For years, the arrangement between brands and influencers was straightforward: build an audience, become popular enough to attract companies, promote their products and get paid. The larger the following, the stronger the creator’s bargaining power.

That model continues to work for many creators, but the business around it is changing. Brands are becoming more careful about how much they pay influencers, while audiences are becoming better at identifying sponsored content. At the same time, user-generated content (UGC) creators are showing that producing effective marketing material does not require hundreds of thousands of followers. More businesses are also learning to create the types of content they previously paid influencers to produce.

These developments are raising a broader question for Nigerian creators: is influencer marketing losing its value, or is the industry evolving?

Popular Nigerian influencer Opeyemi Famakin believes the decline has already begun.

During a campaign for a business in Abuja, Famakin sat with the owner to discuss how the establishment could stand out online. The owner naturally assumed that influencers would be part of the solution. Instead, Famakin offered to teach her how to create content herself.

“I will teach you how to create content to the point that you will not need influencers,” he recalled telling the business owner.

It may sound counterproductive for an influencer to teach a client how to operate without influencers. For Famakin, however, that was precisely the point.

He said the establishment eventually became capable of generating between 15,000 and 20,000 views on its Instagram and TikTok posts without hiring an influencer every time it wanted to attract attention.

Famakin’s experience reflects a wider change in the way businesses are approaching creator marketing. Influencers have not suddenly become irrelevant, but the ability to create content and attract attention is no longer limited to them.

When everyone can create, influence becomes harder to sell

There was a time when brands relied on influencers because they understood social media better than most businesses. Influencers knew what audiences watched, how to speak the language of the internet and, most importantly, already had an audience.

That gap is narrowing.

“Founders are now creating content. Your gym coach is now creating content. Doctors are now creating content,” Famakin said.

His argument is that social media has “democratised” influence.

The size of Nigeria’s creator economy also illustrates how far the market has grown. Nigeria now has more than 250,000 active influencers and content creators, according to a 2026 industry outlook. The same report said brands are increasingly shifting from simple reach towards performance-driven campaigns and measurable results.

That shift does not mean companies have stopped spending on influencers. Nigeria’s Influencer Marketing Report estimates that the industry generated ₦161.4 billion in spending between 2021 and 2025. It describes a market that has moved from experimental influencer campaigns towards a more structured and data-driven ecosystem.

The trend is similar globally. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) expects US creator advertising spending to reach $44 billion in 2026. Its September advertising outlook also identified creator and influencer partnerships as an area receiving increased advertiser attention.

Brands are still spending on creators, but they are becoming more selective about whom they pay and what they expect in return.

Audiences are responding to more natural storytelling

Audiences have changed as well. On Instagram and TikTok, viewers can often tell almost immediately when a creator has moved from regular content into a paid promotion.

The creator introduces the product, lists its benefits and mentions the company several times before ending with a discount code or call to action. In some cases, viewers begin scrolling before the pitch has even started.

Content creator Mercy The Influencer believes this is why influencer marketing must change.

“Once people sense marketing from the jump, they skip,” she said.

For Mercy, the next stage is “storytelling marketing.” She cited Famakin as an example. Rather than opening a video by announcing the store he is promoting, he might begin by telling viewers that he plans to spend more than ₦11 million.

That approach gives viewers a reason to keep watching before they know which product is being promoted. They want to find out what he is buying, why he is spending that much and where he is going. The brand can then become part of the story instead of being the entire story.

“The next big type of marketing coming is storytelling marketing,” Mercy said.

She argued that some brands still commission creators because of their ability to connect naturally with audiences, then give them rigid briefs that make the final content feel like a traditional advertisement.

That creates a problem for both brands and creators. Companies still want to work with creators, but audiences are increasingly responding to content that feels less like a conventional advert.

UGC gives brands another option

This also helps explain the growing appeal of UGC. A brand that needs product demonstrations, testimonials, lifestyle videos, skincare demonstrations or voiceovers does not necessarily need a famous person. It can hire someone specifically for their ability to produce relatable content.

The main difference is what the brand is paying for. With an influencer, the audience is part of the value. With UGC, the brand is often paying for the content itself, even when the creator does not have a large following.

The two models can coexist, but UGC gives companies another choice when allocating marketing budgets.

This is where claims that “influencer marketing is dying” can become misleading. There is little evidence that brands are abandoning creators. The IAB found that nearly half of creator-ad buyers already consider creators a “must-buy,” while 40% rank overall return on investment as the most important metric for creator campaigns.

The industry therefore appears to be facing a higher standard rather than an obvious collapse. That is also why some creators are urging influencers to build beyond sponsored posts.

“Productise yourself. Monetise your knowledge,” Mercy said, arguing that creators should turn their influence into products, intellectual property, communities, businesses and other assets they actually own.

If influence is becoming easier to acquire, having a large following alone is a weaker advantage than it once was. Brands can create more content themselves, UGC creators are competing for the same marketing budgets, and audiences are becoming harder to impress.

For influencers, the message is becoming clearer: a large following can open the door, but creators must also show brands what they can do with it.

Source: TechNext24