Influencer is a term traditionally associated with someone who influences others using inspiration and guidance, however, more recently the term has been associated specifically with people who influence and guide the interest of others using social media (also referred to as a social media influencer).[1] The modern referent of the term is commonly a paid role in which a business entity pays for the social media influence-for-hire activity to promote its products and services.[2] Types of influencers include fashion influencer and virtual influencer. Some types of influencers are associated with specific social media apps such as TikTok influencers,[3] Instagram influencer,[4][5] or Pinterest influencer.
As of 2023[update], Instagram is the social media platform on which businesses spend the most influencer marketing advertising dollars.[6] However, influencer can exert their influence on any type of social media network. Thus, Instagram's leadership in the influencer marketing space has been under assault by platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok and Roblox.[7][8][9]
Definitions
editInfluencers may be celebrities of any type with large social media followings, including people who are mainly internet celebrities. Following the National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2021, pre-college and college athletes became eligible for student athlete compensation for use of their personality rights as influencers without loss of athletic eligibility and education-related benefits, which broadened the influencer landscape to people who might not yet be celebrities.[10]
History
editIt has been suggested that parts of Internet celebrity (Influencers and marketing networks) be moved into this page. (Discuss) (March 2024) |
The early 2000s showed corporate endeavors to leverage the internet for influence, with some companies participating in forums for promotions or providing bloggers with complimentary products in return for favorable reviews. A few of these practices were viewed as unethical for taking advantage of the labor of young individuals without providing remuneration.[11] The Blogstar Network was established in 2004 by Ted Murphy of MindComet. Bloggers were encouraged to join an email list and receive remunerated offers from corporations in exchange for creating specific posts. For instance, bloggers were compensated for writing reviews of fast-food meals on their blogs. Blogstar is widely regarded as the first influencer marketing network.[11] Murphy succeeded Blogstar with PayPerPost, which was introduced in 2006. This platform compensated significant posters on prominent forums and social media platforms for every post made about a corporate product. Payment rates were determined by the influencer's status.[11] Though very popular, PayPerPost, received a great deal of criticism as these influencers were not required to disclose their involvement with PayPerPost as traditional journalism would have.[12] With the success of PayPerPost, the public became aware that there was a drive for corporate interests to influence what some people were posting to these sites.[11] The platform also incentivized other firms to establish comparable programs. Despite concerns, marketing networks with influencers continued to grow throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s. The influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019, according to estimates from Business Insider Intelligence, which are based on Mediakix data.[13] Evan Asano, the Former CEO and founder of the agency Mediakix, previously spoke with Business Insider and said he believed influencer marketing on Instagram would continue to grow despite likes being hidden.[14]
Marketing
editInfluencer marketing (also known as influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field.[15] Influencers are someone (or something) with the power to affect the buying habits or quantifiable actions of others by uploading some form of original—often sponsored—content to social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok or other online channels.[16] Influencer marketing is when a brand enrolls influencers who have an established credibility and audience on social media platforms to discuss or mention the brand in a social media post.[17] Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising.
Definitions
editThere is a lack of consensus about what an influencer is. One writer defines them as "a range of third parties who exercise influence over the organization and its potential customers."[18] Another defines an influencer as a "third party who significantly shapes the customer's purchasing decision but may never be accountable for it."[19] According to another, influencers are "well-connected, create an impact, have active minds, and are trendsetters".[20] And just because an individual has many followers does not necessarily mean they have much influence over those individuals, only that they have many followers.[21][22] A 1% increase in influencer marketing spending can lead to a 0.5% increase in audience engagement.[23]
Notes
edit- ^ "influencer: noun". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Influencer". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Ohlheiser, A.W. (August 6, 2020). "A guide to the TikTokish apps that want to be the next TikTok". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Video captures men spraying Instagram influencer's dog during alleged robbery". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Instagram Influencer Marketing: A Complete 2024 Guide". Shopify. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Lepitak, Stephen (April 17, 2023). "Instagram Remains a Priority Platform for Marketers. Here's Why". Ad Week. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Bain, Phoebe and Gillian Follett (March 1, 2024). "HOW LINKEDIN IS BECOMING A HOT SPOT FOR INFLUENCER MARKETING". Ad Age. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ McDowell, Maghan (February 27, 2024). "Influencer marketing has arrived on Roblox". Vogue Business. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Schulz, Madeleine (February 9, 2024). "The Instagram era of influencer brands is over. What now?". Vogue Business. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Murphy, Dan (June 21, 2021). "Supreme Court unanimously sides with former college players in dispute with NCAA about compensation". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Martinue, Paris (December 6, 2019). "The WIRED Guide to Influencers". Wired. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ Fine, Jon (July 10, 2006). "Polluting The Blogosphere". Archived from the original on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Schomer, Audrey. "Influencer Marketing: State of the social media influencer market in 2020". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
- ^ "Instagram is testing hiding 'likes' and some influencers are angry. Industry execs told us how the change will affect their business". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ Lipiner, Bryan (16 September 2020). "What is Influencer Marketing? An Industry on the Rise". babson.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ Martineau, Paris. "The WIRED Guide to Influencers". Wired. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ Srivastava, Pallavi. "Influencer Marketing: How It Can Make Your Brand Tick". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ Peck, Helen; Payne, Adrian; Christopher, Martin; Clark, Moira. Relationship Marketing: Strategy and Implementation, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999.
- ^ Brown, Duncan and Hayes, Nick. Influencer Marketing: Who really influences your customers?, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008.
- ^ Keller, Ed and Berry, Jon. The Influentials, Free Press, 2003
- ^ Cha, Meeyoung; Haddadi, Hamed; Benevenuto, Fabrício; Gummadi, Krishna P. (2010). "Measuring User Influence in Twitter: The Million Follower Fallacy". Proceedings of the Fourth International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. pp. 10–17. ISBN 9780688041076. OCLC 780600252. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Berinato, Scott (7 May 2010). "On Twitter, Followers Don't Equal Influence". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Kirschman, Lauren (October 19, 2022). "These factors have the biggest impact on influencer marketing effectiveness".