The Rise of Influencer Marketing (And What It Says About Us)

As individuals, we’re genetically hardwired so that external factors influence how we think, believe, and feel. Outside forces can also have a direct impact on how we behave … especially with our bank accounts and wallets.

But over the last decade, the growth of social media in our lives has taken these processes to a different level from where it stood for literally millennia. It’s no longer just our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who influence us; now celebrities and even online strangers we’ve never met can affect our perceptions and choices.

How does this happen? And what does it say about our culture?

What is Influencer Marketing?

Anyone involved in business is familiar with the concept of influencer marketing, which has been propelled by platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

“At its most basic, Influencer Marketing is like a hybrid of old and new marketing tools, taking the idea of the celebrity endorsement and placing it into a modern day content-driven marketing campaign,” Influencer Marketing Hub writes. “The main difference is that the results of the campaign are usually collaborations between brands and influencers.”

Social media has given individuals a platform that was previously available only to celebrities and other professionals that had direct access to print and broadcast media. Now it’s possible for a woodworker in Ohio, a makeup artist in Kansas, or a mechanic in Maine to reach millions of people and develop clout in their respective niches.

Once these “nobodies” earn the trust of online audiences, they can influence markets. Businesses may tap into their influence to increase their own brand exposure.

How Brands Use Influence Marketing

Small startups and established brands alike use influencer marketing to reach potential customers and inspire them to action. It’s a trend that’s caught on across every conceivable industry (and will continue to grow with social media).

Influencer marketing can be employed in a variety of ways, such as content marketing, branding, and even direct sales. “Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool to get more eyes on your [content], especially if you’re in the early stages of your brand’s development and you don’t have a massive social following or email list to work with,” explains AudienceBloom.

AudienceBloom recommends using influencer marketing within a link-building strategy. “Basically, the idea here is to work with an established thought leader in the industry — someone with a ton of social influence — and get them to either distribute, or at least talk about your piece.”

Influencers can take many shapes and forms. Some are long-established experts in the field — the kind who used to be brand spokespersons in TV ads and magazines. Others are hobbyists in a particular niche who produce video content on YouTube and attract sponsorships after fostering their audience into thousands or millions of followers.

But whatever the case, partnerships between brands and influencers are typically successful. According to one study, 92 percent of marketers who employ influencer marketing find it to be effective.

Nearly half of marketers experience such great results that they’re willing to increase their budgets. Everyone benefits from influencer marketing. Brands gain exposure, influencers monetize their audiences, and consumers feel more confident in how they spend their money.

But are people too heavily influenced by others nowadays?

What Influencer Marketing Says About Us

“Control over our lives is something we all want. But in a universe in which everything is mutually interdependent, none of us has absolute control over anything including, much of the time, ourselves,” psychologist Alex Lickerman writes.

“Rather, what we all have in abundance is influence, the power of which seems to function linearly: the closer personally and physically others are to us, the greater our influence over them, and vice versa.”

The interesting thing about influencer marketing in the digital age is that the influencer and the influenced aren’t close in any traditional sense. They’ve likely never met in person and the only connection point is a social media platform and a mobile device or laptop.

So instead of being influenced by people in our immediate sphere, which was the case for most of human history, we’re being influenced by people we’ve never met, yet feel as if we know. Good, bad, or otherwise, it’s an interesting point.

For brands, the key is to align with influencers who reflect their brand values. If they can do this, brands can rest easy in the knowledge that they aren’t inadvertently aligning with morals and ethics that go against their core values.

For consumers, the key is to practice discretion and try to stay aware of who is exerting an influence on you and how. Managed appropriately, influencer marketing can be a mutually beneficial phenomenon well into the future.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.