Influencers — Reviewers or Manipulators?

Craig Anderton. The days when multiple magazines entered our lives each month with comprehensive, unbiased product reviews of pro audio gear are gone. Although some publications have bucked that trend (and even prospered), the product review landscape has changed dramatically.

So, let’s take a deep dive into today’s front line of reviewers: the “influencers.” The power of the early influencers grew along with social media’s reach and power. People could curate their lives however they wanted through the narrow lens of Facebook, Instagram, etc.

It was easy to present an image of a perfect life: Don’t post anything imperfect. Before long, followers wanted to know how to achieve those “perfect” lives, and products became part of the mix. You, too, could have perfect meals, vacations, clothes, toys…all it took was buying the right products.

This mindset started to seep slowly into our audio world, where personalities became almost as important as content. When social media exploded, the competition became intense. Those who wanted to transform their online presence into a career went from “Please Click Like and Subscribe” to affiliate marketing, paid (and sometimes hidden) sponsorships, and direct sales of their own products, as promoted by their social media and websites.

So, can people trust this new breed of product reviewer? Maybe. The problem often has less to do with the influencer than the rules of the game they’re forced to play.

Their job doesn’t necessarily depend on content quality, but on manufacturing attention. That’s a pressure-cooker job. AS LONG AS THEY CLICK… A post’s primary goal is to create engagement.

More engagement means more reach, and more reach means more potential monetization—but the Internet moves much faster than the leisurely pace of magazines. We live in a world where you have perhaps 4 to 8 seconds to hook a reader (Source: DevriX). And if you do, that typical user stays on a page for 47 seconds (down from 2.

5 minutes in 2004, according to Qualtrics). For an influencer to succeed, chasing trends—and adapting to the fickle algorithms that govern reach—are more important than chasing quality. The constant need for attention leads to compulsive posting, click-bait titles and desperate pleas for support.

Of course, influencers cover a spectrum, from principled truth-tellers to cash-grab specialists. The former continue the tradition of unbiased analysis, but the latter set no boundaries between enthusiasm and paid influence. They accept sponsorships for products they don’t really use, hide ads as recommendations, and hype affiliate links.

• Mix Music Production NYC 2026 Launches with Early Bird Tickets That can also turn into a deal with the devil, because they’re selling their audience to a brand, and all the brand cares about is the demographic, the conversion rate for a purchase, and how much the brand must spend to reach a person. Influencers are simply disposable marketing assets in a transactional monetary relationship. The nature of the transaction between magazine reviewers and manufacturers was different.

Some companies saw the press as more like a focus group. There were three instances where I gave products such negative reviews that after sending the reviews to manufacturers for fact-check, they decided not to release the products. One was never released.

Two were modified considerably to solve the problems I’d flagged. If I’d given the companies favorable reviews because they were advertisers, they never would have dodged a bullet. They wanted to know the truth.

WHAT TO BELIEVE? How can we get that world back? Start with verified, credentialed reviewers, and posts with mandatory sponsorship labeling.

Then, modify the Holy Algorithms to de-prioritize affiliate link content in recommendation feeds, boost posts with long-form and evidence-based reviews, and boost quality over quantity. I’d be more interested in a review with 200 views and 100 likes than one with 20,000 views and 400 likes. The creators themselves could help their cause.

Provide full financial disclosure, do not give brands the power to kill reviews, use industry-standard testing protocols, and have separate silos for unsponsored reviews and sponsored content. Ultimately, though, we have the power. I’m so tired of people who complain about politics but don’t vote, don’t contact their representatives, and don’t contribute to causes they support.

If you want to improve our online world of reviews, be rigorous about clicking Like (or Dislike) for every video you watch and every page you visit. Call out click-bait posts in comments sections so others don’t waste their time. If someone you like uses Patreon, sending even $1 every month is effective—that’s one more dollar they don’t have to hustle, which gives more time to create the content you want.

And if you see an ad on a website you like, click on the ad to let the company know you spend time there. If companies only need metrics to support a site, then give them what they want. While you’re at it, avoid the temptation to take the drama/novelty bait.

Subscribe free to Mix magazine and our daily Smartbrief newsletter! Turning back the tide is never easy. Just ask Cnut the Great, the medieval English king who “commanded” the tide to stop, so he could prove to his coterie of sycophants that the king’s power had limits.

He traded power for humility. Maybe that’s a trade some influencers might want to emulate, because after a ruthless start, Cnut evolved into a respected ruler who brought peace and prosperity to England. Perhaps the time has come to bring respect, peace and prosperity back to the world of online reviews.