Influencer Marketing: Definition & Example

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing employs individuals who have a loyal following and enjoy trust within a specific niche to spread brand messages through their reach and connect with specific target audiences.

To do this, a company collaborates with influencers—literally, “influencers”—and leverages their direct connection to a larger group that may not have been aware of the brand before. Such a recommendation can seem more credible than a traditional ad because the target audience has already established a relationship with the influencer.

Influencer marketing doesn’t just focus on influencers with the widest reach. Often, smaller so-called micro-influencers with a smaller but focused community of experts are also of interest because they can reach exactly the right target audience for a company.

Where did influencer marketing originate?

The principle dates back to testimonials from prominent advocates and is therefore very old. Its current form emerged with the rise of social media in the 2010s, particularly with image- and video-heavy formats.

Social media made it much easier for individuals to build large or highly targeted followings and develop their own communication and advertising channels. With increasing professionalization and clear disclosure requirements for paid collaborations, influencer marketing is now a staple of nearly every feed.

Why is influencer marketing important?

Trust pays off in marketing, but earning it is difficult. Influencer marketing borrows this trust from someone who has already built it up.

This approach has long been established in the B2B sector as well—for example, in the form of subject matter experts and recognized voices within an industry. With the help of these influencers, brands can get their message across in places where it would otherwise be met with skepticism.

Advantages

Influencer marketing can harness existing trust for a brand.
It reaches target audiences in a credible way, even those who are skeptical of traditional advertising.
By partnering with the right personalities, brands can reach exactly the right audience.
The resulting content can come across as more authentic than traditional advertising produced by the brand itself.

Challenges

Choosing the right influencer is crucial; reach alone is not a reliable indicator. What matters far more is the fit with the target audience and the influencer’s credibility. Paid or otherwise commercial collaborations must also be clearly labeled so that their promotional nature is readily apparent. Otherwise, there is a risk of legal consequences and a loss of trust. While the success of influencer marketing can be measured by reach, interactions, links, codes, or conversions, it can still be difficult to fully assess its impact and attribute results to specific actions.

With influencer marketing, the brand also relinquishes some control over the message, which can become a risk if the collaboration or the individual comes under criticism.

Example

A manufacturer of specialty woodworking tools is looking for an influencer to boost its brand awareness. Instead of choosing a celebrity with a wide reach, the company selects a master carpenter who has built a loyal community of professionals on a video platform.

She demonstrates the tool in real-world use. Her viewers are almost exclusively professionals—exactly the manufacturer’s target audience. Through this credible demonstration, the company reaches potential customers in a relevant professional context and can generate attention and qualified inquiries.