What is an Influencer?

Who are they?

Influencers are content creators who have a large number of social media followers, and with that comes a great level of influence, in ways setting trends within their following. Influencers can be found on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Different influencers, influence different types of groups, it isn't a one fits all. Therefore businesses have to look for the perfect influencer.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a relatively new way for businesses of marketing through the use of influencers and social media.[2]Although capable of taking place on most social media platforms it is most commonly found used on YouTube & Instagram. Having an influencer feature a business’s product/s or service/s in their content is a more cost-effective advertising solution compared to the traditional method of television or online advertisements, allowing it to been seen by a large group of dedicated followers who trust the opinion of the influencer.

 "Fashion enthusiasts have gained popularity and achieved a huge success through Instagram, partly due to the aesthetic appeal of Instagram filters and the platform’s capability to reach wide audiences." - S. Venus Jin,
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, August 2019 Vol.3

Does influencer marketing work?

There are many benefits to utilising influencers, one being the personal bond and respect between influencers and the following. Followers trust what their influencers say and promote, inspiring them to make purchases. Companies such as Estèe Lauder spend around 75% of their marketing budget on influencers, sending out PR packages to influencers and relying on their review to bring in new custom. Influencers like NikkieTutorials, Jeffree Star and James Charles are just three well-known names amongst beauty influencers, and with a combined following of 47.5 million, they have a huge influence on many people. 

 'People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the holy grail of advertising'
- Mark Zuckerberg 
The New York Times, Nov 2007

Influences and Tourism

Many tourist businesses and marketers use social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram to find an established influencer with a large following or an upcoming one with a growing number of followers, their following is usually the market which they’re aiming to reach, for the case of tourism that would be people with interest in travelling and the financial means that comes along with that. Influencers are paid to go on vacation and check out the destination and facilities offered, the influencer will create content so this can be seen by their following as well, most likely in the form of a vlog (video log), posting and sharing about their experience on social media encourages their following to consider going on that trip as well. This is shown to work with consumers as they trust these influencers and feel like they have a personal bond with them.

To conclude influencer marketing is the type of marketing where social media influencers are used to influence the consumer. Businesses can take advantage of the new technologies and social media platforms to use influencers who will sell the product. This works well with tourism as the travel destination and/or luxuries can be shown off to potentially thousands or even millions of online followers. Instagram and YouTube are the two main platforms for influencers and pivotal to tourism due to the way their platforms work. Instagram shows off photos and YouTube show videos, quick to be shared and easy for viewers to look or watch. Influencers have a huge impact and help a business grow, they are truly the new core of marketing.

sources cited;
[1] - What is an influencer? -available at https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/
[2] - Influencer Marketing, available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influencer_marketing
 E. Byrne, J. Kearney, C. Macevilly, 2017, The Role of Influencer Marketing and Socieal Influencers, Cambridge University Press
J. Venus Jin 2019 Instafamous and social media Influencer Marketing, Emerald Publishing Limited