The Conversation That Started It All
It started with a statement online that quickly picked up attention. A creator said, “influencers are broke right now.”
That statement moved quickly across the creator space and triggered responses from different voices in the industry.
One of the most talked-about responses came from Opeyemi, who pushed the discussion further by saying influencer marketing will naturally decline within the next five years, comparing its trajectory to blogging, a space that once dominated digital attention but has since faded as audience behavior changed.
He described blogging as something that had its peak and gradually lost relevance over time. In his view, influencer marketing may be heading in a similar direction if nothing changes.
At the same time, Fekomi CEO responded from a different angle, focusing less on “death” and more on what is currently breaking in the system; pricing, delivery, and return on investment.
Very quickly, the conversation stopped being about one statement.
It became a wider reflection on how influence is changing.
And that leads to the real question: is influencer marketing actually dying, or is the structure around it what is changing?
Why Business Owners Are Starting to Question Influencer Marketing
If you listen closely to business owners right now, the concern is not always influencer marketing itself, but how it is being experienced.
A few issues come up repeatedly.
Some businesses point to situations where payment is made but delivery is not properly fulfilled. Others mention breakdowns in professionalism, where agreements are not respected or timelines are not followed.
Pricing is another recurring concern.
For many small and mid-sized businesses, influencer marketing is beginning to feel expensive compared to the results they see. In some cases, the cost no longer feels aligned with the outcome, which creates hesitation around continued investment.
Then there is the issue of conversion.
Many brands agree that influencer campaigns generate visibility, but visibility does not always translate into sales. And in business terms, that gap becomes the most important part of the conversation.
Business owners are now becoming their own influencers
Beyond the complaints, something more structural is shifting.
Some business owners are no longer fully dependent on influencers to tell their brand stories.
Instead, they are beginning to create that visibility themselves.
Brands are producing their own content internally. Some are building in-house content teams. Others are putting founders or key team members at the centre of communication.
In practice, the question is no longer only: “Which influencer should we work with?”
It is also: “Can we create this ourselves?”
This shift is already visible in how some brands operate.
During the conversation, examples such as Pamtech were referenced as brands building consistent internal content systems. Even FekomiCEO was mentioned as someone increasingly operating like a content-driven voice within his own ecosystem.
The key point is simple:
Brands are realising they can generate influence internally, without relying entirely on external creators.
And that changes how influence is being defined.
Visibility Without Structure Is Where Things Break
One of the issues in influencer marketing is not always the influencer, it is the structure around the campaign.
In many cases, influencer marketing is treated as a single action: a post goes live, visibility is generated, and results are expected immediately.
But marketing rarely works that way.
What often happens instead is that attention is generated, but there is no system behind it to carry that attention forward. No clear offer. No follow-up. No structured journey after the content goes live.
So even when a campaign performs well in reach, the impact can stop there.
From a business perspective, it then feels like influencer marketing did not work, when in reality, the issue is often the absence of structure around it.
When Influencer Marketing Works Better
There is another side to this conversation.
Influencer marketing tends to perform better when it is treated as a campaign, not a one-off transaction.
Stronger outcomes usually come from:
- clear campaign direction before content is created
- messaging alignment between brand and creator
- multiple touchpoints instead of one post
- collaboration that builds familiarity over time
When influencers are part of a wider campaign structure, the content becomes part of a narrative rather than a standalone moment.
And audiences respond better when they see consistency.
The Trust Shift in the Influencer Space
Beyond structure and pricing, there is also a growing trust issue in the space.
Audiences are becoming more selective about what they believe online. There is increasing awareness around paid promotions and whether recommendations are based on real usage or simply transactions.
When influencers promote too many unrelated products or when endorsements feel disconnected from experience, trust begins to weaken.
This is why niche creators are gaining more relevance.
Smaller, more focused creators often build stronger trust because their content feels more aligned with their actual identity or expertise.
In many cases, trust is becoming more valuable than reach.
Speaking on the shift, our CEO, Folasade Abimbola noted that “Influencer marketing is not necessarily dying, but going through some sort of evolutionary refinement, which would be very beneficial to people building authority in their niche”.
The PR Perspective: What This Conversation Is Really Showing
From a PR and communications point of view, this conversation is not really about whether influencer marketing will survive or not.
It is more about how influence is being redistributed, and what that means for visibility and authority.
What is becoming clear is that attention alone is no longer enough. Being seen is not the same thing as being believed, and popularity does not automatically translate into trust or commercial value for a brand.
So when brands question influencer marketing, it is not always a rejection of creators. It is often a response to what they now expect from communication is clarity, consistency, and a stronger sense of control over how their message is delivered.
This is why more brands are slowly moving into internal visibility. Some are building in-house content systems. Some are turning founders, executives, or team members into the face of communication. Others are reducing dependency on external voices and focusing more on structured storytelling from within.
From a PR lens, this is not the collapse of influence. It is a redistribution of it.
Influence is no longer fixed in one place. It now moves between creators, brands, and internal teams depending on who has clarity and consistency in communication.
But this shift also creates something very important for a different group of people, those building personal brands.
As brands become more selective about who they collaborate with, the value is shifting toward people who have already built authority within a specific niche or profession.
This is where personal branding and PR become more relevant than ever.
Executives, professionals, founders, and business owners who intentionally build clarity around what they are known for are the ones who will naturally begin to attract collaborations over time. In many cases, this is where “influencer money” is quietly moving away from broad visibility and toward trusted authority.
But none of this starts with visibility alone.
It starts with clarity.
Clarity about what you want to be known for.
Clarity about the space you want to occupy.
Clarity about the authority you are building consistently over time.
Because in the next phase of influence, the question is no longer “who has the most attention?”
It is becoming “who is trusted enough to be associated with a message, a product, or a brand?”
If you are an entrepreneur, executive or professional let us help you gain clarity, gain visibility and build authority in your niche or industry.
To get started, join our free group clarity session to get some insights on what you need to get started or book a paid one-on-one personal consultation to get help starting your Personal Branding & PR process.
You have worked hard over the years now it is time to be the most sort after and paid by both clients/customers and brands with an influencer budget.