Influencers, especially the more popular ones, help inform consumers about a product/service/experience.
The only thing an influencer has is their followers and most influencers really are careful to not advertise products that they don't believe in themselves.
I see this pattern a lot in coder twitter. The people with big follower counts that are always tweeting about their amazing coding and love of software development are not the ones building stuff. Even if their feelings are genuine, the excessive self promotion is quite ugly and makes me doubt everything they say. They are not people I want to trust or follow or listen to
Finding people who are well-respected in their space, actively create high-value content for their audiences, and can find ways to organically share a brands message are where the real value lies. Combined with trackable promotions, this can be very effective when executed properly.
https://www.facebook.com/WhiteMooseCafe/posts/20484067421065...
Which is harsh, but fair.