I’ve worked with many over the years and been around big programs that agencies do, they are far from undeniable. It can be very powerful but more often than not it does not have that effect or anywhere near it. Most audiences from “influencers” that approach you will be faked/bought (as will the engagement). And you are approached a lot. It got to the point where I heard from about 2-3 a day. One way to help filter through the bullshit is to look at their other channels, that tells you whether they’re truly an influencer or someone whose account maybe got lucky from a handful of pics. The way algorithms work, they may have one or two random posts that took off but the rest have almost no engagement. If a brand wants to work with them I recommend looking for good content that you can promote to your target audience instead of relying on their audience, the algorithm may show it to people that are not someone that would become a customer. Also, big pet peeve, hiring an “influencer” that is in an industry you are not. For example a fashion influencer for food or travel. Those posts just don’t fit with their content and it stands out as an ad. Travel “influencers” that share duck faces and you can’t even see the destination? Nails on a chalk board.