What do people think of influencers?

[cavewoman2026]

I feel like my feelings have changed towards them over the years. Yes I like to check out what women are wearing but everyone now seems to dress the same or have extremely curated expensive pieces that were given to them for free. So then it’s not organic and nothing exceptional is being created. It feels like everyone is just showing the most expensive pieces they own to tag the brands to gain popularity (yes I know this is how social media works). For micro influencers I always wonder how they can afford it all? Daily outfits of super expensive clothes, bags and shoes? Is it all on credit cards and loans?

Depressingly I have one or two friends around me that have expressed wanting to be influencers as people are interested in the lifestyle. Who wouldn’t want to go to beauty events, get free clothes and makeup?

I’ve started to explore style from socialites from the past, actresses, rummaging in vintage shops (even on Vinted), fashion magazines. It’s truly what I get my inspiration from these days.

So, do you all still follow influencers or are we moving past them now?

I see them as selling themselves to flog stuff usually of no value, so I swipe and move on. They make money by others spending on stuff they rarely need.

It’s not for me, but I do like the fact that there are influencers of all ages and sizes who will show you how clothes fit and look on different women. This is utterly refreshing in comparison with websites which are still using stick thin, tall models who look nothing like me.

I love fashion but it’s incredibly homogeneous now which I think is a shame. I’ve always been influenced but not by influencers on social media as apart from
MNs I don’t use it. I found trends were oversaturated before they had even started on SM and most of the interaction is between influencers and people trying to be influencers.

I am probably alone in this but i miss magazines and aspiration. I am influenced by a supermodel in amazing clothes in an amazing location not Chloe down the road in a Zara haul.

Also most post a load of aff links to stuff they aren’t even interested in so what’s the point?

I guess it depends what their niche. I'm 47 and influencers I follow are:

DIY, renovating
Dog training
Hair and makeup
People who show you how to style clothes for your body type
Cooking

Depends on my latest interest as to what the algorithm shows me more of though. At the moment I'm getting a lot of historians as that's my latest hyperfixation.

I am happiest at home, in yoga pants and one of DHs hoodies, so I think I’m not their target market! That said, I do have a wardrobe full of lovely (to me) things, but I can’t say I’ve been “influenced” to buy them. Some of them are more than 20 years old and I still wear/use them.
I am not on instagram, I don’t follow or watch any influencers. If I see something I like and can afford, I buy it.

I don't follow any.

My Instagram feed is full of rowing coaching videos and music 🙂

I dress well and love putting outfits together but it is just what I like wearing. I can't imagine watching videos of people telling me what to wear. Each to their own though.

This basically.

Irrelevant.

Never followed an influencer in my whole life. Seems like a lot of faffing around for a few likes.....

🤣🤣🤣

The snobbery around this on here is very funny to me. It’s just another strand of marketing; it’s more affordable, trackable, and very easy to target your exact demographic.

If someone does a post for a brand they can prove that, say, 10k people saw it in the Bristol area, 100 people clicked the buying link, and 80 followed the account. It’s measurable fairly affordable growth.

Thats it really 🤷🏻‍♀️

Its modern marketing.

In the 80s Twiggy was paid big bucks to get us to drink Campari, and in the 90s Rachel Hunter to encourage us to eat Flakes.

No one would watch adverts like those now, so they use people we do watch. Theyll not be paid so highly but commenserate with their following. And, I guess, if sales dont happen, they will get dropped.

I think its good that ordinary people are being used however, there are soooo many ordinary people (compared to super models) that it will soon become a saturated market, earnings will fall for almost all, and eventually another way of marketing will take over (probably using AI).

I’m not sure I’d call them influencers as such but I follow lots of people linked to my hobbies so that I can get ideas.
I do follow a couple of interiors and fashion influencers but I stop following any as soon as they start doing the usual Amazon crap. I especially dislike ones that ask you to comment before they dm you a link. It just feels like a really disingenuous way to build engagement. Just people whose style I like so I can get some ideas. I do think if you have social media you have to remember that it’s primarily an advertisement. I saw someone say on a documentary once, and always try to keep in mind, that if something is free, your attention is what is being sold. It’s not the same as your friend showing you her new bag.

