes everything that makes a creator authentic, don't be surprised when the results feel like every other advert on the internet. Sometimes the best thing a brand can do is loosen its grip.