Influencer marketing, which is a process in which engaging and supportive individuals create conversations with a brand’s customers, has increased tremendously in the last couple of years and continues to be on the rise. With its rise, social media influencers have fundamentally transformed the way public relation professionals reach their desired target audience.
Forbes suggests, “The voice of the customer has always been one of the most powerful concepts in marketing, and today’s social media platforms act as one giant megaphone for that voice” (Forbes, 2016).
By straying away from traditional public relations methods to a more collaborative integration of social media efforts, one can break the wall between the brand and consumer, and effectively change the way in which the two interact.Since social media has grown immensely the last couple of years, I wanted to do further research on the effectiveness of social media influencers. How do brands use them? Are they effective with product placement? What qualities make up an influencer?