What is influencer marketing, foundational insights

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is word-of-mouth advertising at scale. Brands partner with creators whose audiences trust them to deliver authentic, persuasive messaging that helps the audience to better understand the brand. Influencer marketing can be focused on upper, middle, or lower-funnel marketing objectives.  

It’s also important to distinguish influencers from creators. Creators do not need to have a meaningful following. Creators, rather than primarily being valued for their own following, are paid for developing brand content. Influencers, on the other hand, have a meaningful social following (typically 30,000+), and their primary focus is on the relationship with their audience rather than exclusively creating content for a brand. Yes, both creators and influencers develop content, but it is influencers that truly impact opinions and perspectives. 

\Why Influencer Marketing Works

Audiences trust creators more than brands because of creator’s independence and relatability. For creators where individuals have chosen to “follow” the creators, there is added psychological significance to this interaction because these “followers”, by choosing to be part of the creator’s social circle, have identified the creator as the gold-standard for societal norms. This makes the creator's recommendations particularly powerful for its group of followers. In general, influencer marketing delivers credibility, relevance, and storytelling that traditional advertising cannot replicate.

When Brands Should Use Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is ideal for brands looking to build trust, educate consumers, and drive attributable purchases through authentic content. Successful scalable partnerships can be designed and executed across the marketing funnel, making influencer marketing a full-funnel marketing activity.