A creator with millions of followers can put a product in front of an enormous audience. Convincing that audience to buy it is harder.

Yet brands often approach influencer partnerships with reach and engagement at the top of their wish lists, without first establishing what they want the influencer to accomplish.

US influencer marketing spending is set to grow 16.5% in 2026 and reach $14.15 billion by 2027, according to EMARKETER’s February 2026 forecast. As budgets grow, so does the cost of choosing a spokesperson whose popularity doesn’t translate into results.

Claire Kane, executive vice president and director of strategic planning at VML, argues that marketers should start by asking whether they need someone to attract attention or give customers a reason to believe in the product.

Getting noticed and getting believed are different jobs

Consider how many beauty products promise to soften skin, vanquish puffy eyes, or brighten complexions. Even when the formulas differ, the claims sound the same.

“When every brand has identical ingredients and identical claims, having a dermatologist or a traditional beauty guru hold up a bottle under a ring light just becomes background noise,” said Kane.

That pushes brands to make familiar products interesting, sometimes by recruiting personalities that consumers wouldn't expect to see promoting them.

A recent example is e.l.f. Beauty’s partnership with reality TV star Dorinda Medley. The campaign put her behind a DJ booth for a morning coffee rave to promote a caffeine-infused eye cream. Medley wasn’t there to explain the science and the machinations behind the product. Her personality and the unexpected setting gave people a reason to pay attention.

Kane argues that marketers need to establish what role they want an influencer to play before deciding whom to hire.

“Are they the attraction? Or are they the RTB (reason to believe)?” she asked.

For the former, Kane describes using talent as the “cultural hook or the pattern interrupt to stop the scroll and get people through the door.”

Medley’s appearance at the e.l.f. coffee rave fits that assignment. She brought an audience and a personality that a conventional skincare endorsement might have struggled to replicate.

The RTB serves another purpose. As Kane put it, “you’re using their lived experience and vulnerability as proof that the product actually works.”

Consider influencer Alix Earle, whose openness about her struggle with cystic acne has helped establish her credibility in skincare conversations. She may lack formal dermatological credentials, but her followers have watched her navigate the same concerns they're trying to address.

That familiarity can make her recommendations persuasive in ways that professional expertise alone may not.

The two roles aren’t mutually exclusive. But a creator who can generate excitement around a product isn’t necessarily the person consumers will turn to when deciding whether it’s worth their money.

Not every brand needs a girl next door

Relatability isn’t always what consumers want.

Kane points to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as an example of what can happen when brands prioritize social media popularity over the qualities that made their marketing distinctive in the first place.

The show’s appeal rests on a history of glamour and spectacle and on the runway skills of professional models. Bringing in influencers may attract their followers, but Kane questions whether those personalities can deliver the same experience.

"Relatability is the absolute enemy of high fantasy," she said.

An influencer who builds an audience by speaking candidly into a phone camera may be enormously effective at selling everyday products. That doesn't necessarily mean they're equipped to command a runway.

Kane argues that the pursuit of social media reach can come at the expense of the brand experience itself.

"Culture-first is not social media first," she said.

Her criticism raises a broader question for marketers: Are they choosing personalities who strengthen what consumers already value about the brand, or simply recruiting people who can bring an audience?

An unconventional spokesperson can introduce a brand to new communities, but unfamiliarity with the category isn't automatically an advantage. Sometimes the expertise, polish, or specialized skills of a traditional representative are precisely what consumers expect.

Choosing the right talent requires understanding what makes the brand appealing before deciding who should represent it.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.