Zeno Social: Is the age of the aspirational influencer finally coming to an end?
Since the dawn of time, aka circa 2010, influencing has always been about inspiring a certain kind of lifestyle that followers aspire to achieve. Be that surrounding a successful career, the perfect relationship or luxurious holidays.
We will all recall from the early days of the influencer, when we were swept away by the highly curated and flawless Instagram feeds with not so much as an inadequacy in sight, that spelt out quite simply: my life is perfect, yours is not.
Thankfully with a changing economic climate and the rise of TikTok and its playful nature, we slowly evolved to welcome raw, unpolished social content that encouraged users to harness their imperfections and embrace being their authentic selves.
Fast forward to 2024 and we are seeing this attitude increase rapidly and unsurprisingly, as a global survey by Deloitte found that 56% of Gen Z respondents lived pay check to pay check, and a third of them were worried about the rising cost of living. Younger audiences are openly sharing how they feel poorer than ever before and this is reflected in online trends, such as ‘no spend challenges’ and ‘budget with me’ content.
You only need to watch any one of Farah Shams TikToks, where she hilariously ridicules the price of groceries in public, to see that more and more young people are now viewing the life of many lifestyle influencers as unattainable and quite frankly, unrealistic.
As I am sitting here writing this, I asked my 27 year old flatmate how she felt about this topic. ‘I’ve unfollowed so many influencers that still try to sell the idea of the perfect life’ she said ‘It’s just not real’.
A great response to this kind of perfection-pushing content on social is this thread, which shows TikTok users recreating a video of a young woman saying ‘“I earn $300,000. I’m 23. I drive a Porsche.” with their own spin. Like a school teacher, who has posted “I’m a teacher, I also make $300,000. Just takes me… five or six years to make it.”
So in conclusion, what should this mean for brands looking to partner with influencers in their upcoming marketing plans? Here’s what we would suggest:
- Redefine what aspirational content looks like
Steer away from talent whose channels focus on unattainable lifestyles and consider what other avenues could appeal to your audience. For instance, humour-led influencers such as Christopher Hall or money saving accounts such as Chelsea the cheap holiday expert.
A great example of a premium brand sourcing original partnerships without clinging to lifestyle content is Marc Jacobs and the Slyvanian Families drama account.
- Tap into more than just performance metrics
Of course Video View Rate and Engagement Rate are hugely important when choosing appropriate talent to work with. But at the same time, ask yourself - does this person truly relate to our target audience? You might check this by doing a manual dive into the comments section on their posts and also running their audience through insightful influencer tools such as Traakr.
- Quite simply, ask your audience
Brands are quick to forget that social channels are a great opportunity for two-way communication between you and your audience. Stories are the perfect way to gain insights into what your followers are interested in, so don’t be shy to ask questions like ‘Who would you love to see us work with in the future?’ - brand fans will be keen to give you their thoughts!
