More than half of Australians hold negative feelings about influencer marketing, with sentiment towards the channel running close to twice as negative as sentiment towards advertising generally.
The finding comes from the third wave of the Ad Standards Community Sentiment Tracker, conducted by Roy Morgan across a nationally representative sample of 1,006 Australians aged 18 and over between 18 May and 1 June.
Negative sentiment towards influencer marketing sits at 56%, compared with 31% for advertising in general. Only 6% feel positive about it and 37% are neutral.
Age is the sharpest dividing line. Negative sentiment climbs from 31% among 18 to 24 year olds to 43% among 25 to 34s, 53% among 35 to 49s, 64% among 50 to 64s and 75% among those 65 and over. Younger Australians are also the most likely to convert, with 28% of 18 to 24 year olds having bought a product or service after seeing it promoted by an influencer in the past 12 months, against 13% of the total population.
Exposure is heavy. Nearly a third of Australians see influencer marketing multiple times a day and another 26% see it daily, with women aged 25 to 34 the most exposed at 50%. Awareness of the term sits at 83%, though only 61% say they understand what it means.
"Constant bombardment of lifestyle influencer advertising on FB & Insta. Paid to gain free goods and throwing their children in the mix," one respondent said.
Disclosure emerged as the central concern. An overwhelming 84% say it is important that influencers clearly flag when content is advertising, rising to 92% among those exposed to it multiple times a day. Just over half, 53%, feel confident identifying paid promotion, while 19% lack confidence and one in ten are not at all confident.
One respondent described clicking on a post they took to be a genuine question about eczema treatments and reading through the comments, "in hindsight many of which were fake and ads", only realising the post was sponsored after searching for the product themselves.
The consequences of getting it wrong fall on both parties. Where content is not disclosed, 79% say it would negatively affect their perception of the brand and 84% say the same of the influencer. Where content is clearly disclosed, 76% report a positive or neutral impact on the brand.
The issues Australians nominate as most concerning are authenticity-led. Sixty per cent are concerned about influencers promoting products they may not genuinely use or believe in, 59% about influencers deliberately disguising paid promotion and 52% about content that is not clearly identifiable as advertising.
Concern about influencers promoting unrealistic or unhealthy body image sits at 51%, highest among women at 62% and peaking at 73% among women aged 65 and over. Clothing brands drew direct criticism in the verbatim responses.
"I see a lot of clothing companies that photoshop bodies to make them look as tiny as possible which I think promotes disordered eating and poor mental health. This is not in the best interest of the public," one respondent said.
By category, medical and health products or advice drew the most concern at 68%, followed by financial products at 59%, gambling at 55% and beauty and cosmetic services at 52%. Fashion and clothing sat towards the bottom of the list at 16%.
Broader sentiment towards advertising also softened over the quarter. Positive sentiment fell to 13% from 17%, distrust rose to 41% against 17% who trust advertising, and the net distrust score widened to -24. Only 14% agree advertisers usually have the community's best interests at heart.
The most common reason given for distrust was commercial motive, cited by 29%. "Commercially motivated, not community motivated. It's all about the dollar, not people," one respondent said. Another said much of what is advertised to them amounts to "efforts to get me to engage in overconsumption", singling out the promotion of materialistic ideals.
Those who trust advertising pointed to regulation and usefulness. "I think Australia has pretty strong rules around what is allowed on television," one respondent said.
Social media remains the platform of most concern at 58%, ahead of YouTube and online display at 35% each. Gambling advertising is still the single biggest issue, named as the top concern by 23%.
There was also a significant lift in the proportion who strongly agree they avoid brands using offensive or inappropriate advertising, up to 40% from 36% last quarter. More than half, 52%, had seen advertising they found inappropriate or offensive in the past three months.