MarTech Landscape: What is influencer marketing?

You’re at a party and notice a friend is wearing a new pair of bright red sneakers. He raves about how they feel, so you go out the next day and buy your own.

This is what used to be known as word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing, perhaps the most valuable way of communicating product value because the testimony comes from a trusted source.

Now, that trusted-source value has been hugely amplified by the power of social media, resulting in influencer marketing. In this article, part of our Marketing Technology Landscape Series, we look at this growing trend in social marketing.

What is influencer marketing?

In influencer marketing, marketers locate individuals whose opinions matter to other people. Often, those influencers are social media stars who have many followers on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms.

Influencers can also be bloggers who are considered experts in specific areas, or celebrities who share their opinions. When these influential people say they like a particular smartphone, or when they post a video that sings the praises of a new shampoo, their followers listen.

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.

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Channel: Martech: Social