Balancing Authenticity and Promotion in the Age of Deinfluencing

There is no doubt that influencer marketing has transformed how brands promote themselves. It has enabled them to reach a target audience in a relatable way as they connect with the creator's audience who trusts their opinions and recommendations. However, this marketing method has been dramatically impacted by deinfluencing. 

Deinfluencing threatens to undo all influencer marketers' work in promoting a product or service. Unlike influencer marketing, it aims to convince the audience not to buy a product because of its authenticity or other reasons. This article will guide you on balancing promotion and authenticity to prevent a backlash from influencers.

The Desire for Authenticity in Marketing

In recent years, we have seen a growing demand for unfiltered and authentic content. This can, in turn, lead to the growth of influencer and deinfluencing trends. With a following between 10,000 and 100,000, micro-influencers often have a close-knit community that can significantly affect their followers' purchasing decisions.

On the other hand, deinfluencers also discourage consumerism and prioritize genuine content and driving engagement rather than the polished content often shown by influencers in their partnership deals. Here are reasons why authenticity is key in marketing:

Increasing Brand Awareness

Nowadays, consumers do extensive research before they buy a product or service. This can be seen in the time consumers take between consideration and purchasing. Compared to previous years, consumers are starting their search on marketplaces before visiting the retailer. This is an indication that buyers need decent products. Therefore, marketers can differentiate themselves in their promotions by developing content that shows their business stories, values, and how they contribute to society.

Higher Customer Retention

By showing their authentic side, brands can increase their customer retention. This is because the relationship between a brand and a customer intrinsically contributes to the business's authenticity. As long as a business is true to its value, it can easily align with the customers' needs and preferences, resulting in improved services and products that can increase overall customer satisfaction.

More Brand Equity and Reliability

In the influencer marketing and social shopping era, many businesses worldwide face a trust problem. For a company or institution to be considered trustworthy, it should be competent, transparent, and deliver on its promise. Therefore, when promoting their products and services, brands should look for a way to build the loyalty and trust of their customers. They should create authentic and organic materials instead of pushing their sales agenda. They should also offer valuable stories, information, and resources that can resonate with their target audience.

How to Build Authenticity in Marketing in the Deinfluencing Age

For authenticity to be achieved, brands need to deeply engage with their audience and build connections at a personal level. This can ensure that customers are heard and understood. Authenticity is one way of evaluating a brand's marketing success. Unlike other performance metrics such as views and reach, authenticity can be hard to measure. Overall, brands shouldn't be so concerned about the number but should instead focus on the story itself.

A Social Media Today survey indicates that 90% of millennials make purchasing decisions based on authenticity. The study further shows that 52% of the respondents would recommend an authentic brand to their peers while another 49% would become loyal customers. Therefore, authenticity is key to a business's success, even though it can be hard to achieve. Here are ways in which brands can build authenticity in their marketing:

Brands should promote transparency in sponsored content

One of the things that deinfluencing has brought out is the need for brands to remain authentic in this deinfluencing age. One downside of influencer marketing was that it was filled with fake promotions, with creators showing only the positive side. However, deinfluencing has brought the need for transparency, and brands should show openness and transparent communication in their partnership with influencers.

If a brand is running a promotion, consumers expect it to openly disclose that it is paid. Such open disclosure is key to ensuring the relationship between the influencer and the consumer remains positive. Consumers, therefore, can differentiate between promotional materials and general recommendations.

One of the unspoken rules in influencer marketing is that creators should only work with the brands they regularly use and love. However, this doesn't always happen, as influencers are often driven by money. Therefore, just like brands, influencers must disclose that they share sponsored content. When they do that, their followers can differentiate between promotional content and their recommendations. By showing transparency with their audience, they can easily build their audience's trust and position them as credible.  This also helps to show the authentic side of the brand.

Choosing the right influencer to create authentic content

Every brand should have authenticity at the forefront of its promotions. This helps customers gain trust, especially since consumers can know when the influencer endorsement is inauthentic or disingenuous. 

To show their credibility, brands should engage influencers who value their products and values. This can improve the relationship between the influencer and the brand and increase loyalty toward the brand among its target audience.

Striking a Balance Between Influencer Marketing and Deinfluencing

One thing that brands should do is balance influencer marketing and deinfluencing. While they can continue leveraging influencer marketing, they must do it transparently and authentically. They can ensure transparency in their sponsored content by selecting the influencer to work with who genuinely aligns with their values. This can enable them to foster their audience’s trust and show transparency.

In Conclusion

The deinfluencing trend on platforms like TikTok has emerged as a response to the materialistic nature of influencer marketing. This model is shaking up the traditional way of marketing products. With over one billion views on TikTok, this trend is revolutionizing influencer marketing. With customer awareness of the need for authenticity rising, brands should incorporate deinfluencing in their social media marketing strategies. By following our guide, brands can easily balance influencer marketing and deinfluencing.