As consumers seek more authentic relationships with brands, influencers can provide a segue for brands to connect to customers. About 40% of consumers believe that influencers share more information and produce higher-quality posts, so relying on them to generate content sounds like a good way to increase trust in brands and products.

However, Gartner L2’s analysis of 18,000 Instagram posts finds that most luxury brands actually see less engagement on posts tagging influencers than on traditional brand posts.

Influencer partnerships are more impactful when the influencer posts on his or her own Instagram account and tags the brand, instead of the other way around. For example, Bulgari uses a group of celebrity and mega-influencers to extend its reach on Instagram. Posts about Bulgari on Bella Hadid’s Instagram generate substantially more interactions than posts about Bella Hadid on Bulgari’s Instagram, demonstrating the most effective use of the influencer effect.

Daily Insights in Your Inbox