The Ins and Outs of the Influencer Industry

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Online influencers are an increasingly important way for companies to find new customers and drive sales. Whether you're a marketer who wants to more effectively use social media or a consumer targeted by influencer content - in good ways and bad - you'll benefit from better understanding how the industry works. Emily Hund, researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, explains that it was born from not only increased connectivity but also Great Recession job cuts which forced people in creative fields to innovate. She argues that these are entrepreneurs who now have an impact on many different sectors of the economy and offers advice for both them and the brands wanting to develop better influencer marketing strategies. Hund is the author of the book The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media.

Transcript

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0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR idea cast from Harvard Business Review, I'm Allison Beard.
0:49.2	If I say the word influencer, what comes to your mind?
0:52.3	Some of you might picture a millennial or Gen Z around TikTok or Instagram posting lots
0:56.4	of videos and selfies trying to get famous avoiding a real job.
1:02.0	Others might think of the trendsetters that you follow online, maybe the ones who encourage
1:05.7	you to try that new workout routine, buy that magnetic golf towel, invest in that carry-on
1:10.2	luggage set, and if you work in marketing, or for any consumer facing brand, you probably
1:15.4	immediately think of influencers as potential endorsements, people who can help you sell
1:19.8	your products and services for a price.
1:23.0	Born out of the great recession and the rise of social media platforms, the influencer
1:26.9	industry has indeed made people famous and given them not just jobs but lucrative careers.
1:32.0	It does drive consumer trends, it's become a key sales tool for businesses of all sizes,
1:37.2	and it's now a segment of the economy worth billions of dollars.
1:40.6	Here to discuss all this is Emily Hunt, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's
1:44.8	Annanburg School for Communication, and the author of the new book, The Influencer
1:49.0	Industry, the quest for authenticity on social media.
1:52.5	Emily, welcome.
	...

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