The emotional connection: A new normal in influencer marketing

As brands confront diminishing returns from traditional ad formats and seek intimacy at scale, influencer marketing has emerged as a potent hybrid—offering reach and relevance, both. In today’s rapidly evolving landscape of influencer marketing, constant adaptation is essential for brands, creators, and agencies alike.

Influencers, who were once selected mainly on the follower counts are now opted as per data analytics, leading to a miss in emotional connection with the audience. This is a modern selection method, where analytics tools are used. This methodology continues to create misalignment between commercial intent and creator authenticity and the responsibility lies on the agency or individual who is facilitating it.

The core challenge with these analytics tools is their inability to account for the emotional connection between an influencer and their audience. While they offer useful approximations of branded and non-branded content performance, they often overlook intangible yet critical factors like content aesthetics, real-time audience sentiment, influencer behaviour, and the influencer’s face value.

The emotional connection between an influencer and their audience is the key factor in building a strong, continuous, and long-term approach—something that is lacking at the moment. Today, in choosing or evaluating a content creator, brands miss this aspect and risk partnering with ‘data-led’ influencers. This can be micro, nano, or any influencer. Brands are equating investments with metrics like engagement and reach, and not storytelling. They frequently overlook crucial elements such as content quality, production value, and aesthetic appeal. In reality, a more balanced approach—where profiles are evaluated manually with a holistic view—can lead to better outcomes. Unfortunately, this level of discernment is rarely applied unless there is a strong, long-standing relationship between the agency and the brand.

The industry is in need of a significant shift, particularly in empowering agencies with greater autonomy. Agencies today are best positioned to design influencer strategies grounded in real market insights and on-the-ground realities. As this trend of content creation becomes more crucial, it’s vital to have proper, structured collaborations thoughtfully to ensure value for both, brands and creators. More attention must be given to influencer selection—not only in terms of who is chosen but also why. When relevant creators are overlooked, taking the time to understand the reasoning can lead to more informed decisions in the future. However, given the fast-paced nature of the industry, brands often rush through this process, which can result in campaigns that miss the mark.

Brands must begin prioritising creative input over rigid legal oversight when it comes to influencer content. Branded content already faces challenges in capturing audience attention, and overloading it with legal disclaimers only further diminishes its impact. Such content often fails to engage viewers or leave a lasting impression, reducing the campaign to a mere formality—whether it is an influencer-led initiative or repurposed for performance marketing. Striking the right balance between compliance and creativity is essential to ensure that the content not only meets legal standards but also resonates meaningfully with the audience.

Though influencers are less costly than the actors we cannot simply ignore the actors or those with face value. Brand recognition is always quick with those with face value. Even today, in rural areas and tier-2, tier-3, or tier-4 cities—those with face value are more relevant than digital influencers. This small detailing needs to be kept in mind before taking a call on final names. As per budget, those with face value need to be a part of the campaign for the betterment and awareness of brand products or services.

While influencers may be more cost effective than traditional actors, it’s important not to overlook the value that recognisable faces bring to a campaign. Brand recall tends to be faster and stronger when associated with individuals who have established face value. This is especially true in rural markets and small cities where traditional celebrities often hold more influence than digital creators. Such nuances must be carefully considered when finalising the talent list. Depending on the budget, incorporating personalities with face value can significantly enhance brand awareness and improve campaign effectiveness.

— Shivashish Tarkas, founder, The InterMentalist.