Overview

Social media influencers are the iconic figures of the social media age. As media diets shift to social media, influencers sit at the center of communication flows within the new information ecology. This is a powerful position. As masters of large followerships, influencers can direct online attention and engagement toward certain topics—and away from others. Followers build long-lasting relationships with their favorite influencers and trust their authentic recommendations and advice. This makes them sought-after cooperation partners for corporations, but also for other organizations such as NGOs, political parties, or government agencies. Along with their growing cultural and economic relevance, influencer research has taken off for real in the last decade. Looking back at the first years of influencer scholarship, this book brings together leading researchers to consolidate the field, theorize current developments, and map future directions. Adopting the perspectives of influencers, followers, and other industry actors, this book provides a reference work that offers readers a comprehensive international collection of analyses, reflections, and insights about social media influencers, the dynamics of the industry, influencers’ entanglement with strategic communication, and their role in contemporary (digital) culture. Offering a broad interdisciplinary overview of research emerging within social media influencing, this authoritative guide is an accessible resource for researchers, lecturers and students across marketing, media and communication, as well as cultural studies and digital anthropology. Chapter 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nils S. Borchers (Universität Tübingen) ,  Mariah L. Wellman ,  Liselot Hudders
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   1.030kg
ISBN:  

9781032830070

ISBN 10:   1032830077
Pages:   450
Publication Date:   04 June 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

1. Influencers as the Iconic Figures of the Social Media Age: An Introduction to the Routledge Companion to Social Media Influencers 2. Defining Social Media Influencers: When Legacy Media hits Convergence Culture Part I: Influencers 3. Toward an Influencer Production Studies: Between-the-Line Labor in the Creator Economy 4. Expert Influencers: Understanding Authority and Credibility in the Influencer Industry 5. Influencer 'Authenticity' and 'Self-Branding': Influencer Studies within, between and beyond the Margins 6. Influencer Professionalism in Review: Rethinking the Amateur/Professional Binary through Emerging Benchmarks 7. Influencer Labor: Will Work Incessantly Against Uncertainty 8. Tastemakers of the Platform Age: The Cultural and Economic Work of Social Media Influencers Part II: Followers 9. Endorse, Engage, Influence: Direct Effects of Influencer Communication 10. Behind the Filter: Unintended Social and Psychological Impacts of Influencer Marketing 11. Follower-Influencer Relationships: Moving Beyond the Parasocial Relationship 12. Beyond Promotion: Trust as the Heart of Authentic Influencer-Follower Relationship 13. Sponsored! Disclosures of Influencer Marketing to Enhance Transparency and Advertising Literacy 14. Fandom and Influencers: Social Media Influencers through the Eyes of their Fans Part III: Influencer Industry 15. Influence and Impact: Navigating the Influencer Economy from a Brand Management Perspective 16. Influencer Relations: Centring the Human within Commerce, Community and Creativity 17. Prosocial Causes: How Influencers Contribute to the Common Good 18. The Role of Influencer Intermediaries: Stabilizing and Industrializing an Emergent Industry 19. Platform Politics and Influencers: Visibility, Invisibility, Hypervisibility 20. Influencer Ethics: The Complicated Task of Navigating Moral Expectations of Followers, Brands, and Society 21. The Regulation of Influencers: Expanding the EU Regulatory Horizon beyond Disclosures Part IV: Lifeworlds 22. Fashion Influencers: Platformed Allure and the Making of an Influence Culture 23. Gaming Influencers: Between Digital Celebrity and Everyday Play 24. Advocacy Influencers: Navigating Resistance and Walking the Activism Tightrope 25. Political Influencers: Evolution, Engagement, and Impact 26. Eco-influencers: Saving Planet Earth One Audience Member at a Time 27. Parent Influencers: Reflecting, Shaping and Commodifying Parenting Advice 28. Financial Influencers: Expertise, Authenticity, and Authority Part V: Influencer Futures 29. The Kidfluencer Phenomenon: An Overview of the Production, Content, and Audience of Kidfluencers 30. Beyond the Human Touch: The Evolution, Implications, and Future of Virtual Influencers in Marketing 31. Influencing as a Profession: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Professionalization of Influencer Culture

Reviews

Author Information

Nils S. Borchers is Media and Communications Researcher at the Institute of Media Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany. Mariah L. Wellman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University, USA. Liselot Hudders is Full Professor of Marketing Ethics at Ghent University, Belgium and director of the Center for Persuasive Communication.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions