At a time when consumers are inundated with so-called social media influencers peddling the latest products online, a slew of TikTok users are leveraging their platforms to tell people what not to buy instead.
The trend, called "de-influencing," is a stark contrast to prior ones like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, when consumers were showing off products they purchased after seeing them on the social media app.
Paige Pritchard, 33, said it's refreshing to see consumers finally having this conversation. Now a spending coach who shares financial advice on TikTok, Pritchard said she chose her career path after blowing her entire US$60,000 salary on clothing, beauty and hair products in the first year after she graduated from college.
A study he did with other academics showed Gen Z shoppers typically ignore influencer campaigns they believe to be controlled by companies. Brand deals and influencers have become almost synonymous over the years, but consumers still crave authenticity and those seen as inauthentic often incur a cost to their reputation.
The temptation to make money, however, can be hard to overcome. Many influencers earn their living from the content they produce, oftentimes in collaboration with brands. Such partnerships have exploded in the past decade, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, which says the influencer marketing industry reached over US$16 billion last year, up from $1.6 billion in 2016.
De-influencing -- much like influencing -- sprang from a place of authenticity. But the longer the trend lingers, the more it becomes something of a paradox: The hashtag is being used by some users to pan certain products and then turn around and offer up alternatives -- essentially influencing their followers to buy more items, not less.
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