The Trust Gap: Why Consumers Believe Creators Over Brands

Consumers don’t trust brands the way they once did.

Traditional marketing feels polished, controlled, and easy to ignore. In a world where people are constantly being sold to, skepticism is at an all-time high.

But people still trust other people.

According to HubSpot research, 69% of consumers trust influencers more than information coming directly from brands, while UGC statistics from Billo show that user-generated content can drive up to 4x higher click-through rates than traditional ads.

At the same time, shopping behavior is becoming increasingly social. Research from Retail TouchPoints found that around 60% of consumers use social media while shopping in-store, turning to creators, reviews, and real customer experiences before making a purchase.

This is the trust gap.

Brands are still speaking at consumers, while creators are speaking with them.

And that difference is what drives conversion.

Why Traditional Brand Content Is Losing Attention

Most brand content is built to be “on-brand,” but in doing so, it often loses what actually makes people stop scrolling: authenticity.

Highly polished ads and overly controlled messaging can feel disconnected from real experiences. Consumers know when they’re being marketed to, and increasingly, they tune it out.

Creators feel different.

They show products in real life. They share opinions, routines, and experiences in ways that feel natural to the platform. Over time, that familiarity builds trust and that trust drives action.

That’s why creator-led campaigns are outperforming traditional brand-first creative.

Trust Is Becoming a Performance Driver

In a recent campaign, Green Valley Creamery partnered with creators to tell a more relatable, experience-led story around lactose intolerance.

Instead of relying on polished brand messaging, the campaign focused on real people sharing real experiences. The result was more than $78K in earned media value and 1.7 million views.

This is what happens when trust leads the strategy.

Even at a global level, brands are shifting in this direction. Unilever recently announced plans to allocate up to 50% of its marketing budget toward influencer and creator-led strategies, recognizing that credibility increasingly comes from people, not logos.

The Future of Marketing Looks More Human

If consumers trust creators more than brands, your strategy needs to reflect that.

This doesn’t mean replacing your marketing. It means strengthening it with voices your customers already believe.

Bring creators into your campaigns. Let them tell the story. Use creator content not just for awareness, but across your entire funnel from paid ads to landing pages to social proof.

Because in today’s landscape, people don’t convert because of what brands say.

They convert because of who they trust.

Turn creators into your most trusted sales channel.