Why brands should stop overlooking their most powerful influencers: customers

Download Now: Free Content Marketing Planning Kit

Every January, I sit down to write my predictions for the year ahead in social media and consumer behavior. And this year, one trend stood out to me more than anything else: the rise of customers as influencers.

In the past 18 months, we’ve seen people boycotting brands, blocking campaigns, and becoming much more marketing literate. We know how influencer deals work, we see the behind-the-scenes, and in many cases we now view influencers as brands themselves. That changes how we trust them, and how we want to engage.

It’s made me stop and think: what if customers are the new influencers?

This article is about that shift. Why consumers are growing tired of influencer culture, what happens when brands put their customers in the spotlight instead, and how any business — big or small — can start building a customer influencer strategy of their own. Because in 2025, I believe the smartest brands will be the ones who give their customers the microphone.

Table of Contents

Why Brands Are Ditching Influencers
The Benefits of Swapping Influencers for Customers
How to Get Started With Your Own Customer Influencer Strategy

Why Brands Are Ditching Influencers

Over the past year or so, the sentiment around influencers has changed. At the start of 2024 we saw the “blockout” after the Met Gala — entire communities boycotting brands and creators at once.

Source

For me, that moment showed just how powerful consumers have become, and how different the brand–consumer relationship looks now compared to just a few years ago.

You see this play out around big cultural moments like Coachella. I remember watching one influencer’s White Fox gifting haul where she casually pulled a Dyson Airwrap out of the bag. Half the comments were people saying, “Wow, I wish this life would find me,” and the other half were angry, calling it a “disgusting display of not just wealth but opportunity.” It was so telling of the split between aspiration and alienation.

That’s also why REFI Beauty’s approach felt so refreshing. Instead of flying out influencers for another glossy trip, they invited their own customers on a community holiday to launch a new collection.

If influencers are now brands themselves, then maybe customers are the ones best placed to carry the trust, authenticity, and connection that traditional influencer marketing has lost.

The Benefits of Swapping Influencers for Customers

I’m not saying we should ditch influencers entirely — they still have a place. But I do think there’s something really powerful about bringing customers into the spotlight. When brands do this, the benefits are clear.