Not a Sponsored Post: Social Media Influencers Are On the Decline

The coveted social media job of "Influencer"—a role rampant in the plus-size industry—is losing its cache, and an industry insider shares the reason why.

According to an unidentified social media exec who gave an exclusive interview to Digiday, social media influences are simply not worth the investment.

The amount of content by the public is in demand, but the quality of content companies are producing is slipping. This lies with the social media influencers,who aren't usually hired for the skill set, but by the amount of followers they have on social media and the recommendations by the children of CEOs who are more social-media savvy than their folks.

Social media influencers are hired as independent contractors by companies, so they throw some content up on their sites that doesn't fit the company brands, ask for the rate, and move on to the next project. There's no personal investment in the product.

Here, the social media explains why most social media influencers are losing their edge:

"The good ones come back within a day with ideas. Some send us decks or presentations that are pretty but not tailored to the brand. They’re all nuts. 'I want to take a car and pick it up in London and drive it around Europe, so give me $100,000,' they say. Nope, let’s totally never do it that ever. These people don’t understand budgets."

Plus-size social media influencers are hotter than ever, though. Gabi Gregg and Nicolette Mason have strong followings because they not only know the product and but their audience, and businesses recognize it. There is authenticity in their recommendations, and their followers trust their opinions. In a world where the phrase "content is king" is heard at every pitch meeting, maybe it's time to reconsider what truly rules within the world of social media.