Who Are the New Players in Influencer Marketing?

We’ve all read that product endorsements today are less about starlets and athletes and more about influencers—individuals who aren’t traditionally famous, but who’ve amassed a considerable social media following. Influencer Marketing Hub founder Werner Geyser writes that these digital mavens have “the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience.” Companies tap into these relationships by paying influencers to post content that piques potential customers’ interest in their brands.

Take Dubai/Los Angeles makeup artist, Huda Kattan, an influencer who built her reputation on her celebrity clients and her successful cosmetics line, Huda Beauty. Last year, Forbes came out with its list of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women,” which placed Kattan at #65. Her Forbes’ profile says that she was “miserable in her finance job” and that she “quit to become a makeup artist and then launched a blog in 2010.” Kattan doesn’t spend any money on promotion, but has managed to draw in roughly 50 million Instagram followers.

Now, a new cohort of brand players, called “brand ambassadors,” has come onto the scene to help widely recognized gurus, such as Kattan, find corporate sponsors. Forbes’ contributor Alison Coleman profiled a college student, named Christian Di Bratto, who arranges deals between influencers and companies in his free time. Di Bratto first reached out to clothing and lifestyle authority Justin Escalona and was able to broker deals for him with a beef jerky brand and a gambling site. Now, Di Bratto has his own company called Koala Digital, and he receives a salary from The Influencer Marketing Factory agency.

Successful brand ambassadors also make sure that an influencer and a brand are a good match. The alignment between what a company sells and an influencer’s expertise and audience is of growing importance. In our fractured media landscape, increasingly specialized “micro-influencers” have emerged. Micro-influencers have a smaller following than their more well-known colleagues, but they have impressive sway over that following due to their deep knowledge and credibility. In a recent Forbes’ article, Andrew Caravella, a VP at Sprout Social, said that “partnering with micro-influencers is a great way to tap into an existing community that relates to your community members and has established trust.”

Recently, trendHero came out with a list of individuals who’ve built that kind of trust with their followers. The list includes food and parenting expert Mary Sarge. Trendhero says that Sarge “considers cooking her way of life and all her tips will be appreciated by people willing to spend a minimum of time in the kitchen.” Her practical wisdom is a commodity that elevates her in the eyes of her audience and possible corporate sponsors. According to the Mediakix, Sarge, with less than 20,000 followers has already snagged big-name partnerships on her Instagram, including Kroger, ADT, Ghirardelli, Sam’s Club, and Tom’s.

The recent popularity of these influencers, brand ambassadors, and micro-influencers speaks to the shift in what’s considered authentic and hip. Modern, highly skeptical consumers are seeking people who actually practice what they preach.