What Is Influencer Marketing?

"A person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media."

The more interesting definition in my opinion would be "the ability of an individual with social credibility to tap into their audiences buying behaviour through an emotional connection founded by trust."

Influencer marketing isn't a new approach to marketing, its existence can be dated back to ancient Rome - when gladiators would endorse products. However, the most impressive thing about influencers in the 21st century is their global reach which can be very powerful if the audience and product are well aligned through influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing is essentially virtual word of mouth and consumers are much more likely to positively perceive and react to a message that comes from a trusted friend or influencer over a sponsored ad that comes from a company. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.

@salma.masrour in partnership with Superdry

The first skill an influencer is recognised for is their creative skills displayed in their content. They have an amazing eye for producing engaging and creative content - this is crucial because a brand's ethos and identity can be communicated to a whole audience in a visually creative way.

Influencer marketing is proving to be successful and will continue to grow in popularity as more advertising dollars are allocated towards it. While working with influencers can be a tricky process, the returns on investment are unparalleled if well executed. Working with an agency that understands the brand's goals, can make the process smooth and very efficient.

Given advertisers’ thriving yields, consumers can expect influencer marketing to become much more prevalent in their feeds in the near future.