Like in any nuanced field, there are good and bad apples. At the end of the day, attention is valuable, and Instagram influencers are driving attention like cra

Like in any nuanced field, there are good and bad apples. At the end of the day, attention is valuable, and Instagram influencers are driving attention like crazy. Does it work? I don't have any hard science to back it up, but I've worked with many brands who see a ridiculous return on it (despite paying between $50-$2000 per post). It doesn't work for every brand though. I'm a dev, I work in the industry (I run a startup in this space, check profile if interested), and I consider myself minimalist and not materialistic. Yet when it came time to purchase my first watch, I went with a nice, minimalist looking brand I'd seen advertised on IG constantly. Same with when I needed to buy a new set of t-shirts. We constantly ask for recommendations on HN and accept them without verifying who the poster is or if they have ulterior motives. I've bought _so_ many books off of HN suggestions because I give the average poster a respectable amount of trust. It works the same in IG influencer marketing - those who follow a particular influencer grant the influencer a modicum of trust and are willing to trust their recommendations more than a banner, billboard, or magazine ad.