Facts Over Hype: Why Small Influencers Should Prioritise Information Over Persuasion

Insights for Brands Looking to Collaborate with Influencers

In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital brand communication, marketers must address a key question: should they promote their message via corporate channels or through influencers? Furthermore, given the growing popularity of rational appeals in digital communication, such as ‘how-to’ and ‘unboxing’ videos, another question arises: should content be based on objective information or persuasive appeal?

In a recent study published in the Journal of Marketing Management, Andria Andriuzzi and Sandra Arrivé compared brand-generated content (BGC) and small-influencer-generated content (SIGC) to examine these issues. Their findings offer actionable insights for brands looking to increase engagement and purchase intent through collaboration with small influencers.

Defining the Players: BGC vs. SIGC

BGC is intentionally created by firms and includes newsletters, branded videos and podcasts, product advertising, etc. While brands have long relied on commercial and entertaining content to foster positive perceptions, the emergence of influencer-generated content (IGC) has altered the landscape.

This research focuses specifically on small influencers (and thus SIGC), including:

• Nano-influencers: fewer than 10,000 followers
• Micro-influencers: 10,000–100,000 followers

Unlike macro-influencers, these creators are often seen as trusted tastemakers in specific niches. They build relationships through authenticity, subtly integrating products into their daily lives rather than relying on overt promotional tactics.

The Battle of Rational Appeals: Informative versus Persuasive

The study distinguishes between two types of rational content:

• Informative content provides objective knowledge, such as technical specifications, ingredients, or tutorials on how to use a product.
• Persuasive content relies on an appealing presentation to inspire or convince audiences of a product’s benefits, similar to traditional advertising or online sales approaches.

The Core Finding: The ‘Information Advantage’

For small influencers, informative content generates significantly higher levels of engagement and purchase intent than persuasive content.

When a small influencer shares a detailed product review or a ‘how-to’ tutorial, for example, their audience tends to perceive the content as authentic and unbiased. As these influencers are seen as credible experts, their followers highly value the information they provide.

The Risk of Being “Too Salesy”

Encouraging influencers to adopt a highly persuasive tone may increase consumer scepticism and backfire. When influencers start resembling traditional adverts, they risk undermining the credibility and trust that make them effective in the first place.

By contrast, no significant difference was found between informative and persuasive brand-generated content, meaning brands can use both more freely. However, small influencers lose their comparative advantage when they adopt a corporate marketing tone.

Strategic Implications for Marketers

These findings highlight the importance of context and source:

• Let small influencers educate. Encourage them to create valuable content such as tutorials, objective technical explanations and honest reviews.
• Brief small influencers accordingly. Influencers may become overly persuasive in good faith when attempting to honour brand partnerships. Brands should instead encourage authenticity and confidence in ‘keeping it real’.
• Differentiate from your BGC. While brands can use a combination of informative and persuasive tactics on their own channels, they should avoid imposing a persuasive style on their influencer partners.

An Analogy for the Digital Age

Consuming persuasive brand content is like listening to a car salesperson — bias is expected, so the intent to persuade seems normal. Conversely, receiving informative content from a micro-influencer is more akin to receiving a technical explanation from a friend who is good at mechanics. Explaining how something works and why it matters builds trust, and influence follows.

About the Authors