Social media influencers have become a new version of marketing. Influencers have turned what once was a hobby into a multi-billion dollar industry. Brands are paying social media influencers millions to persuade their followers to buy their products.
Retailers are funneling their products through everyday men and women who have built up a following for themselves online. Brands see social media influencers as relatable messengers for their products. Brands choose the influencer they believe to be the best to promote their products to a certain audience. They choose the influencer based of the demographic of their followers. These brands pay the influencers in fees in free products to have sponsored posts promoting their products.
Captiv8, a social media analytics firm, estimates that brans are spending a 
collective $255 million on sponsored posts on Instagram each month. 65 percent of brands participate in this type of marketing.
Ad Week reported that 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from others over brand content. What makes this type of marketing so successful is it’s authenticity. Followers trust the social media influencer’s opinion on products. What is still unknown is whether this marketing can hold on to this sheen of authenticity. Followers don’t want their feed to be crowded with sponsored posts.
Social media influencers also have to be careful to not dilute their own brand with sponsored posts. Many influencers gained their following because they didn’t come off as corporate. By having too many sponsored posts, influencers will push away their followers and promoting the product may have the opposite effect.
It takes consumers seconds to research a product on sites such a Twitter and Facebook. This is why social media influencers have become so important. The influencers get out a good authentic word about the products. Social media influencers have become a main form of marketing in today’s society.
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