Influencer marketing is a newer, radically different approach to the advertising and marketing

industry. Even with the constantly evolving market and radical shift towards internet marketing
media, Influencer Marketing has been discussed contemporarily but not enough by scholarly
researchers. The literature review covers who social influencers are, how are they important to
brand advertising strategies. An analysis of the methods and platforms deployed by social
media influencers in their marketing is also included.

Who are Social Media Influencers?

Social media influencers represent a contemporary form of independent, third-party endorsers

who shape an audience’s attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media
channels (​Freberg, Graham, McGaughey, & Freberg, 2011​). “When a party attempts to
influence another to take specific actions, a dynamic ensues that can change the course and
content of their relationship” (Ledbetter, 2017). Influencers truly serve as the ultimate connection
between a brand and a consumer. Through their candidness and openness with consumers,
influencers have high social clout and credibility (Buyer, 2016), which is what makes the
phenomenon so successful. Where traditional marketing targeted mostly mass audiences,
influencers have the unique ability to target niche audiences that have until now been
unreachable (Ledbetter). One way influencers monetize their content is through advertorials;
highly personalized, opinion-laden promotions of products/services that influencers personally
experience for a fee (“Micro-microcelebrity”, 2015). Their contribution to word-of-mouth through
posts, pictures, and messages on their social networking profiles is an advantage for marketers
looking to get in on the digital dialogue surrounding their brand. To be a successful Influencer,
an active blog is no longer required but instead and only a substantial Instagram presence as
pointed out by Brannigan. Today there is less of a need for bloggers to have a blog than ever
before, from a marketers perspective, but more important to have a smart, well-executed
presence on Instagram that rules out the need for a blog (Brannigan, 2016). . Social Influence
Marketing is defined by Singh et al. as “a technique that employs social media (content created
by everyday people using highly accessible and scalable technologies such as blogs, message
boards, podcasts, microblogs, bookmarks, social networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs) and
social influencers (everyday people who have an outsized influence on their peers by virtue of
how much content they share online) to achieve an organization’s marketing and business
needs.”(Singh et al. 2012)

More than two thirds of German marketing experts reserve company budget for influencer
marketing expenditures (Territory, 2016). As consumers no longer pay attention to traditional
advertising, influencer marketing emerged as a potential alternative (Carter, 2016). Social media
sites are potential platforms for spreading advertising messages through other consumers
rather than through traditional marketing campaigns (Kozinets et al., 2010). As people trust
other consumers more than commercial messages by companies, consumer-to-consumer
communication about products, brands, and services is regarded as particularly influential
(Nielsen, 2015).
According to Technorati Media’s 2013 Digital Influence report 65 % of companies are
participating in influencer-based marketing, and using bloggers for influencer marketing
is a common and effective tool used by many. According to the same study 86 % of influencer’s
are bloggers (Technorati, 2013).

SM Influencers and Brand Advertisement Strategies

According to a research made by the companies TapInfluence and Influitive, customers trust a
referral from their personal network at a rate of 90%, and the referrals are found online in 81%
of the cases. People trust referrals from people they know above all else with 92%
(TapInfluence, Influitive). In terms of goals on the influencer’s side, social media influencers
work to enhance relationships with key audiences by improving the reputation of the
business/brand, driving customer awareness on their online activities, and soliciting customers’
comments and feedback (Booth and Matic, 3).

The Influencer Marketing Report from Business Insider Intelligence, identifies the ways brands
can find and manage relationships with social media influencers to propel brand awareness and
growth. It notes the most engaging industry verticals, the pitfalls to avoid, and the opportunities
to cash-in on. Finally, it explores how major social platforms are increasingly building out tools
that enable their most popular users to build their personal brands.

Influencer marketing ad spend is poised to reach between $5 billion and $10 billion in 2022.
Taking the midpoint of $7.5 billion as a base case, this represents a five-year compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 38%. Brands need to fine-balance providing influencers with enough
creative freedom, while also ensuring the messaging positively reflects the brand and helps
grow awareness. Nearly 40% of influencers believe that overly restrictive content guidelines are
one of the biggest mistakes brands and agencies make when working with them.
Influencers tend to have higher user engagement than content generated by brands. The
average influencer engagement rate across industry verticals is 5.7%. As a comparison, the
average engagement rate for brands on Instagram has fluctuated between 2-3% in the past
year. Authenticity is key for influencer marketing messaging. Brands should give influencers
sufficient creative freedom to keep posts authentic, as it makes posts less likely to be dismissed
by users. Other best practices include repurposing influencer content for multiple platforms,
evaluating the audience and following of an influencer, and leveraging data to optimize future
campaigns. (Business Insider - Influencer Marketing Report, 2018)
Business Insider - Influencer Marketing Report 2018

According to The Influencer Marketing Manifesto - tapInfluence’, social marketing

accounts for the majority of ownership with 28.4%. Marketing communications was the second
most likely home with 15.7%. Interestingly, 13.7% of respondents reside in a dedicated function
for influencer marketing. However, influencer marketing appears to be spread throughout the
organization to complement key marketing disciplines and initiatives.

Social media is where consumers are interacting today, and one of the most impactful
byproducts to emerge is that of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is part of the
everyday marketing mix. At a high level, it is a form of branded engagement where marketers
connect with those who boast prominent social footprints. The goal is to plug into new
communities and connect the brand/product to new audiences through the voice and trusted
relationships of said influencer. Take Maybelline for example – the company’s own YouTube
channel drives around 20,000 – 30,000 views per video. Not bad. But the videos created by
influencers generate an average of 1.4 million views per video – a clear indication that
influencers generate more interest in Maybelline products than its own branded channel.
Influencers expose the Maybelline brand to new consumers, far better than the brand could do
on its own.