Influence

In the context of social media, influence is the power or ability of an account, individual, or entity to affect others within their online community or larger audience. Influencers do this through creating content and sharing it with their followers. While this can certainly be done on platforms with text-based content, this is most often associated with platforms where the sharing of visual content reigns supreme.

Influence is often regarded as being related to the number of eyes that are on content when it is shared—some argue that it is even more pronounced when content is shared late at night, when fewer distractions pull a person's attention in different directions. Engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares, saves, retweets, etc. ) are the lifeblood of the influencer economy; at the very least, the amount and kind of attention content garners can indicate its likelihood of being passed around and used as a building block in social conversations.

And conversation is just what many brands through sponsorships are hoping for when it comes to influencer content.