Influencer marketing can feel a bit like a black box. Sometimes it works brilliantly. Other times it eats your budget and gives very little back. So let’s unpack what might be going wrong, and how to get it right.
Around 25% of UK adults say their purchase decisions have been influenced by an influencer. And honestly? The real number is probably much higher. A lot of influence happens quietly. People don’t always clock that they’ve been influenced at all. Trust is the big thing here. While 84% of Gen Z follow influencers, only 28% say they actually trust influencer ads. That’s a pretty chunky gap.
Get influencer marketing wrong and you risk losing credibility or wasting budget. Get it right, though, and you can:
So in this fast-growing (and perhaps slightly misunderstood) space, what should you actually be focusing on?
Influencer activity is often used to reach new audiences, either people who already look like your customers, or entirely new demographics, markets, or customer profiles. But here’s the bit that’s often overlooked.
With the right messaging - think incentives, product reviews, or new product launches - influencer content can work throughout the funnel. The same content can be repurposed in different formats to educate, reassure, and gently guide someone towards conversion. Make your content work harder and smarter.
When selecting influencers, it’s tempting to go straight for the biggest, most recognisable faces in your space. Huge audiences. Big impact. Job done. Except not always.
Large influencers can be expensive, inflexible, and tricky when it comes to negotiating usage rights.
If that sounds familiar, micro-influencers might be your unsung heroes. They often offer:
When you’re assessing influencers, we recommend asking a few simple questions:
That last one’s key. One-off posts are fine. Ongoing partnerships? Even better.
No matter where influencer content sits in the funnel, the same best practices apply as with your own ads.
That means:
But above all else, authenticity matters. A lot. Influencers need to sound like themselves. Their audience follows them for their voice, style, and opinions, not for polished brand scripts. Over-control the message and you risk disengaging the very people you’re trying to reach.
And finally, a biggie. One of the most common mistakes we see is brands not whitelisting influencer content to run under the influencer’s handle. Even brands that think they’re doing it sometimes aren’t. They’ve actually just set up a standard brand partnership instead. The result? Severely limited impact.
Running ads from the influencer’s handle maintains trust, boosts performance, and makes the content feel native rather than forced. It’s one of those behind-the-scenes details that makes a very real difference.
If you’re not 100% sure you’re whitelisting correctly, get in touch with Genie Goals. We’re always happy to take a look and point you in the right direction.
