For companies, the ability to work with many creators to target narrow demographic groups, coupled with the growing amount of time consumers spend on social media, has made influencer marketing more attractive. In a survey by the Influencer Marketing Hub, another research group, 86 per cent of brands globally said they plan to spend on influencer marketing this year, up from 37 per cent in 2017, when the survey was first conducted. Nearly a quarter intended to spend more than 40 per cent of their marketing budget on influencer campaigns.

Yet for those hoping to make a career out of their social-media presence, the proliferation of influencers should be a cause for concern. Only 4 per cent of influencers earn $US100,000 ($152,400) a year or more from the work, according to Goldman Sachs. AI could worsen the situation, as “virtual influencers” begin to crowd social-media feeds: Aitana Lopez, a gamer and fitness guru with pink hair and a face so symmetrical it could only have been generated by a computer, has 330,000 followers on Instagram.

Focusing on building a small fan base in a niche area may be a way for hobbyists to make some extra cash, but it will rarely be enough to let them quit their day job. What is more, a glut of influencers makes online fame more fickle. Even if a post goes viral, it doesn’t mean an influencer’s career is set, says Joe Gagliese, co-founder of Viral Nation, a digital marketing agency. “If they’re not careful to make the most of that, there is another creator right behind them,” he says. “This industry is extremely volatile,” says Vanessa Chen, a fashion influencer better known by her Instagram handle Vivacious Honey.

There influencer boom has a further issue: consumers are growing weary of ads dressed up as entertainment. In a survey last year, the McKinsey consultancy found that 68 per cent of fashion consumers globally were unhappy with the amount of sponsored content on social media.

Influencers first took off because consumers thought of them as “people they could trust”, says McKinsey’s consumer practice lead Anita Balchandani. To remain influential they need to strike a balance between getting paid and convincing followers they are still “authentic”, one of the industry’s favourite buzzwords. Being popular, it seems, is harder than ever.