Influencers who have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers with cool reviews on products on TikTok are called ‘de-influencers’ and are gaining influence.
On the 24th (local time), the Washington Post (WP) introduced ‘influencers’ who have gathered followers with candid product reviews, saying that the new TikTok trend is convincing people not to buy things.
Alyssa Cromelis (26) from Dallas, USA, saw people giving honest reviews about overrated products through paid advertisements on TikTok last January, and decided to speak out about poor products, expensive beauty products. I made my own video about it honestly. Her first post on Chromelis received more than 800,000 ‘likes’ and garnered 5.6 million views.
Experts say this trend of TikTok shows that influencer marketing, which was a $16.4 billion industry last year, has reached an inflection point. Consumers are increasingly seeing through the paid advertisements of influencers, and influencers are prioritizing money and encouraging overspending rather than providing sincere reviews on products.
Brendan Gehan, head of social media at advertising agency Mechanism, commented, “TikTok has become an overflow of posts with the hashtag ‘#tiktokmademibuyit’, and it has become TikTok itself.” “It is a direct response to the paid advertisements of influencers pouring in,” he explained.
However, the WP analyzed that the popularity of de-influencers does not necessarily lead to a decrease in consumption. De-influencers are proposing alternatives to the products they rated poorly, and in fact, Chromelis recently posted a perfume ad.
As de-influencers gain influence, brands now want to collaborate with de-influencers instead of traditional influencers.
Ronnie Goodstein, a professor of marketing at Georgetown University, explained, “People tend to trust negative information, so the influence of influencers is decreasing while the influence of influencers is increasing recently.”
However, the WP reported that de-influencers are more careful and picky when choosing advertising partners in order not to lose the trust of their followers.
“Brands have reached out since I started posting reviews, but I’m wary of which advertisers I’ll partner with,” said El Gray, a 25-year-old tick talker with 11,000 followers.
Heidi Kaluza, 36, with 50,000 followers posting fashion-related content, has partnered with a company that makes recyclable clothing, and Jess Clifton, 26, with about 280,000 followers, is a nonprofit to promote climate-related legislation. An increasing number of tick talkers are choosing marketing that combines social activities, such as working with
Regarding the de-influencer phenomenon, Kaluza said, “Consumers’ needs and desires are changing,” and “It seems that creators are pursuing monetization with more purpose when linking their influence on their followers to monetization.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.