The last decade has seen trends come and go, mostly with social media influencers being at the forefront. From things to buy to brands to choose–these influencers have been telling consumers what to think and do. This has led to the rise of influencer marketing, which involves brands partnering with influential personalities to market their products. But more recently, we’re starting to see a new trend called deinfluencing taking over the social media landscape.
So what is deinfluencing all about and why is it trending right now? What makes it different from influencing and why should brands care? Learn all about the deinfluencing trend in this guide.
What Is Deinfluencing?
Deinfluencing, as the name suggests, is a trend that involves influential social media personalities telling their followers what not to buy and which brands to avoid. They may provide realistic and scathing reviews or discuss products that are not worth the hype, essentially helping consumers to critically evaluate their purchases.
The main goal is to persuade others to make conscious buying choices and limit over-consumption.
While the trend first became popular in the beauty and lifestyle industries, it has since been picked up by influencers in other industries as well. Similarly, although it started out from TikTok, you can now find plenty of influencers on other platforms participating in the deinfluencing trend.
Why Deinfluencing is Trending
Over the past few months, the deinfluencing trend has taken TikTok by storm. You can find thousands of deinfluencing videos where TikTok influencers are trying to inform their audience about products they don’t need to buy. Most of these videos get hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of views.
So why is this happening and why is it popular among social media users?
Overconsumption and Shopping Addiction
Although influencer marketing has been all the rage in the past decade, many believe that it’s overdone. With influencers constantly pushing out new “trends” and products people “have to buy,” it’s quickly resulting in widespread shopping addiction and overconsumption as consumers try to keep up with the latest trends.
The Negative Impact of Social Media Trends on Consumer Behavior
Take, for example, the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend, where influencers and other TikTok users shared videos of products that they ended up buying after discovering them on the app. For the most part, this trend encouraged people to make impulse purchases based on viral videos they found on TikTok even if they didn’t really need those products.
With harmful trends like these contributing to overconsumption, deinfluencing aims to tackle this issue and promote more sustainable buying choices. Essentially, deinfluencing influencers inform consumers about what not to buy in spite of the hype. They get people to give a second thought before making impulse purchases so they’re more conscious about what they end up buying.
The Need to Promote Sustainable Buying Choices
We're seeing a massive trend of promoting sustainability. More specifically, promoting sustainable buying choices. This is particularly essential when it comes to calling out and curbing the impact of influencers who help to promote fast fashion brands with shady practices such as Shein. At some point, many TikTok influencers were sharing videos of their “Shein hauls,” encouraging their followers to buy the brand’s cheap and trendy pieces.
However, this can have an extremely harmful impact on the environment, with the company releasing 700-1,000 new items in a day. As the brand first experiments with 50-100 pieces of each new item first to test their popularity, that’s about a minimum of 35,000 units per day. You can imagine how much carbon emissions that will contribute to. Deinfluencing is beyond necessary to help mitigate the impact of social media influencers on overconsumption, which negatively impacts the environment as a whole.
The Credibility Crisis Among Influencers
On top of this, many influencers today lack the credibility, relatability, and transparency that originally got people to trust in influencers in the first place. From influencers lying about the products they’re promoting to participating in tone-deaf campaigns that fail to consider important social issues–popular influencers have taken their influence for granted.
Some would say that they now only care about making money, even if it means losing credibility. The deinfluencing trend partly became popular as a way to call out these influencers and put an end to any dishonest or shady attempts at making money.
Economic Factors Driving Deinfluencing
Finally, it’s important to acknowledge the role that the economy plays in the popularity of this trend. The economic impact of a global pandemic can still be felt as consumers feel the need to be more conscious about how and where they spend their money.
Take this review, which went viral, from Former Fat Guy Fitness on TikTok. Despite having reviewed hundreds of protein bars and similar weight-loss and weightlifting products, the person behind the camera didn't shy away from giving an honest review for a product that was sent to him. His main talking points were about the protein bar's price, which stands at $5 per bar! In the eyes of Former Fat Guy Fitness, this price is unacceptable. What resulted was FFGF "deinfluecing" the Jacob Protein Bar
@formerfatguyfitness FFGF TALKS about the Jacob Bar #formerfatguy #proteinbar #proteinbarreview #foryou #gymtok #fittok #review #rating #tastetest #highprotein ♬ original sound - Former Fat Guy Fitness
So it only makes sense for them to look up to reliable individuals who can help them make informed buying decisions, thus leading to the popularity of deinfluencing content across social media.
Influencing vs. Deinfluencing: Understanding the Differences and Similarities
In a sense, deinfluencing is still a type of influencing since the goal is to sway people’s purchase decisions…even if it’s to make fewer, less expensive purchases. At the same time, there are several key differences between deinfluencing and influencing. Let’s take a closer look at the main comparisons between the two so you can understand these important distinctions.
Similarities Between Influencing and Deinfluencing
- Both aim to influence people’s buying behaviors.
Differences Between Influencing and Deinfluencing
- Purpose: Influencing encourages people to buy products, while deinfluencing encourages them to buy only what they truly need.
- Approach: Influencing promotes impulse purchases through hype, whereas deinfluencing encourages thoughtful decision-making and honest reviews.
- Brand Sponsorships: Influencers often focus on positives due to brand deals, sometimes losing credibility. Deinfluencers, without brand ties, are often more honest and relatable.
