Authenticity: The Pillar of Influencer Marketing
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Influencer marketing weighs ever more heavily in brand budgets. Yet what makes it strong remains the same: authenticity. Consumers are above all looking for sincere messages and recommendations based on real experiences. A creator whose word is perceived as authentic generates more engagement and trust among their community.
A successful collaboration therefore doesn't rest solely on follower numbers, but on the fit between the creator and the brand. The brand's and the creator's values must be aligned to guarantee a credible relationship. According to the ARPP and France Pub study published in 2026, net investment in influencer marketing in France rose 13.1% in a year to reach €587 million in 2025, or 5.2% of total digital spend.
Engagement Before Quantity
For a long time, an influencer's follower count was the deciding criterion in choosing a collaboration. Now, engagement comes first. A creator with a smaller but active community often has more impact than an account with millions of followers that generates few interactions.
Brands today are looking to work with content creators who spark authentic conversations and real engagement, rather than simply aiming for a large audience. Micro-influencers, whose audience is more targeted and more passionate, are becoming valuable partners. The trust placed in creators goes beyond entertainment, in fact: according to the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2025, in France, the young news creator Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) reaches 22% of under-35s with content distributed mainly via YouTube and TikTok.
Platform Diversity: Multichannel and Transmedia
Influencer marketing is no longer limited to Instagram or YouTube. TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat and even LinkedIn have become key channels for brands. Influencer campaigns roll out across a variety of media, which makes it possible to reach very specific audience segments.
All of these uses have one thing in common: they are experienced on a smartphone. That's why we design creator content for the vertical screen first. According to Médiamétrie's L'Année Internet 2025, mobile accounts for 80% of the time the French spend on the internet, up from 66% in 2020.
To optimise your campaigns, think multichannel and adapt to the codes of each platform:
- a consistent message across all channels;
- a format and tone specific to each platform;
- creators whose audience matches the chosen channel.
It's this combination that makes the difference.
New Trends: Authenticity and Value Creation
Consumers are increasingly demanding of creators. They expect content that brings them value: practical tips, shared experience or honest reviews. Audiences appreciate partnerships where the creator shows their reasoning and explains why they back a brand.
Transparency is also a legal obligation. Every partnership must therefore be clearly flagged, including when it is simply a product being sent. According to the DGCCRF's 2024 review, more than 260 influencers were inspected that year, 40% of whom showed irregularities, resulting in 40 warnings, 65 compliance orders and 8 criminal reports.
Artificial intelligence adds a new requirement. According to the European Commission, Article 50 of the AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026: from that date, providers and deployers of AI systems must comply with the transparency obligations it sets out. For a brand that uses AI-generated avatars, voices or visuals in its videos, the question of labelling becomes very concrete.
Finally, creative collaborations, such as limited-edition product launches or live events, reinforce this authenticity and add an experiential dimension to influencer marketing.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing is not going out of fashion. It keeps evolving with new strategies, more authentic creators, a more transparent framework and a search for a sincere connection between brand and consumers. Choose creators who share your values, be creative in how you tell your stories, and bet on engagement rather than mere visibility.
Want to build influencer marketing into your strategy?
At Esekai, we help you work with authentic creators and produce vertical videos that engage, from UGC to creative ads for TikTok and Reels.