Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing (a.k.a. influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements from influencers, people and organizations who possess an expert level of knowledge and/or social influence in their respective fields. In China, influencers are known as key opinion leaders (KOLs; Chinese: 关键意见领袖; pinyin: guānjiànyìjiànlǐngxiù). Influencer marketing (a.k.a. influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements from influencers, people and organizations who possess an expert level of knowledge and/or social influence in their respective fields. In China, influencers are known as key opinion leaders (KOLs; Chinese: 关键意见领袖; pinyin: guānjiànyìjiànlǐngxiù). Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising where they play the role of a potential buyer themselves, or they may be involved as third parties. These third parties can be spotted either within the supply chain (retailers, manufacturers, etc.) or among the so-called value-added influencers (such as journalists, academics, industry analysts, and professional advisers). Most of the discussion concerning the generic subject of social influence centers around compliance and persuasion in a social environment. In the context of influencer marketing, influence is less about argument and coercion to a particular point of view and more about loose interactions between various parties in a community. Influence is often equated to advocacy, but may also be negative, relating to the concepts of promoters and detractors. The idea revolving around the 'two-step flow of communication' was introduced in 'The People's Choice' (Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet, a 1940 study on the decision making process of voters). This idea was further developed in 'Personal Influence' (Lazarsfeld, Elihu Katz 1955) as well as 'The Effects of Mass Communication' (Joseph Klapper 1960). There is a lack of consensus on what an 'influencer' is. One writer defines them as 'a range of third parties who exercise influence over the organization and its potential customers'. Another defines an influencer as a 'third party who significantly shapes the customer's purchasing decision, but may never be accountable for it.' Another says influencers are 'activists, are well-connected, create an impact, have active minds, and are trendsetters', though this set of attributes is aligned specifically to consumer markets. Sources of influencers can be varied. Marketers traditionally target influencers who are easy to identify, such as press, industry analysts and high-profile executives. For most B2C purchases, however, influencers might include people known to the purchaser and the retailer staff. In high-value business-to-business (B2B) transactions the community of influencers may be wide and diverse and might include consultants, government-backed regulators, financiers, and user communities. Forrester analyst Michael Speyer notes that, in the case of small and medium-sized businesses, 'IT sales are influenced by several parties, including peers, consultants, bloggers, and technology resellers'. He advises that 'Vendors need to identify and characterize influencers inside their market. This requires a comprehensive influencer identification program and the establishment of criteria for ranking influencer impact on the decision process.' Similar to a set of diverse influencer sources, influencers can play a variety of roles at different times in a decision process. This idea has been developed in influencer marketing by Brown and Hayes. They are capable of mapping out how and when particular types of influencers affect the decision process. This then enables marketers to selectively target influencers depending on their specific nature or domain of influence. Market research techniques can be used to identify influencers, using pre-defined criteria to determine the extent and type of influence.