The Routledge Companion to Social Media Influencers

1. Influencers as the Iconic Figures of the Social Media Age: An Introduction to the Routledge Companion to Social Media Influencers

Nils S. Borchers, Mariah L. Wellman, and Liselot Hudders

2. Defining Social Media Influencers: When Legacy Media hits Convergence Culture

Nils S. Borchers and Mariah L. Wellman

Part I: Influencers

3. Toward an Influencer Production Studies: Between-the-Line Labor in the Creator Economy

Jessica Maddox

4. Expert Influencers: Understanding Authority and Credibility in the Influencer Industry

Mariah L. Wellman

5. Influencer 'Authenticity' and 'Self-Branding': Influencer Studies within, between and beyond the Margins

Zoe Hurley

6. Influencer Professionalism in Review: Rethinking the Amateur/Professional Binary through Emerging Benchmarks

Faye Mercier and Crystal Abidin

7. Influencer Labor: Will Work Incessantly Against Uncertainty

Ana Jorge and Ana Margarida Coelho

8. Tastemakers of the Platform Age: The Cultural and Economic Work of Social Media Influencers

Arturo Arriagada

Part II: Followers

9. Endorse, Engage, Influence: Direct Effects of Influencer Communication

Delia Cristina Balaban and Meda Mucundorfeanu

10. Behind the Filter: Unintended Social and Psychological Impacts of Influencer Marketing

Michelle Bouw, Emmelyn Croes, Annemarie Nanne, Sara Pabian, Alexander P. Schouten, and Ini Vanwesenbeeck

11. Follower-Influencer Relationships: Moving Beyond the Parasocial Relationship

Chen Lou, Xuan Zhou, and Yi Wu

12. Beyond Promotion: Trust as the Heart of Authentic Influencer-Follower Relationship            

Khalid Alharbi and Bassam Alghanim

13. Sponsored! Disclosures of Influencer Marketing to Enhance Transparency and Advertising Literacy

Eva van Reijmersdal, Sophie Boerman, and Priska Breves

14. Fandom and Influencers: Social Media Influencers through the Eyes of their Fans

Hanan Ezzat

Part III: Influencer Industry

15. Influence and Impact: Navigating the Influencer Economy from a Brand Management Perspective

Kineta Hung and Jisu Huh

16. Influencer Relations: Centring the Human within Commerce, Community and Creativity

Catherine Archer

17. Prosocial Causes: How Influencers Contribute to the Common Good

Essi Pöyry and Meri Frig

18. The Role of Influencer Intermediaries: Stabilizing and Industrializing an Emergent Industry 

Ryan Stoldt

19. Platform Politics and Influencers: Visibility, Invisibility, Hypervisibility

Lucia Bainotti

20. Influencer Ethics: The Complicated Task of Navigating Moral Expectations of Followers, Brands, and Society

Nils S. Borchers and Nina Grgurić Čop

21. The Regulation of Influencers: Expanding the EU Regulatory Horizon beyond Disclosures

Taylor Annabell and Catalina Goanta

Part IV: Lifeworlds

22. Fashion Influencers: Platformed Allure and the Making of an Influence Culture

Marco Pedroni

23. Gaming Influencers: Between Digital Celebrity and Everyday Play

Mark R. Johnson

24. Advocacy Influencers: Navigating Resistance and Walking the Activism Tightrope

Tom Divon

25. Political Influencers: Evolution, Engagement, and Impact

Hanna Reinikainen and Johanna Arnesson

26. Eco-influencers: Saving Planet Earth One Audience Member at a Time

Aya Aboelenien and Ghalia Shamayleh

27. Parent Influencers: Reflecting, Shaping and Commodifying Parenting Advice

Emma Beuckels

28. Financial Influencers: Expertise, Authenticity, and Authority

Jacob Ørmen and Andreas Gregersen

Part V: Influencer Futures

29. The Kidfluencer Phenomenon: An Overview of the Production, Content, and Audience of Kidfluencers

Yana Degroote and Liselot Hudders

30. Beyond the Human Touch: The Evolution, Implications, and Future of Virtual Influencers in Marketing

Marianny Jessica de Brito Silva, Anne Karolinne da Silva Santos, and Patricia de Oliveira Campos

31. Influencing as a Profession: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Professionalization of Influencer Culture

Changyan Li, Liselot Hudders, Crystal Abidin, Nils S. Borchers, Brooke Erin Duffy, Hanan Ezzat, Thaysa Costa Do Nascimento, and WeiMing Ye

Biography

Nils S. Borchers is Media and Communications Researcher at the Institute of Media Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany.

Mariah L. Wellman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University, USA.

Liselot Hudders is Full Professor of Marketing Ethics at Ghent University, Belgium and director of the Center for Persuasive Communication.