Redefining Influencers : Scrutinizing the Term Social Media Influencer from a Public Perspective and Examining its Role in the Modern Media Landscape

Abstract: This paper explores how influencers can be categorised using a self-administered questionnaire. In doing so, the study can contribute to an understanding of the phenomenon that is more extensive than what previous research has attributed. The focus of this paper is on how influencers can be better understood for the benefit of public relations (PR), marketing, and communication. The purpose of this project is to investigate whether the term influencers (short for social media influencers) are defined by scholars in a similar fashion to how the study sample categorises influencers. Thus, the research question of the study is to examine if the study sample finds the term influencer applicable to the five suggested categories that are stated in the survey. The results from this study show that scholars commonly confine the phenomenon of influencers to bloggers, vloggers, and instagrammers. However, the results from the survey indicate that the study sample has a broader perception of the phenomenon. According to the participants, all suggested categories are fitting the term influencer, namely: blogger/vlogger/instagrammer, celebrity, athlete, entrepreneur, politician. Although the latter, politician, is deemed the least fitting category. Thus, the findings in the study show that there is a discrepancy between the public perception of how to define influencers and previous research in the field. This implicates that public relation practitioners need to rethink how they perceive and apply influencer marketing. Using influencers for marketing purposes requires organisations to execute a thorough selection process to ensure a suitable partnership.