I don't know if the person I follow is considered an influencer. Kristen Hampton Good News is a popular online personality. I am a subscriber of her "Sidesprouts" group. However, she does not do any paid endorsements. She tests products that she buys with her own money and she raises lots of money from her followers for charities. So, while she's influential, she's not marketing other people's products for profit. She does make money from FB ads, stars, and subscriptions. That said, I definitely purchased the Vidalia onion chop wizard after seeing her use it all the time and I have no regrets. They should definitely send her a check.
I've noticed a lot of this type of marketing on TikTok. And it often comes up as a trending video. Commercials don't reach me because we no longer have cable. And when we did, we recorded everything to watch later without commercials. Now we subscribe to commercial-free services. So, I'm seeing content I would have never seen before. YouTube is another place where I've started seeing actual commercials. Their ad content is much more aggressive than in the past, I suspect we will start seeing a lot more TV-like commercials there since you can't skip them.
Advertising through an influencer puts a bit of distance between the consumer and the brand because the company is using the influencer's brand/personality to lend credence to their product. It's no longer a famous celebrity pushing you to buy shampoo in a commercial produced by the shampoo seller. Now, someone that people already know, trust, and follow -- is reaching them in a way that they like to be reached. It feels less like a sales pitch. That distance, gives an added level of credibility, too. And it feels authentic.
Companies choose influencers who have the demographics that they are trying to reach. It gives them an opportunity to break into a huge audience with much less money and effort. And, likely, with far greater success. They play a huge role--particularly when you think about the sheer number of people GLOBALLY that they can reach.
Advertising through an influencer puts a bit of distance between the consumer and the brand because the company is using the influencer's brand/personality to lend credence to their product. It's no longer a famous celebrity pushing you to buy shampoo in a commercial produced by the shampoo seller. Now, someone that people already know, trust, and follow -- is reaching them in a way that they like to be reached. It feels less like a sales pitch. That distance, gives an added level of credibility, too. And it feels authentic.
