A Philosophy Of Communication Of Social Media Influencer Marketing

Social media influencer marketing emerged in Web 2.0 as a new form of celebrity endorsement in which the Internet-famous create word-of-mouth marketing for brands and organizations on their personal social media pages, blurring the line between organic and sponsored content for their followers. This book explores social media influencer marketing through the lens of philosophy of communication with a praxis-centered approach. Kati E. Sudnick utilizes a multitude of theoretical touchstones—including Christopher Lasch’s narcissistic culture, Marshall McLuhan’s global village, Daniel Boorstin’s human pseudo-event, Jacques Ellul’s propaganda, and the interplay between charismatic leadership and parasocial relationships—in order to consider consequences surrounding Hannah Arendt’s social condition, which appears in hyper-form within social media influencer marketing as a major integrated marketing communication tool. Sudnick applies these concepts to three major case studies surrounding Audible, BetterHelp, and Fyre Festival, drawing implications and conclusions for this integrated marketing communication tactic in an era entrenched within the banality of the social. Ultimately, the author argues for a more aware and conscientious public when it comes to engaging with influencers online. Scholars of communication, philosophy, and media studies will find this book of particular interest.

This book seeks to draw a comprehensive picture of influencer collaborations from a strategic communication perspective. The contributors tackle strategic influencer communication from multidisciplinary perspectives, from varying actor foci, and from different methodological frameworks and methods. Influencers cross traditional boundaries in many ways and oscillate between intimacy and publicity, authenticity and commercialization, ingratiation and critical distance. From a strategic communication perspective, this variability makes influencers hard to capture: organizations can cooperate with influencers to achieve both marketing and PR objectives. Influencers can act as cooperation partners, integrating commercial content into organic narratives, or as independent critics. Influencers also combine different roles that have traditionally been occupied by separate actors such as intermediary, content distributor, creative content producer, community manager, testimonial, strategic counsellor, and event host. The combination of these roles in just one actor opens new opportunities for strategic communication and can produce appreciated synergy effects. It is therefore hardly surprising that influencer collaborations have become a firmly established instrument in the toolbox of strategic communicators. The chapters in this book were originally published in the International Journal of Advertising and the International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Brand Communication examines the myriad ways in which social media and the unique characteristics of the internet have changed brand communication for both brands and consumers, focusing on the social media influencer as a brand communicator. As brands have noticed the rise of social media influencers as tastemakers and leaders in public opinion, they have increasingly begun to incorporate social media influencers into their brand communication strategies. Each chapter of this book represents a unique theoretical and methodological approach to examining the emergence and growing legitimacy of the social media influencer as a brand communicator from a variety of perspectives and contexts, discussing challenges and opportunities afforded to brands by social media influencers and providing an overview of the current research on the use of these branding approaches. Scholars of media studies, communication, and marketing will find this book particularly useful.

Classical, modern, and contemporary philosophical writings that address the fundamental concepts of communication. To philosophize is to communicate philosophically. From its inception, philosophy has communicated forcefully. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle talk a lot, and talk ardently. Because philosophy and communication have belonged together from the beginning—and because philosophy comes into its own and solidifies its stance through communication—it is logical that we subject communication to philosophical investigation. This collection of key works of classical, modern, and contemporary philosophers brings communication back into philosophy's orbit. It is the first anthology to gather in a single volume foundational works that address the core questions, concepts, and problems of communication in philosophical terms. The editors have chosen thirty-two selections from the work of Plato, Leibniz, Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Benjamin, Lacan, Derrida, Sloterdijk, and others. They have organized these texts thematically, rather than historically, in seven sections: consciousness; intersubjective understanding; language; writing and context; difference and subjectivity; gift and exchange; and communicability and community. Taken together, these texts not only lay the foundation for establishing communication as a distinct philosophical topic but also provide an outline of what philosophy of communication might look like.

