Influencers: Start watching your Saturation Rate! 

For the first time in four years, we had a brand proactively nix an influencer from one of our programs because they believed too much of his/her content was sponsored in relation to their total amount of content. This is a huge deal, and while it's only the first instance of this happening, it's likely a trend that could continue as brands evaluate their influencers.

Now, why does saturation rate matter so much to marketers? As you can see in the chart below, as saturation rates increase, engagement rates plunge. 

Influencers, you are not selling your audience. You are selling your influence, you are selling your ability to change behavior, to make people do things they otherwise wouldn't have done, without the information you share. If you overdo that, your influence goes away, the likelihood you're going to be hired for another job decreases, and long-term, it's going to damage your career.

To bounce back from a high saturation rate, remember what got you here in the first place. That organic content that helped you build that audience, don't give up on that, keep mixing it in, and you'll have a long, solid career as an influencer.