influencer
What is an influencer?
How did the term influencer originate?
Why should consumers be skeptical of influencer endorsements?
What guidelines have been introduced for influencer transparency?
influencer, person who exerts influence to guide the actions of others. The term is commonly applied to people who help generate interest in consumer products or experiences by posting about them on social media. Influencers command large followings on social media and are often paid by companies to use and describe their products and services, encouraging their legions of followers to buy them. In 2019 the word influencer was added to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Influencers can be celebrities such as film stars and athletes who rely on their star power to promote products. They can also be industry experts or leaders in their field, whose opinion in the space matters. Some of the biggest celebrity influencers as of 2025 include:
History of the term
The word influencer and its verb form to influence have been in usage in English since the 14th century and became attached to groups and individuals by the mid-1600s. It comes from the medieval Latin influentia, which means “to flow into.” It was used in an astrological sense to refer to the “influence” of stars on one’s destiny. Incidentally, the disease influenza shares the same root word, as it was believed to spread due to the effect of the stars.
The word influence appears in a quarter of Shakespeare’s plays and is usually used in a negative sense, describing “influenced” people as those negatively affected by stars. Oscar Wilde, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, considers influencing as immoral and being influenced as being dominated. Wilde considered the influenced person’s motivations as unnatural because they originated elsewhere.
Bleak references in literature aside, the power of influence in the retail world has deep roots. The English potter Josiah Wedgwood enjoyed the royal patronage of Queen Charlotte and leveraged the association to attract more high-profile customers. In 1882 the actress Lillie Langtry appeared in an advertisement for Pears’ Soap, becoming the first woman to endorse a commercial product. The silent film actor and director Roscoe (“Fatty”) Arbuckle endorsed the Murad brand of cigarettes in print ads. In 1931 Coca-Cola famously used Santa Claus in its successful ad campaign, popularizing the belief that if people loved the person in the advertisement, they would buy the product. Celebrity appearances in advertisements grew over the years, especially with the rise of radio and television, and celebrities often earned a lot of money for promoting products.
The word influence has been prevalent in the world of psychology and self-help as well, as is evidenced by best-selling books including Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (1984) by Robert Cialdini and How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) by Dale Carnegie.
Influencers and social media
- Nano-influencers: 1,000–10,000
- Micro-influencers: 10,000–100,000
- Macro-influencers: 100,000–1,000,000
- Celebrity influencers: More than 1,000,000
The arrival of the Internet provided a new platform for marketing. Blogs and social media offered forums where noncelebrities could share their opinions and experiences with mass audiences. So-called “regular” people started talking about products they used and places they traveled to, and these reviews were shared across the globe. Soon, people came to be recognized for good and consistent content and were then approached by brands directly to use and review their products or services. Platforms such as YouTube and Instagram added new formats for reaching audiences. It became easier for brands to work with regular people, lending a veneer of authenticity to the promotions and saving millions on celebrity deals. Reality TV stars such as the Kardashians became influencers with millions of followers.
Although social media influencers, celebrities or not, have large followings, there is a natural tendency in consumers to be skeptical of these types of endorsements. Consumers should understand what is motivating influencers to endorse a particular product. Have influencers used a specific skin-care product and swear by it? Or are they themselves being influenced by financial incentives offered by manufacturers to promote products that they don’t use?
In 2017 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released guidelines asking influencers to be more transparent about corporate relationships. The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Agency followed suit in 2018, asking influencers to clarify if their posts feature a paid deal or gifted products. Several social media sites now mandate that influencers reveal if they are being paid when endorsing a brand in posts.
Multiple influencers have been accused of misusing their status or utilizing marketing to overstate the quality of the products they endorse, or, in some cases, endorse products without knowing their true quality. In 2018 perhaps to mock the influence that influencers can have, the budget shoe brand Payless Shoes created a fake Italian fashion label with a store in a Los Angeles mall and invited influencers to visit the store. Many influencers went on to praise the products, which were being sold at hugely inflated prices. Influencers have also been the target of hackers, who typically access their accounts and demand ransom to regain control.