Executives from Brazil's private sector and communications industry gathered in São Paulo on Friday for Repcom 2026, an event promoted by FSB Holding, to discuss the growing role of digital influence in business.
The discussions centered on how influence has stopped being tied only to reach, audience size and sales, and has instead become a strategic asset for companies. According to the debates held at the event, digital influence now affects not just sales but the overall performance of organizations, contributing to both growth and potential losses.
Within that shift, credibility has emerged as one of the main assets companies look for when partnering with influencers.
Marcos Trindade, chief executive of FSB Holding, told the event that audience size is not necessarily the same as credibility. The remark reflects a broader change in the industry, where simply having a large following on social media no longer guarantees that a person is seen as a trustworthy source by the public.
Research points to rise of technical influencers
That view was backed by research from Nexus presented during the event. The survey, which analyzed more than 2,000 profiles, found a structural shift in Brazil's influence market, with technical authority now occupying space once dominated by entertainment content or lighter conversation.
The study found that so-called technical influencers, people specialized in a particular subject, have grown faster than celebrities and entertainment influencers. This type of creator accounted for 71% of the preference among the public surveyed.
Beyond technical influencers, respondents also cited company executives (70%), microinfluencers (23%), major influencers (18%) and celebrities (12%) as credible sources.
The data show that influence has moved out of marketing and become a trust asset capable of accelerating a company's growth or destroying its value, organizers said. In a world where anyone can produce content from a smartphone, credibility has become valuable capital.
Trust as a business risk
Speakers at the event argued that influence now goes beyond digital performance, functioning as a business asset that shapes public perception, corporate reputation and even organizational risk.
Trindade said the industry has already passed through a period focused on chasing audience and then engagement, and is now in a period defined by credibility. He said credibility comes from the consistency between what a person or company does and what it says, and that when the two are closely aligned it builds a relationship of trust with the audience.
João Vitor Xavier, chief executive of CNN Brasil and of the Itatiaia media group, said building trust is fundamental to any business. He said a company can have a strong product and still watch it collapse quickly if it loses its main pillar, which is reputation and image. He added that protecting that image is always important, and that an event addressing image at both the individual and corporate level is essential, since reputation underpins any brand, company or career.
Authenticity in the age of AI content
The event also addressed the importance of authenticity as the volume of content produced by artificial intelligence keeps growing.
André Turquetto, chief executive of Veloe, said good content comes from drawing on real experience rather than rehashing existing material or repeating what is already out there. He said creators should bring something new, whether a thought, an insight or an account of a failure that can help others succeed. Turquetto said failures often make better stories than triumphs, since success alone tends to generate less interest and engagement than the story of overcoming a setback.
