A crisis of influence or a crisis of trust?

You have probably seen the headlines. They have been multiplying for months.

“Heavy fatigue: when influence loses its magic,” “Will influence recover from its growing pains?” in L’ADN. “Consumers Are Fatigued, Influencers Are Burnt Out. What Now?” in Vogue. And the term that took hold, coined by New York Magazine / Vulture: the Influencer Recession.

I will spare you the studies that all point to the same conclusion.

The question I ask myself: is influence really the thing in crisis?

What the numbers say

The most telling study comes from YPulse, conducted among 13-39 year-olds in North America and Western Europe:

• 58 % report trusting online creators and influencers
• 73 % trust smaller creators more than major influencers
• 62 % say they are tired of constantly seeing the same big names

Look closely at the first number. 58 % trust is hardly a collapse. It is even better than traditional advertising scores. The problem is not that influence has stopped working.

The problem lies in the next two numbers: trust is shifting toward the smaller and less exposed. This is not a rejection of influence. It is a rejection of its industrialization.

In some sectors, the erosion is even more severe. In beauty, a study published in La Revue de Médecine Interne shows that only 11,8 % of respondents report trusting beauty influencers.

The context: widespread distrust

Influence is not eroding in a vacuum. It is eroding in a climate of widespread distrust.

Social media platforms are now ranked among the least trusted sources of information, even as we spend more time on them than ever. Generative AI is amplifying the shift: when any image, voice, or testimonial can be fabricated, proof becomes a scarce commodity.

Faced with this, consumers are neither fickle nor disloyal. They have simply become clear-eyed.

The market’s response: the expert. Good idea?

Because trust is lacking, the industry is looking for new figures. In her article “The end of beauty influencers? The boom of new tastemakers,” Caroline Ricard describes the emergence of a new profile: the expert, backed by scientific authority.

It makes sense. But does it work?

Ask yourself honestly what triggers a purchase. Is it:

“Wow, amazing, this cream contains 10 % niacinamide”

Or:

“I’m a dermatologist, trust me”

I have serious doubts. Whereas a friend who simply tells me:

“I’ve been using it for 3 months, honestly, it works”

Scientific backing solves a legitimacy issue. It does not solve the proximity issue. And proximity is what drives the purchase.

The cultural signal that confirms it all

An example outside marketing that says it all.

When Léna Situations’ podcast returned with Rihanna as its first guest, everyone analyzed its success. Each time, the same explanation came up: authenticity, spontaneity, unfiltered. The podcast description itself promised “an authentic Rihanna and an admiring Léna.”

In short: a simple chat between friends.

The top-performing format right now, featuring one of the world’s biggest stars, sells itself on its ability to feel like a private conversation. That is no accident: it is the signal.

The real diagnosis

This is not a crisis of influence. It is a crisis of trust.

And that nuance changes everything, because it changes the cure. If this were a crisis of influence, you would have to stop. If it is a crisis of trust, you have to look for trust where it still lives.

And we know the answer: 88 % of consumers trust personal recommendations [1]. Not professional recommendations. Personal ones.

After the nano-influencer: the customer

Let’s retrace the story. When I started out in influencer marketing (a long time ago), it was a race for followers. A million, a million!

Then brands looked for smaller, more engaged audiences. This produced the great tier list: celebrity, macro, mid-tier, micro, nano. Each tier smaller, closer, and more credible than the last.

And now? Stop.

People want real individuals. Authenticity. Trust. Exactly what made early influencers so powerful, and what drove their initial success. Because before red carpets, press trips, and dozens of brand deals, there was someone sitting in front of a camera in their bedroom, genuinely sharing their discoveries.

So if you follow that tier logic to the end: after the nano-influencer, the next step is not an even smaller influencer.

It is the customer.

The one who actually bought the product. Who actually uses it. Who loves it enough to recommend it to the people around them. Not because a brand asked them to talk about it, but because they want to recommend it.

The next question

And if their recommendation creates value for the brand, why should that value be reserved only for those with an audience?

That customer also deserves to be rewarded for the value they create.

This is exactly the paradigm shift we believe in at Frak: after the Creator Economy comes the Recommendation Economy.

Because in the end, the most powerful recommendation is not the most visible one. It is the most credible one.

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I am Virginie Maire, co-founder of Frak Labs, which turns your customers into a scalable, profitable, and authentic acquisition channel. A committed entrepreneur and mother of two, I have spent 20 years navigating media, social networks, influencer marketing, and e-commerce… and I’m still having just as much fun!