Multifaceted Influencers: Toward a New Typology for Influencer Roles in Advertising

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an efficient advertising tool. However, their roles vis-à-vis the brands for which they advertise are changing. Far from being just simple promoters anymore they now take active part in both the product and communications development of firms. Yet in advertising research, a discussion of these new roles is absent. This article, therefore, seeks to categorize the roles influencers play in advertising collaborations by means of an empirical typology. In a netnographic study, we investigate the posts of 21 fashion influencers over a period of three years and find three main roles (spokesperson, cocreator, or co-owner) and eight subroles (for spokesperson: billboard, stylist, and ambassador; for cocreator: consultant and codesigner; for co-owner: sole proprietor, facilitator, and partner) that influencers take on in relation to brands. We contribute to theory on influencer marketing by conceptualizing influencer roles in advertising collaborations as well as categorizing these roles, thus allowing future researchers to use our typology as a conceptual foundation. Another contribution is the insight into how the dynamics of control over product and communication creation is evolving in influencer collaborations.