Is Deinfluencing a Threat to Brands?

What is deinfluencing, and is it on the rise?

The commercial nature of influencer marketing means that social media users are always being sold to. And while many consumers are excited to learn about trending products, some are getting fed up with a constant barrage of social media posts promoting new purchases.

As a direct contradiction to this trend, deinfluencing encourages consumers to not believe the hype. Rather than telling followers to buy something, deinfluencers do the opposite – they’re actively discouraging followers from making unnecessary purchases by pointing out flaws or reasons to avoid products.

And this trend is on the rise. We used Brandwatch Consumer Research to see how online mentions of deinfluencing have changed over time. 

The term ‘deinfluencing’ peaked in early 2023 when a few TikToks about the topic went viral and a number of well-known publications wrote articles diving into the trend – including TIME and The Guardian.

From explaining the flaws in a product to discussing why it might be overhyped, these TikTok videos began calling out products which didn’t meet expectations. People started listening.

After this peak early last year, mentions faded – but the baseline for online conversations about deinfluencing remained higher than before the peak. And, over the last six months, these mentions have been growing even further.

The term “deinfluence” is becoming a part of the internet’s day-to-day vocabulary. Rather than just being a fleeting trend in itself, it’s sticking around. People are actively asking to be deinfluenced online, sharing photos or links to products they want to buy and hoping others will tell them it's not a good purchase choice.

Some consumers seem to be trying to actively talk themselves out of impulse buying, and the accountability of someone else telling them not to is doing the trick.

So, what’s sparked the term climbing in popularity in recent months? Let’s take a look.

What’s driving deinfluencing?

Online mentions of deinfluencing have been trending upwards after seeing a secondary peak last October. Coincidentally, this was just a month after the launch of TikTok Shop.

TikTok Shop has exploded since its implementation, with a third of daily TikTok users having used the feature. The unparalleled accessibility of brand-to-consumer purchases has changed how users engage with the app. TikTok’s algorithm means that brands can show their product to their key demographic with ease, and customers can purchase products within seconds.

But with this ease of purchase comes marketing fatigue on the behalf of the customer. Enter: deinfluencing.

Some conclude that deinfluencing might be a direct counter trend to the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag, which could also be attributed to a rise of impulse buying on the app. Plenty of people post videos reviewing products that TikTok encouraged them to buy – in turn motivating others to make the same purchase.