Meaning & use
influencer
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person with a large online following who can shape what others buy, wear, or believe, often paid by brands to promote products.
Grammar: Often used with a platform: a fashion influencer, an Instagram influencer.
Patterns
- an influencer on a platform
- influencer marketing
The brand paid an influencer to post about its new sneakers.
A travel influencer shared photos of the hotel with her followers.
Many teenagers follow a favorite influencer for tips on makeup.
nouncountable
Any person or thing that has an effect on how others think or act.
Grammar: A broader, older use: a major influencer on policy.
Patterns
- an influencer of something
- a key influencer
She was a strong influencer on the committee's decision.
Parents are often the biggest influencers on a child's habits.
The mayor is a key influencer in the debate.
Word forms
| plural | influencers |
|---|
Common combinations
- social media influencer
- A social media influencer promoted the new cafe.
- influencer marketing
- Influencer marketing now makes up a big part of the budget.
- fashion influencer
- The fashion influencer wore the jacket in her video.
- become an influencer
- He wants to become an influencer and share his cooking.
- paid influencer
- Readers are told when a post is by a paid influencer.
- influencer campaign
- The influencer campaign reached millions of viewers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- content creator
- Content creator stresses making videos or posts, and the person need not have much influence over buyers.
- blogger
- Blogger refers to someone who writes a blog and is older and narrower than influencer.
- tastemaker
- Tastemaker names someone who sets trends in a field and does not need an online audience.
- opinion leader
- Opinion leader is a formal, academic term for someone who shapes public views.
Opposites
Word family
- influence verb
- to have an effect on someone or something
- influence noun
- the power to affect people or events
- influential adjective
- having great power to affect others
- influenceable adjective
- easily affected by others (rare)
Commonly confused: influencer or influenza?
influencer vs influenza
Influenza is the flu, a disease, and shares the same root as influence but has no connection to social media.
Practice
The sportswear company hired a well-known ___ to promote its shoes to her millions of followers.
Choose one answer.
An influencer has a large following and is paid to promote products. The other roles do not promote goods to followers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “influencer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.