INFLUENCER MARKETING
What Makes Marketing
Feel Like Content Instead
of an Ad?
1 MIN READ
PUBLISHED OCT 6, 2026
Consumers are constantly being surrounded by marketing; sponsored posts, influencer partnerships, or the emails blowing up your inbox that say “Don’t leave your cart hanging!” - it has become nearly impossible to scroll online without encountering a brand trying to sell something. With that being said, we as consumers become better at recognizing what is an ad, and what deserves our attention. For many, they scroll past TikTok shop videos, but for others, they stop to watch the influencer “Get Ready With Me” video and feel impulse to purchase the product they’re raving about.
The challenge for marketers? To create something valuable enough that the consumer wants to stop and interact.
Some of the most effective marketing today isn’t disguised by something other than marketing, it earns attention by offering information, relatability, or an experience that fits naturally into what the audience wants to consume.
In order to explore what separates engaging content from advertising people immediately scroll past, I asked five marketing professionals and industry experts:
As consumers become better at recognizing authentic
recommendations and scrolling past paid advertising, how can
brands create marketing that people actually want to engage with?
Elaine Tran - CEO of Dippin’ Daisy’s
So what actually makes marketing feel like content?
Across these many perspective, the same idea keeps appearing: the audience comes before the advertisement. CEO Elaine Tran and Professor Yanyn San Luis both emphasize the importance of giving consumers something useful prior to the sale. Nicole Delgado focuses on creating something people feel involved in, while Paola brings that idea back to understanding exactly who the audience is and what motivates them. Finally, Lauren demonstrates how understanding influences everything from creative positioning to targeting and placement.
What I find most interesting is that none of these points suggest that brands need to be subtle or hide the fact that they are marketing. Consumers already know brands want to sell you something, the difference is if a brand treats the attention as something that’s entitled or that must be earned. A polished advertisment can still work, but content gives brand the opportunity to create value before asking consumers to open their wallet.
The future of marketing is not about making ads harder to recognize, but making them worth recognizing. When marketers understand what their audience already cares about, it becomes apart of the client experience, and doesn’t interrupt it. The brands that understand this will not have to fight as hard for attention because they’re creating the kind of content their audience was already looking for.
“Consumers don’t hate being marketed to.
They hate feeling like the only reason a brand is talking
to them is to make a sale.”
Yanyn San Luis - Florida International University MSM Professor
“To transition from intrusive advertising to engaging content, brands must prioritize value over promotion. Marketing feels like genuine content when it educates, entertains, or solves a real problem for the audience without immediately asking for a sale. When brands show up with authenticity, compelling storytelling, and cultural relevance, consumers naturally lean in rather than scroll past.”
Professor San Luis reinforces the idea that value comes before the promotional ask. Education, entertainment, or storytelling - wherever the value comes from, it depends on your audience. Wha matters is that consumers have a reason to engage beyond being told what to purchase.
Nicole Delgado – Florida International University MSM Student
“I think the best marketing feels less like a brand talking at people and more like something worth being part of. Brands should focus on creating content that is useful, entertaining, or genuinely relatable, while staying consistent with what they actually stand for. When audiences see real value and authenticity, engagement follows more naturally.”
Nicole’s point about creating something “worth being apart of” takes engagement beyond views; social media gives consumers the opportunity to interact with brands, share content, and maybe even become part of the content themselves. When people recognize their own interests or values in what a brand creates, engagement becomes natural.
Paola Marie Lepatan – Florida International University MSM Student
“Marketing feels like content when it’s useful or entertaining before it asks for anything. People don’t scroll past ads because they’re ads; they scroll past because the ad is only about the brand. If a post teaches them something, makes them laugh, or shows them something real, they’ll stay, even if they know a brand made it. For us, a few things make the difference: Show how the thing is actually made. We sew our suits ourselves, and the behind-the-scenes stuff (fabric being cut, a style coming together, the team fitting a new drop) consistently feels more like content than a polished product shot. Process is interesting. I talked about my founder story and sustainability initiatives in my founder story.”
Elaine’s perspective highlights an important distinction between hiding the fact that something is marketing, and simply making the marketing worth consuming. Audiences do not necessarily need brands to disguise promotional content, they need a reason to care about it. Behind the scenes content is a great example becayse the product can remain at the center of the post while the audience gets access to a process or story they would not normally see.
“People will engage with marketing efforts if the brand is truly giving them something they want, whether that's information, entertainment, usefulness, or a point of view they recognize. But it starts with knowing who the brand's audience really is, rather than trying to manufacture authenticity for everyone. Not everyone has to care about your brand, and trying to appeal to everyone is often how brands end up with content that nobody particularly cares about.”
Paola introduces another important part of the conversation: brands do not need to please everyone, or gain their attention. It is impossible to make universally appealing content, because it may lose its value to the people brands should care most about. Understanding a specific audience gives marketers the freedom to develop a stronger voice, point of view, and content strategy, opposed to creating something broad enough to appeal to everyone but memorable to none.
Lauren Hankis – Merchandising Assistant & Industry Professional
“In my area we make sure we market with a wide array of product. In order to do that, we make sure we’re purchasing a wide array across several categories and vendors as well. Marketing specifically comes in different waves, each wave having their own individual marketing shoot and plan. From there we focus on consumer algorithms, and what is trending. Beach themed ads may show more on the feed of somebody living in Florida or a warm coastal state, whereas cold weather product advertisements will show in the states where our more northern stores are; we really rely on algorithm and location when inputting ads. We want to pay attention to what the customer already consumes on a daily basis and shape our marketing around their algorithms.”
Lauren’s perspective shows how these ideas translate marketing decisions in practice. Creating engaging content is not only about what a brand says, but also about understanding different creative concepts and where or how they should appear. Different campaigns can align with different consumers, and disconnect from others. Ultimately, using consumer behavior allows for brands to make creative decisions arounf the audience rather than expecting the audience to adapt to the enviornment.
– Olivia McDowell
The Marketing Dumps
Don’t End Here.
There are more articles apart of this collective. The strategy behind the scroll helps you understand more to influencer marketing that meets the eye.
What looks effortless online usually has a strategy behind it. Keep digging into the marketing, psychology, and partnerships shaping what shows up on your feed.