What is the definition of an influencer?

Influencers produce content and frequently interact with their fans on social media platforms. More and more companies are taking advantage of this by implementing targeted marketing strategies with influencers and using social media tools to increase their reach on Instagram, for example.

Definition: What is an influencer?

Influencers are people that have a large reach on social media and are relatively well known. The term ‘influencer’ comes from the word ‘to influence’ and has been used on social networks since the 2000s. Influencers use their reach to spread the word about certain topics or to advertise products or businesses. Thanks to certain analytics features and statistics, for example those on Instagram, influencers can find out how many people they’ve reached with their posts and how people have reacted.

Famous influencers have a significant effect on the people that follow them, meaning that they can influence the views or purchasing habits of their followers. They’re active on various platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube.

Targeted marketing with well-known influencers is known as influencer marketing. Companies can benefit greatly from the reach of influencers and learn more about their target group and potential customers thanks to social media monitoring. They use influencers specifically as brand or product ambassadors to promote their brand or a specific product. Long-term collaborations, short campaigns or short testimonials can develop between influencers and companies.

What are the different categories of influencers?

Influencers can be categorised in several ways, notably by the number of followers they have or their specific target audience.

By follower count

• Mass influencers or mega-influencers: The most famous influencers boast follower and fan counts in the multi-millions. In most cases, they don’t just cover one topic, but deal with a whole range of topics and are recognised for their enormous reach.
• Macro influencers: Influencers with up to 1 million followers are referred to as macro-influencers. They often limit themselves to a specific but popular topic.
• Micro-influencers: Micro-influencers have up to 100,000 followers and usually specialise in a very specific topic. The close connection to their followers also makes them very interesting for companies.
• Nano-influencers: These are influencers who usually only have up to 10,000 subscribers but cover highly specialised niche topics.

By target group and content

The target audience that influencers aim to reach can vary significantly, making it useful to categorise influencers accordingly. The topics that influencers cover are extremely diverse. On the one hand, there are those who specialise in niche topics and appeal to a very specific target group; on the other hand, there are those who cover a broad range of topics and thus appeal to the vast majority. Examples include:

• Key influencers: Influencers in the classic sense who have a great reputation
• Finfluencer: Influencers in the financial sector
• Mum/Dad influencers: Influencers in the family sector
• Medfluencer: Influencer in the medical field, applicable to other fields of study as well
• Petfluencer: Influencer focusing on pets

What types of influencers are there?

Various kinds of people can be influencers and work with companies for social media marketing purposes. Celebrities such as actors, singers, and athletes are often also active as influencers on social media. Since they’re already very well-known, they can easily spread the word about products and brands. Journalists and bloggers also use social media to share their opinions and increase awareness about issues they care about.

Influencers will publish different content based on which platform they’re currently using. In general, videos are the most common kind of content, not only on YouTube but also on Instagram and TikTok in the form of reels. In vlogs, influencers talk about their lives in video diaries and there are also hauls, in which products are presented. Additionally, targeted reviews or challenges, often with other influencers, are popular. Fashion influencers frequently use so-called lookbooks to showcase different outfits.

Who are some of the most famous influencers?

Some influencers have been active on social media for years and have built up an impressive follower base; others are celebrities that garnered their fame offline. Kim Kardashian, for example, was an early influencer and remains one of the most famous worldwide. She used the fame that she gained from reality TV to work with brands and promote products on social media. Her sisters Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie are also big names.

In the realm of beauty, Huda Kattan boasts one of the biggest success stories. Having built up a considerable fanbase via her blog and social media, she leveraged her following to successfully launch her own beauty line. She continues to dominate the beauty segment on social media, with an Instagram account that has more followers than almost any other beauty account on the platform.

YouTube influencer Emma Chamberlain made herself famous with her dressed-down vlog on topics ranging from pound shop ‘hauls’ to running a marathon with no training. She’s gone on to work with brands like Hollister, Calvin Klein, and Target and collaborated with Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week 2019.

But influencers don’t always have to do with products. The Internet is also home to numerous activist influencers who are out to educate their followers, such as Blair Imani. And of course, no list would be complete without mentioning celebrities that use their platforms to support causes such as like Leonardo DiCaprio (environmental activism), Emma Watson (gender equality) and Ashton Kutcher (advocates against human trafficking and child exploitation).

How do you become an influencer? Helpful tips

There’s not one sure way to become an influencer. There also isn’t a set point when you can crown yourself with the title. Instead, it’s a kind of status that you’ll need to work daily to maintain. Whether or not you’re successful will depend on how the public reacts to you and perceives you.

There are a few tips that any aspiring influencer should take into account:

• Before you do anything else, you should ask yourself why you want to become an influencer. What are your dreams and what are your strengths?
• You should choose a specific topic that you’re passionate about.
• Keep in mind that being an influencer can be a full-time job that takes a lot of time and energy.

Once you’ve found the topic that you want to specialise in, you should take a close look at the competition. Focus on one platform when you’re getting started and always tailor your content to your target group. Once you’ve set up your account or channel, spread the word about it in your social circles.

As an influencer, the most important thing is to regularly publish posts and offer varied and interesting content. It’s also very important to interact a lot with your followers and build a relationship with them. Networking with other influencers can also be helpful, as you may be able to benefit from their reach.

Check out our guide ‘How to become an influencer’ for more detailed tips on getting started.