Will Deinfluencing Lead to More Sustainable Consumer Behaviors

In today’s world of influencer marketing, consumers are bombarded with ads and promotions, making it easy for them to become caught up in consumerism. Shiny gadgets suddenly appear in their Instagram or TikTok feeds, and consumers often find themselves buying items they do not need. Later, they start regretting their decision.

The good news is that deinfluencing is here to help stop these unwanted behaviors. The movement aims to help consumers stop buying things they do not need or those that negatively impact the environment. This article will look into how deinfluencing helps limit negative consumer behaviors.

Why Deinfluencing is Becoming Popular

When influencer marketing came into the picture, consumers bought products they did not need due to the recommendation of their favorite celebrities. Later, consumers realized the recommendations weren't honest but were primarily driven by financial gain. That led to a new method of influencer marketing known as deinfluencing, which aims to help consumers regain the power they lost in the face of influencer marketing. 

Deinfluencing encourages a mindful approach to consumers’ spending habits. It offers consumers the power to make intentional and thoughtful choices about how people use money. Through deinfluencing, consumers can overcome impulsive purchases and make wiser and better purchasing decisions without getting swayed by what they see on their screens. 

Why Deinfluencing is Important

According to one study, the average consumer sees 5,000 ads daily. This shows how consumers are regularly bombarded with ads, which bruises their wallets. In fact, according to another study, the average American has a credit card debt of $8,000, meaning they aren't in charge of their finances. 

When social media users yield to the pressure of impulse buying caused by influencers, they quickly end up with stuff they don’t need and a heavily dented bank account. That's why deinfluencing encourages intentional spending while discouraging impulse buying.

Deinfluencing vs. Influencing

Unlike what many think,deinfluencing isn't a direct rejection of influencer marketing. Instead, it's a way of encouraging honesty in the way businesses do things. Creators aim to help their followers by providing honest opinions of a product rather than encouraging them to buy products they may not need.  This is a popular influencer marketing method that drives engagement on social media.

Deinfluencers investigate and show skepticism of over-hyped products. This is a departure from influencer marketing, where creators try to convince their followers to buy a product or service by showing its shiny side.

On the other hand, deinfluencers show why a product may not be a good fit for everyone and alternatives that are sometimes even less expensive. They investigate products and show the opposing sides. Both influencers and deinfluencers aim to persuade their followers. They strengthen their relationships with fans and followers.

How Deinfluencing is Encouraging More Sustainable Consumer Behaviors

Here are ways in which deinfluencing will help encourage positive consumer choices:

Countering Consumerism

With social media users losing their trust in influencer marketing, which is seen as a way of pushing an agenda, deinfluencing is an effective way of providing checks and balances. By discouraging buying from companies and products that don’t meet specific standards, deinfluencing helps to deter consumption.

Therefore, deinfluencing helps to uphold ethical and social responsibilities on topics such as consumerism. When brands know that their products or services are kept under check, they will likely remain transparent in their promotions.

Preventing Impulsive Buying 

In the past, social media trends such as #TikTokMadeBuyit encourages spending as social media users and influencers show the products they bought after seeing them on social media. In most cases, these kinds of trends encourage people to make impulse purchases because of the viral videos. They end up buying products they didn't need in the first place.

Deinfluencing on TikTok and other platforms aim to counter harmful trends that encourage overconsumption and instead, encourage sustainable buying decisions. Deinfluencing content encourages consumers to have better spending habits. It prevents them from buying products on impulse when they look appealing. It also discourages consumers from buying certain products they may not need, even when such products are hyped on social media. This ensures that people have second thoughts before making an impulse buying decision.

Promoting Sustainability in Buying Choices

The demand for sustainability has recently increased, with creators encouraging shoppers to make sustainable buying decisions. This is another area deinfluencers are handling as they call out and curb the impact of influencers who promote buying fast fashion items with shady ethics like Shein.

When influencers encourage their followers to buy fashion items that sell at a cheap price, this can harm the environment. For instance, Shein reported releasing 700 to 1000 news items daily.  With the brand having different pieces, it is estimated to release more than 35,000 units daily. This can contribute to a lot of carbon emissions. Therefore, this is one area that deinfluencing aims to affect.

Lack of Credibility

In the past, people trusted influencers as they viewed them as credible sources of news and product recommendations. However, the same cannot be said of influencers today, as they lack the transparency, credibility, and relatability originally associated with influencers. Today, we have influencers who lie about a product while others engage in tone-deaf campaigns.

In other words, influencers nowadays only care about money, even if they will lose their credibility. That's why deinfluencing has become popular to call out these influencers and end their dishonest ways of making money.

In Conclusion 

In the era of social shopping, there is no doubt that deinfluencing is ending harmful consumption and encouraging responsible purchasing. Today, consumers are embracing sustainable consumer behaviors. Therefore, brands need to take note of this and change their promotion methods. Instead of only showing their positive sides, they should aim to provide a balanced review. They should also focus on working with influencers who share the same values as them.