By Niamh Green, Account Director, SEEN Connects
For too long, influencer marketing has been treated like a digital billboard. Brands find someone with a large following, pay for a specific post, and hope it delivers reach.
Because of this ‘advert’ mindset, brands often default to the same formula: influencers with massive followings, living in major cities, and fitting narrow standards of beauty or lifestyle. This approach sidelines countless voices, overlooks minority, disabled and regional communities, and produces content that feels repetitive and disconnected from everyday audiences.
If brands want real impact, they need to stop seeing creators as adverts and start seeing them as partners.
Part of that transformation is adopting a more inclusive mindset, recognising that influence is not only measured by reach but by trust, authenticity, and community engagement.
Inclusive influencer marketing embraces creators from diverse communities, giving them the freedom to tell stories in ways that resonate deeply with their followers.
What inclusive influencer marketing looks like
Inclusive influencer marketing starts with thoughtfulness in selection. Instead of chasing reach alone, brands can work with micro and nano creators who have small but highly engaged communities in relevant areas.
It’s about curating a roster of voices that reflect the breadth of the audience, from cultural backgrounds to disabilities and lived experiences.
At the same time, inclusivity is not a one-off gesture. Featuring a diverse creator for a single campaign or calendar moment like Pride Month or International Women’s Day is not enough.
Authentic inclusivity requires trust, giving creators the freedom to share stories in their own voice, and recognising the value they bring beyond just posting content.
Getting inclusivity right
At its core, inclusive influencer marketing is about respect and partnership. Creators should be supported with consistent, long-term collaborations and compensated fairly for their contribution.
Success must be measured differently. Engagement, resonance, and community impact are far more meaningful than sheer reach or vanity metrics.
Some brands are already setting a strong example. Arla’s creator-led storytelling connects products to real-life routines, making the brand feel part of everyday life.
The brand is showing that through prioritising authenticity and diversity, influencers when treated as partners drive both meaningful engagement and brand loyalty.
So how do agencies tackle inclusivity?
How agencies can enable inclusivity
The shift begins with listening. The best campaigns are co-created with influencers who know their audiences inside out. Agencies play a crucial role by broadening networks, actively seeking underrepresented voices, and fostering relationships outside traditional urban hubs.
Tools like diverse talent databases help, but the real work is in grassroots relationship-building and making inclusivity central to casting, not an afterthought.
Agencies also carry responsibility to challenge clients when briefs lack inclusivity, advocate for diverse talent, and embed inclusive thinking into strategy from the outset. A diverse agency team naturally leads to better decisions and campaigns that truly reflect the audience.
Finally, agencies and brands must recognise that smaller, highly engaged audiences often drive stronger action and brand loyalty than mass impressions. Aldi’s hyper-local creator strategy, for example, shows how engagement and relevance can trump scale, creating a sense of trust and belonging.
Building communities of brand partners
It’s worth remembering that communities are where real influence happens. A million views from a disengaged audience mean little compared to the actions driven within smaller, highly engaged circles.
It is essential to producing campaigns that resonate with real communities. For example, Dove has long been a pioneer in representing women of all ages, ethnicities, and body types. Each campaign continues with this strategy effortlessly, always staying true to the brand.
Clearly, when brands and agencies embrace inclusivity and treat influencers as genuine partners, they don’t just create more diverse content, they cultivate stronger communities for sustainable growth.
The future of influencer marketing isn’t transactional. It’s relational. And it starts with recognising that influencers are brand partners, not adverts.
