The Clash of Social Media Influencing and Authentic Brand Partnerships

Trust. Credibility. Authenticity.

The words listed above are regularly utilized as academics of the Public Relations and Social Media realms discuss or debate communication to publics, whether on social media or otherwise.

And when discussing social media influencing and persuasion outcomes "traits such as authenticity, expertise, trustworthiness, and attributions drive positive attitudes" (Kapitan, et al, 2021).

Ms. Rachel, ranked #20 on Forbes' list of "Top Creators of 2025," is a child development and education focused content creator who, in January, "inked a licensing deal with Netflix to bring her fan-favorite content to the platform."

With social media influencers, or "creators" serving more and more as a marketing partners for organizations - and both sides seeing success - there is opportunity out there for lots of organizations to jump onto partnerships with trendy, likable, credible creators.

However, while creators are still "seen as behaving more authentically, driven by intrinsic motivations," there are still risks to reputation for both organizations and creators due to the potential conflict between a brand's authenticity and its marketing.

An example of where brand partnerships could go wrong can be seen in the case of Mikayla Nogueira's fall from TikTok grace. A video she created, showcasing her application of a product she was endorsing, is emblematic of where both creators and organizations could go wrong if partnerships are fulfilled without authenticity or under false pretense.

With that in mind, organizations can continue to seek out opportunities to engage influencing opportunities of a wide-ranging variety(ie: small-scale creators, engaged citizens, social media conversations, etc.) to develop and sustain the trust necessary for influencer brand partnerships to succeed in the first place.

An example of a model that could be re-created across varying organizations if done appropriately is participatory journalism, which, as it relates to journalism, relies on the interests of their communities contributing to active news stories in order to develop a more well-rounded pictures of the newsworthy events to strike a town/city/region.

“Participatory journalism," or "citizen journalism” or “user generated content.”

AI-generated image.

Ultimately - in the era of social media, and millions of voices vying to be heard, there are opportunities for organizations to develop relationships with creators or customers who are willing and able to influence the market with their advocacy. Deciding the best method, platform or person to execute those partnership opportunities is a decision for that organization to dive deeper into.

References:

Kapitan, S., van Esch, P., Soma, V., & Kietzmann, J. (2021). Influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation. Australasian Marketing Journal, 30(4), 342–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/18393349211011171

Lipschultz, J. Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics (p. 109, 116-117). (Function). Kindle Edition.