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ELITE Vol.1, Issue 32, June 2021 ﺔﻴﺑﺮ #

INFLUENCERS: From a Skill to a Job Title

Malak Ashraf, Second Level, Economics Major

If you were asked who an “influencer” is, what However, the definition of “influencer” as a career
would come to your mind? made it to dictionaries no earlier than mid-late 2010s
“A person who has the ability to affect people’s implying a late official acknowledgment yet the rising
actions, choices, opinions…etc.” or “A person with attention this word was gaining in reference to social
many followers on social media that promotes media made using it in its definition a necessity. Thus,
something they have considerable knowledge about we see dictionaries defining it now as:
(usually a product)”. Well, we can’t be sure which “A person or thing that influences
will be your answer now. However, decades ago it somebody/something, especially a person with the
would have definitely been the first one. Not ability to influence potential buyers of a product or
because the idea of “influencer-marketing” (the term service by recommending it on social media.” (Oxford
used to refer to this type of marketing) didn’t exist – dictionary)
in fact many sources argue that its appearance can “A person who is able to generate interest in
be dated back to centuries ago- but rather because something (such as a consumer product) by posting
what shed light on it and even created the idea of it about it on social media.” (Merriam- Webster, 2019)
as a separate career was the growing importance of
social media throughout the last decade. A Job Title Created From An Abstract
So, starting off with the meaning of “influencer”, Meaning
how is it actually defined? So, it’s clear that we witnessed the development of the
Just like the answer to the previously posed abstract meaning of having influence over other
question, the official definition of the word in people in a certain field to a job, one that is currently
dictionaries evolved by time as well. The word having an influx of candidates especially young
“influencer” used to be defined as: people. In fact, when influencer-marketing first
“Someone who affects or changes the way that other appeared, it used to depend on celebrities with already
people behave” (Cambridge Dictionary) wide popularity that attracted brands to promoting
"One who exerts influence: a person who inspires or their products/services in campaigns featuring these
guides the actions of others” (Merriam-Webster) celebrities, whether actors/actresses, fashion icons,

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