Intro: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Influencer Marketing* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

If you have never heard about Influencer Marketing you probably live on the summit of an isolated mountain or, even more likely, in a parallel post-apocalyptic universe populated only by androids. Whatever your problem is, you absolutely have to fix it. On the other hand, if you have been clanking around in the marketing sphere in the last years, you must have noticed these mythological creatures called ‘influencers’ and come across the term Influencer Marketing.

It is undeniable that digital marketing is always on the verge of a major breakthrough for the latest trends, which perhaps can excuse you. But if you really want to keep pace with the ever-changing demands of the market, you should gain a deep insight on this matter. That is why marketers are incessantly struggling to identify the best way to persuade consumers in this dynamic industry.

To understand this buzzword-laden marketing strategy we can start from the most obvious starting points: what is influencer marketing? Where did this phenomenon come from?

What is Influencer Marketing?

In my humble opinion, the concept behind Influencer Marketing it’s kind of like when you were in primary school and there was that little super-cool-fashionista-girl with her super trendy pair of shoes with those amazing multicoloured lights up sole. And you, from the bottom of your worn old-fashioned pair of All Star, you just thought… I wish I could be like that cool kid. And this is not a hyperbole to exaggerate the truth of the matter; in fact, when I was a little primary school kid, one of the most popular shoes brand among the coolest girls was an Italian label, whose witty slogan stated “Lelli Kelly, the cutest shoes...oh yeah! You can play with us; we can be cool oh yeah!”. To some extent, this says a lot about the desire to have something, which can be either a pair of glittery shoes as well as a t-shirt or a videogame that you saw from the most popular peers at school, just for the sake of feeling involved as part of the group. Otherwise, you cannot play with us. But that's just my two cents. Or maybe just some past trauma like an open wound that has never been healed.

Seriously speaking, this is the proof that Influencer Marketing has always been happening since time immemorial, the difference is that now that cool fashion kid has a name: influencer and that pair of trendy shoes are the need for a self-actualization, especially for millennials. Now, whatever is your answer to the great controversial question ‘does marketing create or satisfy customers’ needs’, it is unquestionable that influencer marketing is the marketers’ answer in the 21st century.