Consumers Distrust Influencer Marketing More Than Advertising

Consumers distrust influencer marketing more than advertising, according to a report from the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs.

NAD’s report is based on a survey of 3,700 consumers aged 18 to 65 conducted with The Benchmark Company. NAD commissioned the report after seeing an uptick in cases where influencers don’t properly disclose a brand, a violation of the FTC endorsement and testimonials guidelines. 

NAD is a nonprofit organization that oversees influencer marketing’s self-regulated practices for disclosing advertising partnerships. NAD has revealed several notable cases where influencers including Kevin Hart did not properly disclose ads for JPMorgan Chase and Fabletics. Hart voluntarily agreed to add proper disclosures to ads for both companies after NAD reviewed his posts.

According to NAD’s survey, 58% percent of surveyed consumers have bought something as a result of an influencer endorsement, but 26% percent do not trust influencer marketing. Meanwhile, only 11% percent of consumers don’t trust advertising, suggesting there is trust to be built between influencers and consumers.

Sixty-four percent of consumers surveyed said that they distrust influencers when they do not disclose their relationship to the brand they are promoting. And 70% percent of consumers reported feeling negative towards an influencer if they found out that they got paid or received free product without disclosing it.

Jennifer Santos, an advertising law attorney at NAD, said that the survey shows that while influencer marketing budgets grow, consumers remain skeptical.

“While the influencer market is thriving, is consumer trust in influencers suffering?” said Santos.

Fifty-seven percent of consumers agreed that adding #ad or #sponsored doesn’t make an influencer more trustworthy, suggesting that consumers expect more transparency than just adhering to FTC guidelines.

More broadly, 80% of consumers said that they distrust influencers who are not genuine, honest, or transparent. And more than 70% percent of consumers said that they value transparency and honesty about an influencer’s association to a brand as well as honest reviews, even if those reviews aren’t positive. 

“[These results] are a call for the industry to prioritize honesty, fairness, transparency, and that it really matters to consumers,” Santos told ADWEEK. “There’s so much talk about influencers and content creators being authentic–I think this shows that authenticity should really equal transparency.”