Christine Sinn, Researcher/Author
December 2022

Impact of Social Media Influencer Marketing for Business HR and Recruitment

Social media is becoming a ubiquitous and pervasive cross-cultural online space for people to share personal stories, disseminate information, and/or spread ideas and trends. Research conducted by Elihu Katz and his colleagues proposes that people use forms of media (like social media) to gratify a person’s social needs. People can engage with social media as a platform for mass communication to interact with others, archive common core memories, express themselves, and share common interests. Users and influencers have used social media to network with others, advertise to customers, and share creative content.

The increasing prevalence of social media shows no signs of decline. Depending on their level of involvement, the title of a social media influencer can range from posting some viral content to becoming a full-time job. The influencer marketing agency Mediakix estimates there are now up to 37.8 million influencers, all dedicated on various levels to influencing people’s thoughts, decisions, and actions. With many people choosing to be full-time influencers, the future of work and how people make decisions is changing. Not only are people gratifying certain desires on social media, but they’re taking ideas, morals, beliefs, and recommendations with them.

This is relevant, as IPSOS (a global market research and consulting firm) claims that only 4% of Americans think the advertising and marketing industry behaves with integrity. Businesses are now partnering with micro-influencers, influencers with fewer followers than celebrities but better audience engagement, to combat society’s increasing “ad-blindness.” These micro-influencers are building online platforms based on relatability, connection, and sharing opinions with other people. The Gen-Z “everyday influencer” poses nuances for businesses looking to attract, hire, and retain the emerging Generation-Z workforce.

This study investigates how influencers on TikTok are organically reaching and impacting their audience, as well as how this alters the architecture of people’s decision-making and the future of work. To answer these questions, the researcher selected a small representative sample of TikTok influencers who were making a significant impact with organic outreach and conducted structured interviews about growth strategy. The researcher then conducted a thematic analysis to locate common themes, opinions, and concerns influencers had about their role in people’s decision-making process and future work.

The research results suggest that TikTok provides a fast-paced platform with a unique algorithm and mission focused on trying new content. TikTok offers low barriers of entry and an emphasis on creativity over perfection that helps influencers go viral through their organic and specific messages unparalleled by traditional mass-market advertisements. On top of this, influencers are actively bringing a fresher, more organic marketing personality to their work industries. Both the platform and the personality work together to bring an organic and dynamic exchange of ideas and personalities to the world.

Influencers can become access points for businesses to target their audience and advertising budgets more effectively. Despite these benefits, relevant concerns arise for businesses navigating the fast-paced social media landscape. Questions that emerge from this research include:

• How can businesses ensure their partnerships with influencers remain focused, organic, and beneficial in this fast-paced economy?
• Will social media attract more diverse or fickle workers, and in what ways will social media alter the employer/employee relationship?
• Where does social media fit in the realm of hiring and retaining workers?
• How will Gen-Z workers’ social media platforms unintentionally reflect on companies, and to what extent should companies regulate such online actions?
• Can a company stay competitive if they ignore social media, and how can businesses harness the unwieldy power of social media to their favor?