According to the analytics company, InfluencerDB, engagement with Instagram influencers is decreasing rapidly. While the numbers are affected by a multitude of reasons (i.e. sponsored posts), the numbers do suggest one thing — users want more authentic connections.
While it is always been common knowledge that influencers rely on ad posts and sponsorships to monetize their content, it was a given compromise that people simply accept that. But now that tides are changing, it could suggest that the entire ecosystem of online advertising will change. InfluencerDB showed that influencers with fewer follower numbers are actually bringing in higher stats, averaging at 6.3% for users with 5,000 to 10,000 followers and 8.8% for users with 1,000 to 5,000 followers.
It also reported that engagement rates for non-sponsored posts dropped from 4.5% to 1.9%, and 4% to 2.9% for sponsored posts. That hints that all those hyper-curated, and staged hotel, restaurant, unboxing and hair gummy posts are being obsolete in the eyes of current consumers.
Even though in the past influencers have always strived for large followings and hitting those 100,000 numbers, it might be better for business to have smaller numbers now. Mobile Marketer even suggested that businesses take on more micro-influencers to boost their potential business. Now, this doesn’t mean that influencers will be obsolete overnight, but it does say that the current generation’s tastes and preferences are changing.
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