In Influencers, We Trust: A PR Trend Analysis on Influencer Marketing

How social media has transformed the industry

By: Lauren Whitfield

Social media influencers are to Gen Z what the cast of ‘The Hills’ was to Millenials. Our icons. Before social media exploded in the late 2000s, Hollywood celebrities were the only ones with access to influential opportunities. Companies capitalized on A-list celebrities and their grasp on societal status and appearance to further promote their product or business. This notion began to dismantle once social media platforms, particularly Instagram, began to emerge. Over the past ten years, Instagram has acquired over one billion monthly active users. This is nearly 1/7th of Earth’s population.. using the same app. As users began to grow, certain accounts began to rise in followers. This resulted in social media influencers.

Who are social media influencers?

According to the Digital Marketing Institute, social media influencers are trusted individuals that have an influential relationship with their followers. Social media influencers typically have thousands, if not, millions of followers on their platforms. Here is a list of some popular influencers you might know:

• Addison Rae

• Bretman Rock

• Charlie D’amelio

• Emma Chamberlain

A society that once valued celebrities as the opinion leaders now had a new branch of leaders that ultimately, mirrored society better. This new trend gave every day, ‘normal’ people the chance to become an influencer in society.

How are companies using influencers to their advantage?

With these influencers having unique access to diverse and large groups of people, companies saw this and created a new way of marketing. Businesses began to partner with influencers to promote products or services to their followers. ABSOLUT launched an eight-month-long influencer marketing campaign titled ‘Planet Earth’s Favorite Vodka’ in 2019. The objective of the campaign was to increase traffic and engagement across their social media platforms. Using influencers to promote the campaign was the main tactic ABSOLUT used in order for the campaign to be successful. Influencers were to showcase the product in unique and innovative ways to their followers in social media posts. Through this effort, ABSOLUT partnered with about 90 influencers that generate over seven million likes on Twitter and Instagram.

Creating a personal connection

Using influencer marketing as a PR tactic allows companies to reach a variety of audiences in a more personal way. Trust is important in PR and by using a trusted influencer in a specific audience, a company is creating and building a new beneficial relationship to a new public. A PR Week article stated that “There’s a distrust of brands, and younger people want to accept influence from people they can relate to and identify with.” For example, Dunkin’ used TikTok influencer, Charli D’Amelio, to promote the coffee company. Dunkin’ chose D’Amelio because she constantly featured a Dunkin’ drink in her TikToks because it was her favorite coffee brand. Dunkin’ saw this as an opportunity to step into the influencer marketing world. Through this partnership, Dunkin’ launched “The Charli,” which is Charli’s go-to iced coffee order. Due to her massive following, the drink became a new trend on TikTok. The hashtag #TheCharliDrink gained over 44 million views on the app.

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About the Author

Lauren Whitfield is an aspiring public relations professional in the DFW area. Whitfield is pursuing a degree in journalism with a concentration in PR at the University of North Texas and is planning on graduating in December 2022.