What is an Influencer?

An influencer is someone who has a high level of reputation, authority, or expertise in a certain niche. Because of their position, they have the power to affect purchasing decisions among those that follow them on social media or other platforms.

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Freepik.com images adapted by Market Business News.

Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines ‘influencer’ as:
“A person or group that has the ability to influence the behavior or opinions of others”

Influencers sway our purchasing decisions

When you buy something in a shop, do you ever take into consideration a recommendation by an expert? Most of us do.

Say you want to buy a new shampoo and your hairdresser just recommended one that she said is “perfect for you”. Would that sway your purchasing decision at all? For a lot of people, it would.

Influencers have credibility

In essence, this is what influencers are: people with credibility on a particular topic and the position to sway purchasing decisions.

Famous sports people are influencers

A basketball player for the NBA with a significant social media presence would be considered an influencer as they have the means to easily promote a product to all their followers and encourage a specific demographic audience to purchase the product. Because of the NBA player’s unique position and authority in basketball, products they choose to promote or endorse related to the sport will be of interest to their followers.

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Image created by Market Business News

Entrepreneurs who liaise with social medial influencers to promote their products or services are involved in social media marketing, which is one of the components of digital marketing.

Influencers by follower number

According to influencermarketinghub, you can separate different types of influencers by follower numbers, by types of content, by the level of influence, as well as the niche in which they operate.

  • Micro-Influencers

These are ordinary people with knowledge about a certain niche. They typically have between 1,000 and 40,000 followers on a single social platform.

  • Macro-Influencers

A step up from micro influencers, macro influencers are those with between 40,000 and 1 million followers on a social network. Macro influencers may be successful online experts or B-grade celebrities.

  • Mega-Influencers

People with a very high number of followers on their social networks. Mega influencers have more than 1 million followers on at least one social platform. This category includes famous movie stars, sportspeople, musicians and artists.

Additionally, mega-influencers often have a global reach, influencing diverse audiences across different cultures and regions, which makes them particularly appealing for international marketing campaigns.

The effectiveness of mega-influencers is often driven by their ability to create trends and set standards within their respective industries, thereby significantly shaping consumer behavior and preferences.

Compound phrases

A compound phrase is a term that consists of two or more words. The term ‘influencer marketing’ is a compound phrase. In business English, there are many compound phrases with ‘influencer’. Let’s have a look at five common ones:

  • Influencer Collaboration

A partnership between a brand and an influencer for a promotional activity.

  • Influencer Outreach

The process of identifying (finding) and engaging with influencers for marketing campaigns.

  • Influencer Engagement

Measures the level of interaction and involvement an influencer has with their audience.

  • Influencer Analytics

The use of data and metrics to assess the performance and impact of an influencer’s content. In other words, data that tells us how effective an influencer has been in promoting a product or service.

  • Influencer Network

A group or community of influencers who work together or are connected through a platform or agency.

Other languages

Influencers exist all over the world. Many are used to promote goods and services in non-English speaking countries. Here is a translation of the term in some other languages.

Influenciador/Influencer (Spanish), Influenciador/Influencer (Portuguese), Influencer (German), Influenceur (French), Influencer (Italian), Influencer (Polish), Инфлюенсер (Russian), مؤثر (Arabic), تأثیرگذار (Farsi), प्रभावक (Hindi), انفلوئنسر (Urdu), প্রভাবক (Bengali), 影響者 (Cantonese Chinese), 影响者 (Mandarin Chinese), インフルエンサー (Japanese), 인플루언서 (Korean), Influencer (Indonesian), Người ảnh hưởng (Vietnamese), Influencer (Turkish).

Did you notice that people in Turkey, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Indonesia use the English word ‘influencer.’ This often happens with relatively new words, especially scientific or hi-tech terms.

Two Videos

These two videos, from our sister channel on YouTube – Marketing Business Network, explains what the terms ‘Influencer’ and ‘Influencer Marketing’ mean using simple and easy-to-understand language and examples.

  • What is an Influencer?

  • What is Influencer Marketing?