In an era of social media, influencers wield unprecedented power over global consumer decisions. As digital natives increasingly turn to influencers for guidance, the need for comprehensive research on their impact becomes paramount. Brands, aiming to connect with a precisely targeted audience, must grapple with ethical considerations in this rapidly evolving sphere. Global Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Strategic Business Communication delves into influencer research and practices, exploring their impact on various industries and sectors. This book dissects the motives and characteristics of social media influencers and navigates the terrain of ethical considerations surrounding their collaboration with businesses and organizations. This book covers influencers' effect on brand loyalty, cultural norms, community building, and their role in business management, advertising, and strategic communication. The book dissects the impacts of social media influencers on audience behavior, exploring areas such as brand attitudes, purchase intentions, and the dynamics of parasocial relationships. It examines the nuances of engagement, differentiating between paid endorsements, sponsored content, and pure electronic word-of-mouth while also spotlighting the influence of live streaming on consumer behaviors. This book is a valuable resource for businesses, strategic communicators, marketers, scholars, and anyone seeking a profound understanding of the dynamic world of social media influencers.

This is one of the first textbooks to explore the phenomenon of Influencer Marketing and how it fits within marketing communications to build brands and their communities. Influencers – those who can impact a brand’s marketing and advertising strategies as well as build brand communities – are making extensive use of the new digital and traditional communications platforms. Influencers offer brands the ability to deliver the “right” communication and marketing messages to a specific target audience. Across four core sections, this book brings together the key theory and practical implications of this new marketing tool: how it works as part of communications campaigns, including how to select the right influencers and measure their success, the dark side of influencer marketing, and the legal and ethical framework. With contributions from authors across the globe, each chapter is also accompanied by an in- depth case study – from the Kardashians to Joe Wicks – that demonstrates how the theory translates to practice. Influencer Marketing is important reading for advanced, postgraduate and executive education students of Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Communications, Brand Management and Public Relations. With its accessible style and practical content, it is also highly valuable for Marketing Communications, Branding and PR specialists.

Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and their Followers argues that the brands that find the most success on social media are the ones that acknowledge the real key to social media marketing—it’s all about the followers. This collection, edited by Brandi Watkins, explores how social media has shifted power dynamics away from brands and toward the consumers themselves—the social media users who choose to like, share, and engage with brands online. This dynamic has paved the way for the rise of the social media influencer (SMI); a unique category of social media user who has a large platform and compelling content that attracts a number of loyal and devoted followers.. It’s the followers that make SMI relevant and appealing to brands as a marketing strategy. Contributors discuss emerging trends in research related to the SMI and their followers; as the influencer marketing industry continues to grow and evolve, they argue, so too should our understanding of the influencer-follower relationship that makes this marketing strategy successful. Each chapter of this collection presents a variety of research perspectives, questions, and methodologies that can be used to analyze this trend. Scholars of media studies, communication, technology studies, celebrity studies, marketing, and economics will find this book particularly useful.

This book examines social media influencers as brand communicators. Each chapter represents a unique theoretical and methodological approach to examining the emergence of the growing legitimacy of influencer brand communication from a variety of perspectives and contexts.

The influential are no longer only those with celebrity status – but until now there has been no authoritative resource on the theory and practice of influencer marketing. This book will educate and inspire decision makers, researchers, students, and influencers themselves. Diving deeper than the many "how-to" books on the influencer phenomenon, this book brings in frameworks from marketing, sociology, psychology, and communication studies to redefine the influencer as a persona (related to a person, group of people, or organization) that possesses greater than average sway over others. Cornwell and Katz go on to: introduce the influencers, macro and nano, authentic and inauthentic, ascending and fading; consider their relationship to brands in the marketing ecosystem, along with regulations that set limits on influencer marketing; describe how influence is measured and evaluated and look into the future; and bring together the latest research on influencer marketing and organize it for the reader. The book serves both those who want to understand the science behind influencer marketing and those who want to most effectively employ influencers in brand strategy. Instructors, students, and professionals will appreciate international examples from multiple industries applying theories to the real world.