Influencers don’t really influence anything or anyone

Does it work? I don't have any hard science to back it up, but I've worked with many brands who see a ridiculous return on it (despite paying between $50-$2000 per post). It doesn't work for every brand though.

I'm a dev, I work in the industry (I run a startup in this space, check profile if interested), and I consider myself minimalist and not materialistic. Yet when it came time to purchase my first watch, I went with a nice, minimalist looking brand I'd seen advertised on IG constantly. Same with when I needed to buy a new set of t-shirts.

We constantly ask for recommendations on HN and accept them without verifying who the poster is or if they have ulterior motives. I've bought _so_ many books off of HN suggestions because I give the average poster a respectable amount of trust. It works the same in IG influencer marketing - those who follow a particular influencer grant the influencer a modicum of trust and are willing to trust their recommendations more than a banner, billboard, or magazine ad.

Which is ironic, because I've "met" (aka. had to work with) too many clueless, even useless marketers. And I can definitely understand why a company would pay an influencer instead. Much more direct, and easier to gauge the effectiveness of spend.

But maybe it's one of those things that work when it's unstated. Soon as you declare yourself an influencer, then unless you have bona fides, you cease to be an effective influencer.

Influencers in tech: Woz, Jobs, MarkZ, Musk, Ng.

Influencers in other areas: LeBron, Kardashians, Obamas, Sanders, Trump, Brady, Kanye, Jenner.

Most/all of those are influencers not because they seek to do that explicitly, but because it's a byproduct of other achievements.

When it's your main thing, then you're not so much an influencer but a promoter.

Not afraid to admit I'm jealous.