- Brand Selection: Influencers may work with any brand for profit, even those with shady practices. Deinfluencers are selective and cautious about the brands they promote.
- Impact Awareness: Influencing often overlooks the environmental and social impact of purchases. Deinfluencing focuses on reducing overconsumption and promoting conscious choices for the greater good.
Why Brands Should Care about Deinfluencing
Now the big question is–how does this all tie into your brand strategy? Why should your brand care about the deinfluencing trend? Does it even tie into your brand’s bottom line? Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why you should pay attention to deinfluencing.
Consumers Care About Making More Conscious Buying Decisions
There’s no doubt that consumers are increasingly becoming conscious about their buying decisions and how their habits affect the environment. They’re becoming more willing to buy from sustainable brands, with many even willing to pay extra for sustainable products. In fact, 90% of Gen X consumers would be willing to spend 10% more for sustainable products–a number that stood at only 34% just two years ago.
This isn’t too surprising considering how it’s important for 78% of U.S. consumers to maintain a sustainable lifestyle. Naturally, there’s been significant growth in retail sales for products that make environmental, social, and governance-related claims. These products saw a 28% cumulative growth in a five-year period while products without such claims saw a 20% growth.
Source: mckinsey.com
These numbers prove that consumers care about how their buying habits impact the environment and are, therefore, more conscious about what they choose to buy. That means they’re actively looking to reliable sources (read: deinfluencing creators) to assess brands and products so they can make informed purchase decisions.
Deinfluencing Creators Command Greater Trust and Influence
It’s safe to say that regular influencers have lost some of their influence over the last couple of years. This is largely due to a type of promotion exhaustion, where most influencers try to push products in front of their audience and get their followers to buy more stuff even if they don’t really need them. In many cases, these influencers may even make objectionable claims or blatantly promote products that don’t really work.
As a matter of fact, several influencers have been exposed for blatantly lying about things like their lifestyle, their looks, or their health conditions. Others have been caught promoting fake money-making deals or agreeing to promote fake weight loss products, for example. There was even a lawsuit involving eight influencers who allegedly lied to manipulate stocks.
More recently, a TikTok mega influencer was caught in a controversy involving false lashes. Mikayla Nogueira was accused of wearing false lashes in an attempt to misrepresent the effectiveness of the L'Oréal Paris Telescopic Mascara.
@angelikaoles #mikaylanogueira caught lying in her recent #makeup ♬ original sound - Angelika Oles
Regardless of the specifics, the main point is that these influencers don’t really care about what their followers do or buy as long as they end up making money from those purchases. As a result, consumers have collectively started to lose their trust in these influencers. While many consumers might still follow these influencers for their content, they won’t necessarily follow their advice or consider their buying recommendations anymore.
It Could Impact Existing Marketing Efforts
The growth of deinfluencing will likely have an impact on your existing marketing efforts, especially if they involve influencer marketing. For example, if your marketing copy makes claims that are not clinically proven, you could be more susceptible to being called out by a deinfluencing creator.
Similarly, let’s say one of the influencers in your campaign has a history of lying about the products they promote or working with brands that are less than reputable. If the influencer gets involved in a controversy, all of their claims about your product could be put under the microscope. Not only will you lose out on potential customers, but you could even end up losing the trust you’ve worked so hard to build.
As such, it’s important to closely keep an eye on deinfluencing trends and realign your marketing efforts to mitigate the harmful impact. You may even want to completely rehaul your campaigns to include deinfluencing creators.
Making the Deinfluencing Trend Work for Your Brand
With the right approach, deinfluencing can also be an effective way to win the trust of your target audience and build a stronger connection with them. For this, you’d need to carefully reexamine your brand positioning and form partnerships with relevant deinfluencers who are already fans of your brand. This will help add authenticity to your efforts and enable you to build a strong brand community with deinfluencing creators at the forefront.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an example of deinfluencing?
Dermatologists telling consumers which skincare products aren’t worth the hype or they should avoid is an example of deinfluencing.
Is deinfluencing still influencing?
Deinfluencing is still a form of influencing since it involves swaying people’s purchase decisions.
What is a deinfluencer?
A deinfluencer is someone who educates their audience about which products not to buy.
What is the deinfluencing trend on TikTok?
The deinfluencing trend on TikTok involves creators informing their audience about products they should not buy and suggesting better/cheaper alternatives.
What is the meaning of overconsumption?
Overconsumption is the excessive consumption of something. In the retail world, it’s the excessive buying of things you don’t need, mostly influenced by current trends and influencers.
Why has deinfluencing gained popularity?
Deinfluencing has gained traction due to growing consumer fatigue, a sense of guilt against the backdrop of global issues, and a desire for more transparency from social media influencers. The trend also reflects a shift in audience expectations towards authenticity and critical thinking.
Can deinfluencing be misused?
Some argue that certain deinfluencers are more interested in making people feel bad about their spending habits rather than providing genuine advice. There are also concerns that some deinfluencers may be getting paid by rival brands to disparage products.
How has deinfluencing impacted the influencer landscape?
Deinfluencing has led to the rise of influencers who specialize in critical reviews and consumer advocacy. This niche has allowed creators to differentiate themselves by prioritizing candid assessments over conventional promotional tactics.
Does deinfluencing mean the end of influencer marketing?
While deinfluencing has challenged traditional influencing methods, it is unlikely to spell the end of influencer marketing. Brands are adjusting their strategies to focus on authentic endorsements and are expected to continue partnering with influencers.
