Consumer-centric Influencer marketing

The growth of social media platforms has led to the rise of the creator economy, with influencer marketing becoming a key corporate advertising strategy for consumer brands. ‘Influencers’, who promote products or services to their ‘followers’, have become a modern extension of traditional ‘word of mouth’ advertising. Social media has not only formalised this process, but also enabled it to be monetised, particularly through affiliate programmes. These programmes incentivise product placement and promotion by paying commissions to individuals or businesses that successfully refer consumers towards a product or service.

The industry valuation of influencer marketing has more than tripled since 2019, growing from $6.5 billion to $21.1 billion in 2023. Companies leverage influencers to boost brand awareness and drive sales, with seven in ten consumers trusting their recommendations. This trend shows no signs of slowing down with many pursuing careers as influencers. Currently, 200 million people identify as creators, and one in four Gen Zers in the US plan to make social media influencing their career choice.  

Impact on Consumers

Influencer marketing can have a profound impact on consumers, reaching audiences that traditional media often misses. Influencers can effectively spread positive and important public interest messages, acting as role models and providing real-life examples. 

However, governance protocols, including regulation, standards, and codes of conduct are still evolving, revealing gaps in consumer protection. Influencers often blur the lines between genuine recommendations and paid endorsements, using emotional appeals and personal stories to build trust. This can make consumers vulnerable to impulsive, emotion-driven purchases. The lack of transparency around sponsored content and brand partnerships can mislead consumers, causing them to make decisions based on biased information rather than well-informed choices. Disclosure rules for these partnerships are inconsistent across locations, despite their content being accessible globally. Additionally, influencers are rarely held accountable for the products they promote, leaving consumers with limited recourse if misled or harmed. Laws and conventions for what constitutes a real influencer differ around the world – a particular challenge as generative artificial intelligence makes it easier to create lifelike audiovisual content.

Our Vision

Consumers must have trust in the digital economy. We envision an influencer marketing landscape that is transparent, accountable and safe for all consumers.

This requires a collaborative and consumer-centric approach to influencer marketing: 

  • Introduce dedicated regulatory frameworks to ensure consistency and clarity across the industry. Without a unified approach, it is difficult for consumers, influencers and brands to understand their rights and responsibilities.  
  • Improve transparency and accountability by legally defining “influencer” terminology and ensuring joint accountability between influencers, brands and agencies to reduce harmful practices and improve consumer recourse.  
  • Tailor sector-specific protections to safeguard consumers in high-risk areas, such as personal finance and health & wellbeing.
  • Integrate vulnerability safeguards into influencer marketing to ensure that vulnerable consumers are supported. Implementing these protections from the outset can prevent exploitation and create a safer environment for everyone. 
  • Prioritise enforcement and cross-border collaboration to ensure that regulations are consistently applied, and violations are met with appropriate consequences.  

Our Agenda for responsible influencer marketing

To build a safer influencer marketing ecosystem, Consumers International will use consumer insights to shape policy and guideline recommendations for regulation and business practices. We will develop these with our multistakeholder working group, which includes select Members, enforcement agencies, academics, and trade associations. Here’s how we’ll achieve our vision: 

  • Generation of Consumer Insights: collect data on how consumers engage with and experience influencer content, focusing on interactions, trust, and authenticity. 
  • Evaluation of Consumer Impact: analyse the broader effects of influencer marketing, including its benefits and risks, with a focus on vulnerable groups and industry-specific challenges.  
  • Assessment of the Regulatory Landscape: evaluate global influencer marketing regulations to identify critical gaps and provide a clear roadmap for necessary improvements.  
  • Convening of Relevant Stakeholders: assemble a group of key stakeholders across the influencer marketing value chain — including influencers, businesses, agencies, platforms, consumer protection organisations, enforcement bodies, academics, and trade associations — to enhance the digital marketplace for consumers. 
  • Recommendations for National and Global Policy Change: propose actionable, consumer-centric recommendations for establishing a dedicated regulatory framework, legal definitions, and sector-specific rules, to ensure industry accountability and protect vulnerable consumers. 
  • Promotion of Influencer Marketing Best Practices: highlight successful examples of responsible practices by those within the influencer marketing value chain. 

Working Group Members

Consumers International formed a working group in 2024 to drive progress towards this vision. This group actively involves and is supported by key regulatory and enforcement authorities like the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), and global trade associations. Together, we aim to develop an influencer marketing landscape that is transparent, accountable and safe for all consumers.  

To adopt a holistic and truly collaborative approach, we invite all stakeholders within the influencer marketing value chain – including influencers, brands, agencies, and platforms – to engage with our working group and join our efforts to improve the digital marketplace for consumers. 

Join us

We invite you to join us in shaping effective, consumer-focused influencer marketing and ensuring a safer environment for consumers worldwide. If you are a business looking to engage in this work and explore the benefits of our Change Network please reach out to partnerships@consint.org.