Today, many of the social media influencers have become visible through the media and channels themselves, which they now use for product placement and are well paid. Some agencies have been set up for this purpose to help them market their personal brand value. The former is actually the main difference between the famous brand faces in the tradition of the pre-digital era and the YouTube and Instagram stars in the current stage of development of social networks and other Internet platforms when it comes to advertising with the faces and personal statements of celebrities.
Therefore, the term influencer, which I don't really like very much, cannot be easily translated as "opinion leader" in all of the cases described. Because it is often no longer about opinions and (political or sociopolitical) role models as we understand them in the classic sense. The new influencers mainly influence lifestyle and purchasing decisions. Nevertheless, they represent real role models and orientation figures for many people, especially young people.
Entanglements, Confusions and Separation
But at the same time, there are interesting developments linkedin data in an area that seems closely linked to what has been described - and in which many things are quite different: the area of brand ambassadors from the companies themselves. They only have something in common with advertising influencers in that they are also visible people who advocate for a company and its products. However, they are usually not famous or even well-known, but that is precisely why they are so credible to those around them, and that is exactly what it is about.
The amount of confusion surrounding the terms “influencer,” “brand ambassador,” and “testimonials,” as well as the mixing of the different forms, for example in the question of which area of corporate communication it refers to, shows how new the whole thing still is. The terms are also used differently within companies.