Hey y’all,

Have we all, as shoppers, reached a collective understanding that influencers promote products because it's their job?

Is influencer marketing (don't say it, don't say it, don't say it) dying? (Shit, I said it)

I ask because influencer marketing, as a channel, was built on trust. People trust other relatable people to give them recommendations. Does it still work this way?

Do we still trust influencers? Or has it become just another "ad channel"?

So we asked 1042 US adults, “Do you trust influencers?”

And we published a shiny, gorgeous report – that you seriously better read because this consumed me – mind, body, and soul – for weeks. For you.

Now that your bags are thoroughly packed for that (unserious) guilt trip, here are the top three things we found.

We asked people to rank their most trusted sources for product recommendations, and the top 3 were:

Content creators you don’t know? At the bottom. With billboards.

No matter who we looked at, content creators we followed ranked 2nd or 3rd among trusted sources for product recommendations – usually neck-and-neck with online reviews.

Except for Gen Z.

Gen Z was the only generation that ranked known content creators alongside friends and family – tied for first place.

And June isn’t even a busy month. I mean, it’s not Black Friday.

But here’s the link: those who trust creators the most had purchased a product recommended by a creator the most recently.

82% of the people who said creators were “extremely trustworthy” had purchased in the last month – nearly half in the last week.

Even dropping from “extremely” to “very” trustworthy in the eyes of respondents cut purchases in the past week by 2/3rds.

This one got me.

The people who find creators the most trustworthy are already ready to buy – whether they know the brand or not isn’t much of a factor. 🤯

We asked two questions:

And

Overall, over 30% said they’d be willing to purchase on a creator’s word alone. When they know the brand? It jumps to 58%.

But the people who already trust influencers don’t need even that much.

For the people who rate creators as “extremely” trustworthy, they’re already on board.

But look at the difference for the “very trustworthy” crowd – brand recognition is going to do so much more legwork in purchase likelihood.

Then, for those who find creators just “somewhat” trustworthy, knowing the brand is going to more than triple their likelihood of buying.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Trust is an ultra complex topic – and respondents had tons to say about creators.

We also found:

Plus much more.

Feel free to dive into the full report here – ungated, forever, as information should always be. <3

Lamenting the loss of the last 6 weeks of my life,
Whitney 🦇
Content R&D at Modash. Send hate mail to LinkedIn

Who they are: Eric Whittington, better known as @lifeactuator on TikTok. where he has 1 million followers. His engagement rate is above average for a creator of his size, sitting close to 13%, and his posts average 671K views!

Why he’s worth a follow: Eric makes content and skits about what it’s like to live with ADHD – so it’s no surprise that he ended up in my feed. 👀 His skits include what life is like with and without ADHD – and frankly, this one could have been pulled from any given day in my life. I’ve got the Amazon purchase history to prove it.

What’s cool about his content is that it’s not just funny – it’s honest. I can’t tell you how many of his videos I’ve saved and sent to others. Even if you don’t have ADHD, he’s entertaining, and you might also learn something.

Dream collab: People with ADHD often have to develop their own unique systems for getting through tasks – otherwise, we’d never do anything. I think any organization-based product or brand would be a shoo-in here. For example, anything that sends reminders, gamifies banal everyday tasks, or includes transparent storage for organization will be a 10/10 for his content and audience.

Return on Influence Festival ‘26 was a smashing success. If you missed it, here’s a smidge of what happened.

You can find the entire festival, split into sessions, on the official Modash YouTube playlist.

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support us, there are 3 different ways to do that right now. (You only need to do one, we’re not greedy!)