There’s influencers and there’s people who post on Instagram. For each person doing a Zara haul every week there’s someone else finding interesting things in charity shops and putting them together to make a good outfit, or someone who remodels things and shows you how to turn your wide legs into a barrel leg. It’s up to you who you watch.

Freeloading parasites who don't want to work for a living in a proper job. Goes for all influencers, not just fashion ones. Depresses me so much that 90% of them are women too.

I've never been influenced by them!

I have my own mind and I strongly know what I like and dislike. I don't even listen to friends and family, because I know myself better than anyone. Let alone some random in her late teens dancing around a supermarket telling me I should be buying something she gets given trolley loads of for free.

I mean, I have a full time job so…how am I a freeloading parasite? It’s netted me about 2 dozen T-shirts which don’t really pay the bills 🤣

Its just something that came my way, and if I wear a tshirt I like anyway while doing my hobby - which is what my IG account shows - then I’m not sure exactly what the problem is.

Very many of you are sitting atop the highest of horses without a clue what you’re talking about.

Don’t you think it’s good that women who may have been shut out of traditional employment because they have caring responsibilities, or neurodivergence or because they’re creative rather than academic, have found a way to generate an income?

I draw the line at monetising your children’s lives but I kind of think if you can make a bit of cash by indulging your love of clothes, or interiors, or craft, or storytelling, or photography that’s a good thing.

Influencers. Awful term. Usually other people decide whether they have been influenced by somebody. Not that the person decides they have done.

More alarming are those who actually are persuaded to buy stuff by people who call themselves influencers.

I quite like them for a while but then you realise they’re doing the same content over and over again so I stop following them. Some of them have that ‘kill me now’ look in their eyes but they have to keep going because advertising clothes/gym programmes/lipstick/Peacocks etc. is what pays the bills now and they can’t get out.

Sometimes they branch into other things successfully, like GardeningwithJohnny who’s pretty funny and does more than gardening now, but most of the influencers who try to pivot don’t do it well. I’ve been watching Cerys Whittaker for a while and she’s very personable, but most of her content is just her flogging her own jeans now, so I got bored with that and stopped following.

I know for a fact that I've had to stop using about three retailers who I've been a longterm customer of, because they turned their attention to making sure influencers are looked after before paying customers. The proof is all on the retailer account pages, always showing influencers squealing and ripping open boxes of freebies, while disgruntled customers are asking what's happened to their paid-for order. (and mostly not getting a response)

I spoke to one retailer on Instagram the other day and said how disappointing it was to no longer be able to get their products, and they could "only apologise". It's so bad. The day you no longer prioritise the paying customer, something has gone very wrong.

I actively dislike influencers, it has nothing to do with snobbery - I think this type of marketing contributes greatly to the levels of environmental damage, overconsumption and consumer debt we are experiencing in this century. The outreach of influencers is beyond anything the traditional media can be blamed for as the platforms they are operating on are constructed to hook people in and trigger quick dopamine hits. Ideally I would like to see this line of business heavily regulated, as traditional marketing.
I follow photographers and actual sheep. Highly recommended, especially Herdwicks are really cute.

On one hand it’s the one industry where women can thrive but it’s become so attention seeking. I’ve been to some of these beauty events and most people are there for social climbing or for clout, it’s truly depressing. It’s very hard to find women online who actually love and appreciate fashion instead of just using it for temporary fame.

If you've only netted 2 dozen t-shirts then you probably aren't actually influencing anyone (or very few) and therefore aren't actually an influencer.

I stand by those who do it full time as opposed to a tiny side hustle are freeloading parasites. The number of small businesses who get asked for expensive freebies in return for a single photo seen by about 1500 followers is ridiculous. I love it when the businesses call out the cheeky fuckers.

Well they don’t know how to run their business very well. That’s their issue. If they don’t have enough stock for both marketing purposes and for sales, that’s on them and I would get annoyed too.

But it’s not an influencer problem; it’s really just the equivalent of M&S running a great tv ad campaign then selling out of the latest dress of whatever.