Influencer authenticity and credibility will be key in gaining the trust of consumers amid the current TikTok ‘deinfluencing’ trend, according to Room Unlocked CEO Alex Payne.
Over the past week, the ‘deinfluencing’ trend has seen creators urge viewers on TikTok to not buy certain products. The trend reportedly acts as the antithesis to traditional influencing and now has more than 52 billion views on the short-form video platform.
‘Deinfluencing’ comes off the back of recent controversy surrounding influencer Mikayla Nogueira who was accused of using false lashes and deceiving users after posting a review of a mascara product.
According to a new report by academics from the University of York, experts have argued that the marketing industry is entering an era of “recession-core influencing”.
Influencer marketing firm Room Unlocked CEO Alex Payne has also voiced his belief that authenticity and credibility are now “the only ways to reach consumers at home”. Room Unlocked has also found that 60% of the nation find influencers “infuriating” amid the cost of living crisis, finding the way creators flaunt luxurious lifestyles to be insensitive.
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Last September, the influencer marketing platform found that 61% of British people struggle to identify with influencers on any level, raising concerns over how ‘disingenuous’ they are.
“We have all seen the stats around Gen Z – socially, environmentally and ethically more conscious than any generation before them,” Payne said.
“This couples with the authenticity and reality we’re now seeing in the content they produce and the platforms they use. Brands are having to go with them, and to be comfortable placing themselves in the stories influencers tell, rather than paying influencers to tell their story.”
