How to Do Influencer Marketing That Customers Actually Trust

Influencer marketing is now a $24 billion industry. Yet CMOs face a paradox: Influencer marketing is booming, but trust is eroding. One study shows that while 88% of consumers say authenticity matters, nearly half believe most influencers are fake. Over a third think influencers misrepresent themselves and the products they endorse. The result is an increasingly broken influencer ecosystem: Consumers feel misled, influencers struggle to stay true to themselves, and managers don’t fully grasp how authenticity is built.