Influencer

An influencer is someone who regularly publishes videos, photos, or texts on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Over time, this person builds up a steady audience that follows their posts. The term comes from the English word for influencing. What it means is: what this person recommends or criticizes affects the behavior of many viewers. It is precisely this effect that can be sold, which is why companies pay for mentions of their products. What started as a hobby has thus become a profession with its own market.

Why advertising budgets are shifting from television to individuals

Traditional advertising reaches many people who aren’t interested in it. An influencer, by contrast, reaches an audience that watches voluntarily and shares a common interest. Someone who follows a climbing channel is a very good target for climbing gear. For advertisers, this is more efficient than an evening TV spot.

On top of that, there’s a psychological effect. Viewers experience the person over months and feel a sense of familiarity, even though they’ve never met. Experts call this a parasocial relationship. As a result, a recommendation feels more like a tip from an acquaintance than like advertising.

That’s why the market has grown so large. Worldwide, double-digit billions flow annually into such collaborations. For publicly traded platforms, this is an important revenue driver, because without popular creators, users stay away. That’s why TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram pay targeted bonuses to retain well-known names.

Reach, algorithm, and money

At the center is the platform’s recommendation algorithm. This is a program that decides which video is shown to which user. It measures how long someone watches, whether they comment, or whether they swipe away. Content that holds people’s attention for a long time gets distributed further. So an influencer always works for this program too, not just for their audience.

The money comes from several sources. Platforms give creators a share of advertising revenue, usually a few euros per thousand views. Direct deals with companies, so-called collaborations, are significantly more lucrative. On top of that, there are affiliate links, through which the creator receives a share of every product sold, as well as the creator’s own products.

It’s important to distinguish this from mere follower count. An account with a million followers can be worth less than one with twenty thousand highly active fans. Such small channels are called micro-influencers and often achieve higher conversion rates. In Germany, paid posts must also be labeled as advertising. If this label is missing, cease-and-desist warnings for covert advertising may follow.

When the influencer is an AI

In everyday life, one encounters the term with almost every product that suddenly becomes known to everyone. Cosmetics, sports drinks, or mobile games are rarely made popular through billboards these days. Banks, crypto providers, and brokers now also advertise through finance creators, often called finfluencers. Regulators keep a close eye on this, because investment tips given without a license are risky.

In technology news, the term currently appears mainly in connection with artificial intelligence. There are virtual influencers: fictional characters that are entirely computer-generated and yet land advertising deals. In addition, real creators use AI tools to edit videos, translate them, or clone their voice into other languages.

A common misconception is that influencers are only young people taking selfies. In fact, this category also includes experts who explain software, as well as doctors or tradespeople. What matters is not the topic, but the combination of one’s own audience and economic impact.