There’s a simple reason you don’t believe the influencers in your feed

It turns out there are some benefits to having a smaller social media following. According to a new study published in the Journal of Marketing, influencers with fewer followers have a little more leeway when it comes to the language they use to shill their wares. Researchers found that followers on social media reacted more positively to sponsored posts from influencers who used exclamation points, emoji, and “high-arousal language”—or words like “amazing,” “sensational,” and ”superb“—if they had fewer followers.

Researchers at LUISS Guido Carli University in Italy surveyed 20,923 sponsored Instagram posts made by 1,376 influencers in the U.S. They found that for macro influencers, or those with more than 100,000 followers, a 10% increase in high-arousal language led to an 8.4% reduction in engagement. By comparison, “micro” influencers who have fewer than 100,000 followers saw a 5.4% increase in engagement when they increased high-arousal language by 10%.

The findings are a fascinating prism into human psychology. Despite all influencers selling their followers something, it only felt that way when it came from macro influencers. “Consumers typically see micro influencers as regular people, so if they say something like ‘this shake is AMAZING!’ consumers believe they really are excited about that shake and just want to share this discovery with their friends and followers,” the study’s authors wrote.

For macro influencers, though, “consumers know these influencers receive substantial sums to say positive things about products, so they judge their posts as an attempt to persuade, just like any other form of advertising.”

While the study focused on Instagram, researchers found a similar phenomenon on TikTok where macro influencers who used a higher pitched voice (used as a stand-in for high-arousal language) in their videos saw a decline in engagement.

To increase trust, the study suggests influencers are better off easing up on the hard sell. They found that highly followed influencers who made their posts  informative saw a 1.8% bump in engagement. Language like “learn” and “help” can offset some of the negative effects of writing enthusiastically about a product.

And if all else fails, showing a healthy dose of skepticism can help, too. Including details about negative or concerning aspects of a product increased engagement for macro influencers. I guess it pays to be honest.