If you’re using influencers then you’re behind

In today’s communications landscape, trust isn’t just valuable —it’s everything. It’s also increasingly scarce. Audiences are savvier, more sceptical, and selective than in decades past. They scroll past polished influencer content, spot paid endorsements instantly, and crave something real.

The most compelling brand stories? They’re not coming from marketing departments. They’re coming from the people who have lived the brand experience: your customers.

The credibility gap is growing

The erosion of trust in traditional channels isn’t a surprise and it certainly isn’t new. Audiences are tuning out the overly curated and leaning into what feels genuine; which is often raw, unfiltered, and rooted in lived experience.

For years, influencer marketing dominated the conversation. But in the B2B space, the tide is turning. The move from influencer-first to community-driven storytelling is a strategic evolution. Influencer marketing still has its place, but the credibility gap is widening. Decision makers are more influenced by peer validation than paid endorsements. They’re looking for case studies and candid feedback from those who have used your product or solution to solve real-world problems.

Customers are the new creators

Customer storytelling is authentic, which delivers something that most influencer contracts can’t. The most credible brand stories today come from real people and organisations, sharing real experiences, with real passion. They’re not reading from a script or being paid to perform. They’re speaking from personal experience, often with a level of detail and enthusiasm that only true users can offer.

So how do brands harness this power? By making customer storytelling a strategic priority. That means identifying and elevating authentic voices, not just occasionally, but as an embedded part of their comms strategy. This requires close alignment with your customer advocacy team who often have the clearest view of who your most engaged champions are. 

Once identified, it's not just about quoting them in a case study but also about building intentional platforms to spotlight their success. Their innovations, powered by your products or services, offer compelling proof points to technical and executive audiences alike. This model works beyond just one-off engagements and reinforces a long-term, trust-building strategy that puts customers at the centre of your brand, showing your audiences how your solution is delivering measurable impact in practice.

Done right, this approach turns your comms strategy into a two-way dialogue, not just a broadcast. Listening to real customer feedback via owned channels or social media is the best way to stress-test messaging and understanding what resonates with core audiences, which enables brands to better address pain points and craft solutions that meet real-world needs.

Stop telling and start enabling

For communications professionals, this shift demands a new mindset. We’re not just storytellers anymore. We’re story enablers. Our role is to connect, curate and amplify.

For this to work, we need to build systems that make it easy for loyal customers to share their experiences with your wider audience and feel seen when they do. It’s essential to move beyond vanity metrics and start measuring what really matters: how deeply a story resonates and how authentically it reflects the brand.

The key is to recognise that the most powerful brand advocates are often already in your ecosystem. You just need to give them the mic.

If you’re still betting big on influencers, but overlooking your actual users, you’re behind. The future of brand storytelling isn’t top-down. It’s community-up. Your most loyal customers aren’t just part of the audience; they’re part of the team. They’re already telling your story. The question is, are you listening?