What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a strategy where businesses partner with influencers or creators to promote their products or services to the influencer's audience.

Influencer marketing taps into trust. Instead of speaking directly to strangers, a brand reaches people through someone they already follow and value. For small businesses, partnering with the right local or niche creators can be more affordable and effective than many traditional ads.

Partnerships take many forms, including sponsored posts, product reviews, giveaways, collab posts, affiliate links and takeovers. Payment might be money, free products, commission or a mix. Networks such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube offer tools to label branded content, and advertising rules in many countries require clear disclosure.

Start with clear goals, such as awareness or sales, and choose creators whose audience matches your customers. Give them a brief but let them use their own style, since followers can tell when content feels forced. Use unique discount codes or links to measure results.

Example

A small skincare brand sends samples to several micro-influencers in its niche and gives each one a unique discount code to share.