'Brands won't touch you with a 10-ft pole if...': User says full-time influencing is dead

Raina De, founder of personal branding and brand management firm Marque & Brew, recently said that full-time influencing is dead. She noted that luxury brands have been changing gears when it comes to collaborations with influencers. 

De mentioned that the change is happening too quickly for influencers to dilly-dally around. "By 2027, unless you have a full-time real-world career, brands won't touch you with a 10-foot pole. Not because you're frivolous — it's just common sense," Raina said in a LinkedIn post. 

She added that a few sectors, including B2C businesses, dominate the influencer market. Raina explained that influencers usually build a niche around looks, content, and follower base, which lets them influence only certain sections of the audience with credibility.

But why the change in the relationship between brands and influencers?

The Marque & Brew founder writes: "Full-time influencers have bills (and matcha lattes) to pay. Which means they push 5-10 collabs a month. Result? Brand dilution. On the other hand, someone with a full-time career isn't that desperate. Their collabs are fewer, stronger, and more aligned. Bankers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, activists, doctors - they are the new stars. So consider this a Weasley-style howler to any careerist holding back from creating content: START. The tables are about to turn."

The post got mixed reactions, with some disagreeing with the user's take and others saying that it makes sense. 

A user commented: "Hmm. Dead? I don't think so. A more nuanced scenario for sure. Brands will move away from flat fees to payment based on measurable outcomes when they work with creators. Definitely see a shift to longer-term partnerships than one-offs. You're right that there's space for professionals to be creators - we're already seeing this happen. I think both will co-exist for a while and the space will evolve.

"This is so true! The other day I saw a Mashreq bank collab with a financial advisor (who also creates great content on Instagram) and thought about this shift. It's the only way to stay authentic in a sea of mindless paid collabs," a second user wrote. 

"Influence without substance was always on borrowed time; careers are the new credibility," one of the users wrote. Replying to this, De said: "They were always the only credibility, we lost our way for a bit."

"Interesting take. This feels like a return to "authenticity" where the person's real-world expertise backs their influence," a fourth user commented.