You’ve probably all heard Andy Warhol's quote: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
After social media entered our lives – somehow alongside the period following the Iraq War and Barack Obama’s presidential campaign – these networks, initially so innocent and designed to connect people, also gave rise to a wide range of new professions. Suddenly, we could find out who had gone where, what they had bought, which country they had chosen for their vacation and even how things were going in their marriages. And then came the people we call “influencers” – those whose influence, in essence, helps turn marketing into sales.
Before we knew what was happening, strangers whose identities, education and expertise we knew nothing about – essentially micro-marketers – had become our guides, making a great deal of money and suddenly emerging as a glamorous, popular group.
We followed them obsessively and, above all, began doing what they did and buying the things they bought. The fashion industry, in particular, became one of the sectors to benefit most from this phenomenon.
But what happened next? Just as every marketing tool that rises eventually declines, influencers, too, began to lose their appeal.
I first began writing about this shift in 2023, in the post-pandemic period, when it became increasingly clear that people were growing tired of watching others eat, dress and travel. At the time, I wrote that social media would remain in our lives as a marketing space, but that some people would naturally be filtered out because of their lifestyles, education, knowledge, appearance or manners. I also noted that many of them would gradually fall off the radar of both consumers and brands.
Three years later, we can see that the trend has changed – at the events we attend, in the trend research reports we read and in the brand meetings we take part in; consumers have become more conscious, while more discerning and educated audiences increasingly prefer to stay away from social media. Brands, meanwhile, have grown weary of collaborations for which they have paid considerable sums but seen little real return, whether in terms of prestige or sales.
"Brands are still collaborating with them. Where exactly is this decline?” some of you will surely ask.
Of course, the trend has not disappeared completely – nor does it need to. But around the world, the industry is moving toward a more controlled format, one more aligned with ethical values and more transparent about the fact that this is ultimately a marketing activity centered on money.
Many countries have already begun imposing penalties on people whose education or professional expertise does not align with what they present themselves as doing on social media. The era of people who promote heavily edited images and virtual lives far removed from reality, speak about every subject as though they were experts, offer advice on everything and are ultimately driven by the goal of making more money for themselves is coming to an end.
We can see this shift more clearly in countries that set trends in fashion, marketing and digital media. And, in fact, we will begin to see it much more clearly in Türkiye sooner than you might think.
Luxury fashion brands have suddenly started reducing their collaborations with social media content creators. At events where dozens of influencers were once hosted, we now see only one or two – another sign of this changing trend.
“So, who is taking their place?” you might ask.
Simply put: real professionals and real celebrities.
Naturally, those who successfully combine product promotion and marketing with another profession and whose lifestyle, level of education and “real” social circles genuinely align with the products they promote are still doing their jobs – and will continue to do so.
Meanwhile, in print media – and in magazines and newspapers that have now become platforms in their own right – content creators are regaining the influence they once had around the world. Editors-in-chief, fashion editors and writers are once again standing out through content that is credible, objective and grounded in reality.
The original influencers – singers, actors and athletes – are also back in the spotlight.
You may remember that years ago, Kanye West designed a men's sneaker collection for Louis Vuitton, a collaboration that helped usher in a new era in the fashion world. Brands eager to harness the influence that genuine musicians have in the media – as well as the powerful, long-lasting relationships they build with their fans and followers – are now, one by one, doing the same thing.
