To Trust or Not to Trust
Is it worth trusting influencers?
—By Raven Perry
While scrolling through my feed on Instagram, I came across a video from a social media influencer showcasing different products one must buy to keep their car clean. Being a new car owner, I was immediately intrigued. One product in particular caught my attention. It was a slime ball made to take the dust off the dashboard, screen, and cupholders of your car. Immediately, I made my way to Amazon and purchased this exact product. Unfortunately, when I received the product, it was nothing like the influencer said. The dust was not sticking to the ball, and overall it was a waste of time and money.
This is not the first time people on social media have influenced me and it has backfired. I know others have experienced the same pain and disappointment. Scrolling through social media, it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of trying a new product because “this person said so.” Where the lines blur is whether or not these videos from influencers are genuine recommendations or just paid promotions. This raises the critical question: Should people trust influencers?
Defining influence
What exactly is influencer marketing? According to “An Analysis of How Social Media Influencers Utilize Trust-Building Strategies to Create Advocates” by Megan Scott, influencer marketing is defined as “A form of relationship building which may be very helpful for brands that seek to expand their audience and turn them into loyal customers through trust and authenticity.” The key word in that definition is “trust.” In reality, influencer marketing relies on the trust between an influencer and their audience. However, as influencer marketing has grown, the trustworthiness and authenticity of influencers have been put into question.
While many influencers try to gain genuine connections with their followers, not all influencers offer transparency when promoting products. Trust is an essential factor of influencer marketing. As Galandar Mammadli notes in his research on “The Role Of Brand Trust in The Impact Of Social Media Influencers On Purchase Intention,” the trust viewers have had significantly influenced their decision to purchase any product being promoted. It operates as a driving force for viewers, allowing them to feel confident about their purchase based on the recommendations from the influencer.
Companies also want consumers to feel their products are trustworthy and good enough to purchase. This results in them paying people they feel are good faces to promote their brand/product. If there is no consumer trust, then there will be a decrease in profit for that particular company. This is why trustworthiness is essential in influencer marketing.
The trust dilemma
To dive deeper into the authenticity and trustworthiness of influencer marketing, I had the opportunity to interview Jasmine Glover, an Instagram and TikTok influencer, who provided her insight into being a social media influencer.
When asked about how she ensures authenticity and maintains trust with her followers, Gloves says, “Relatability is a huge component for gaining and maintaining trust with strangers online.” She adds that she chooses to look directly at the camera to maintain a kind of “eye contact” when offering her opinions and personal perspective on different products and situations. Glover also looks through the comments on her posts and responds to some followers. She does this to personally connect with her viewers and build her community engagement.
Glover shared a time when she faced a challenge regarding her transparency in her partnership with a brand. “I’ve had brand deals where the product being sold was just low quality and a bad fit for my brand and audience.” She goes on to say that despite her feelings about the product, she tried to still make the partnership work. “The brand had a really incentivizing pay rate,” she emphasized. The payment factor plays a significant role in whether influencers choose to promote a particular product or not. As a result, money can overshadow an influencer’s ability to be authentic in their content. However, in Glover’s case, over time she realized that particular brand was not good for her personal brand and “ultimately decided it was best for me to drop out of the campaign.”
Tales of triumph and regret
How do TikTok users feel about social media influencers and the impact they have made in their lives? InDia, a junior at the University of Michigan and avid TikTok user, recalled a time when she made an impulsive decision to purchase a skincare product based on watching a video of a young lady who showed her before and after. “I was skeptical at first, which I should have just listened to myself and not buy the product,” she states. “But of course seeing her face go from one with a lot of acne to glowing skin, I was like, well, let me try it out.” Unfortunately for InDia, she fell victim to the influences of TikTok. “Well of course the thing didn’t work,” InDia retorted. “It actually made me break out even more, or at least it seemed like it did.” She was convinced that the video she watched had to be a part of a promotion that the young influencer was a part of. Watching again, she found a statement at the bottom of the video declaring that it was “sponsored,” meaning the influencer would get a commission based on any sales she received from promoting that particular product.
In contrast, Alexis, another TikTok user, reminisced over a time when she bought an item from the TikTok shop. “I kept seeing videos of girls talking about this Arabic perfume and they claimed it smelled so good, so I was like, why not?” Sure she thought about the risk of ordering from the TikTok shop; however, her curiosity overpowered her weariness. In this case, it turned out that this was not a scam. “Surprisingly I received my package, which I did not think I would. Part of me thought TikTok would just take my money and that’s it, but I was wrong and they [the influencers on TikTok] were right, it smells so good!”
The contrast between these two experiences highlights how unpredictable influencer marketing can be. Some have great experiences and receive pleasant surprises from listening to influencers on social media whereas others experience disappointment. Viewers must approach recommendations from influencers with caution.
Moving forward
While engaging in content from influencers, one must critically think about the authenticity and motivations behind the product influencers are promoting. However, it is important to remember that influencers are people too. They are trying to build a name for themselves and earn a living in this world where people are consumed with technology and social media. However, this source of profit can come at the expense of the trust of their audience, which is a risk some influencers are willing to take. Though influencers play a role in shaping the opinions of viewers, it is the responsibility of the viewer to pay close attention to the intention behind what they are watching. To avoid disappointment, knowing how to protect oneself from scams or simply bad business people is essential. Instead of blindly trusting influencers, one must conduct research when purchasing.
When asked about what changes or improvements she would like to see in the influencer marketing industry, Glover suggested lifting the financial pressure from influencers. “Personally, if there were easier ways to make money on social media besides selling products or quick cash schemes, I think this would push influencers to not constantly force ads into social media.” Such a shift would not only allow influencers to simply be paid for entertainment rather than relying on brand deals and paid promotions but would also build a more genuine connection between the influencer and their audience.
It is important for us as viewers and influencers to strive for a digital world where honesty and authenticity are practiced. “Remember,” as Glover said, “missing on one or two bad deals won’t break you, but creating a reputation on bad faith will.”
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash