There is an apparent trend happening. Brands are ditching traditional advertising for something more current and more fresh – influencer marketing. CoverGirl launched a new influencer program over the summer that featured nine social media megastars in-store displays. This advertising tactic was to help consumers shop their favorite looks more easily and bridge the gap between online content and offline commerce. “Collaboration is critical,” U.S. managing director at Edelman said. “While the brands have to be comfortable giving up some power to the influencers so they can speak and operate in their own style, we’re seeing the benefit of true collaborations that result in long-term relationships, not one-off transactions.” Brands, like CoverGirl, who are using influencers as a promotional tool are smart. These people boast large following of individuals who will listen to their opinion and (hopefully) buy into the brand. From a marketer’s perspective, today quality reigns over quantity. And influencers effectively become creative partners who will end up with a cool photo or video that a brand can share through various mediums. Bottom line is 92% of people trust real people, even those they don’t know, over advertisements. Since influencer marketing uses real suggestions from real people, consumers are much more likely to trust influencers endorsing a brand than companies plugging their own product. It’s an important statistic showing that influencer marketing isn’t going away.