As we open up a new year, it’s a time when marketing and advertising experts evaluate what’s in – and what’s out – for 2026. One surprising trend some may be adding to their ‘outs’ list is “influencer marketing”. Even influencer, podcast host, and Chamberlain Coffee founder, Emma Chamberlain, addressed this topic in a recent episode of her podcast “Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain”, called “being offline is cool now?”. “The first point of conversation is less people are posting on social media now,” Chamberlain states. “This is because, number one, feeds are filled with influencers in ads rather than friends, which makes it less appealing to post. Number two, engagement is down for people posting casually.”
As users disengage, the power influencers once had to drive genuine interest is starting to fade. In other words, social media no longer has the excitement it once held because the algorithm has clogged up our feeds with advertisements, promotion boosts, and plenty of targeted products that we probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. Now the big question is, how long do we have until posting on social media and using influencer marketing no longer has the same effect?
What Even is an Influencer Anymore?
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of an influencer is “a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media”. While this is a fairly simple definition, their jobs aren’t just about posting a few times a day. They often do their own video editing, managing, and contract negotiating, all while trying to create a consistent “brand” for themselves. Think of influencers as small sole proprietorships with one employee, but thousands, and sometimes even millions of customers.
But what separates successful influencers from everyone else we trust? Hypothetically, anybody could be an influencer. Realistically, only very few people have the right personality and charm to sway people into buying a product. An influencer used to be an authentic person whom viewers could think of as a friend, someone they could trust, to tell them what they should buy to meet their specific want or need.
Why Influencer Marketing Worked (Until It Didn’t)
Not exactly… but it’s definitely exhausted.
It’s no longer about being “authentic”. Even casual social media users are trying to master the art of “going viral”. They are studying the algorithm, learning the science behind it, and trying to pinpoint the best possible moment to post.
While this sounds great, you can’t have too much of a good thing, and influencers were a great thing for brands. But influencers are now getting paid or being sent free products to promote, which the casual social media scroller finds superficial, overstimulating, and honestly, kind of boring. Not only that, but now social media apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are only trying to push advertisements and deals that you are most likely to purchase.
Instead of videos feeling like word-of-mouth promotion from a friend, they look and feel more like a paid advertisement (which they are) that brands have shelled out to ten or twenty random influencers.
So, no, influencing isn’t over. It just needs a makeover. Posting corporate slop with no real goal or call to action three to four times a day is no longer going to capture your audience’s attention. Genuine excitement from people they trust will help your social media stats skyrocket. However, with the new trend of being “offline”, it may also be time to focus on more traditional forms of advertising and finding new creative places to put these advertisements.
Stop Renting Influence — Build Your Own
Using influencers more strategically means shifting away from volume-based partnerships and focusing on alignment, credibility, and intention. Instead of paying dozens of creators to post the same scripted message, brands should work with a smaller number of influencers who already use, value, or naturally fit the product into their lifestyle. Long-term collaborations feel more authentic than one-off sponsored posts and allow audiences to build trust over time. Additionally, giving influencers creative freedom, rather than forcing overly polished, ad-like content, helps restore the word-of-mouth feel that originally made influencer marketing effective. When influencers are treated as partners instead of billboards, their content feels more genuine, more engaging, and ultimately more impactful. The goal isn’t visibility, it’s believability.
But don’t stop there. Treat your company like an influencer. Brands should show up on social media and all other advertising mediums with a clear personality, consistent voice, and content that provides value beyond selling a product. This means sharing behind-the-scenes moments, having a “face” of the brand, telling real stories, engaging directly with followers, and creating content that feels human rather than corporate. When a brand builds its own trust and community, influencer partnerships become an extension of an already authentic presence instead of a replacement for it. In a landscape where audiences crave connection over promotion, companies that act like creators, not advertisers, will earn attention that actually lasts.
In 2026, don’t just phone it in, create connection, build excitement, and remember that in a culture overwhelmed by constant content, being “offline” has become a status symbol.
