The Value of Influencer Marketing for Business: A Bibliometric Analysis and Managerial Implications

Abstract

Influencer marketing appears to be an effective and cost-efficient marketing tool, as it is often not perceived by consumers as advertising and guarantees a wide reach to very engaged audiences. Many businesses harness social media influencers to promote their brands to target audiences. However, influencer marketing has mainly been adopted through a process of trial and error without in-depth insight into how social media influencers should be used strategically as a distinct tool in the marketing mix. In recent years, academic research on influencer marketing has been growing rapidly and offers a deeper insight into how influencer marketing affects customers. The current article deploys bibliometric and thematic content analyses to provide an overview of the current influencer marketing research and identifies the leading journals, authors, publications, and main research themes in this domain. The article concludes with recommendations for future research and businesses when employing influencer marketing.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71771045, 72071035), and ‘Double First-Class’ Disciplines Construction Project of Northeastern University (02050021940101). The first author was supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council (201806080084), and the second author has the title of postdoctoral fellow fundamental research of the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO.3E0.2015.0035.01).

Notes on contributors

Guoquan Ye

Guoquan Ye (Master degree, Northeastern University) is a doctoral student, School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China.

Liselot Hudders

Liselot Hudders (Ph.D., Ghent University) is an associate professor and Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) postdoctoral fellow, Department of Communication Sciences and Department of Marketing, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Steffi De Jans

Steffi De Jans (Ph.D., Ghent University), Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Marijke De Veirman

Marijke De Veirman (Ph.D., Ghent University) is a lecturer and researcher at the Artevelde University of Applied Sciences and Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.