Consumers stay away from influencers who lack transparency: Report

Consumers stay away from influencers when they sense a lack of transparency, put out repetitive content and when they over-promote. A new report by The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) which surveyed about 800 people, said that it was found that both brands and influencers gained from meaningful partnerships and that around 64% of consumers felt a brand became more trustworthy when influencers endorsed it, while 58% of those surveyed thought that influencers became more trustworthy when they endorsed a brand.

The Council had launched its influencer guidelines in May 2021, and has processed 2,767 cases against brands and influencers for not declaring material connections. A majority of the violations occurred, included Instagram at 58%, YouTube at 33%, Twitter at 7%, and Facebook at 2%.

The council surveyed those between ages of 18 and 45 or above.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, the council said, it found a total of 1,592 violations which were reported in virtual digital assets space, followed closely by personal care and then fashion and lifestyle.

But between April 2022 and December this year, personal care became the biggest violator followed by food and beverage, and then fashion and lifestyle.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general of the Council, said, “The Central Consumer Protection Authority also now requires disclosure of material connection between brands and influencers and so a non-disclosure is a potential violation of the law. We also found that non-transparency was among the prime reasons why influencers lost the trust of their followers.”

The report added that 6 out of 10 respondents claimed they spent at least two hours on social media daily, while 90% of the respondents said they made at least one purchase based on influencer endorsement. But 61% claimed to have made three or more purchases. “This behaviour was particularly prevalent among consumers ranging from 25 to 44 years of age,” added Kapoor.

Besides established brands, newer brands benefited considerably with their products being discovered through content advertised by influencers.