#Sponsored: The Emergence of Influencer Marketing
As social media platforms grow and evolve, how are brands keeping up and staying relevant? The purpose of this honors thesis is to investigate how brands are utilizing influencer marketing on social media. To further explore this topic, thirteen inperson qualitative interviews were conducted over the span of a week with those who have influencer marketing experience and work in the advertising industry in New York City, the advertising capital of the world. These participants worked at a variety of agency sizes from small and specialized to large and international. During the 30 45 minute interviews, the discussion topics included the origin of social media influencers, along with the benefits and risks involved in working with them. Combining the insights from the qualitative interviews with secondary research, a better understanding of the emergence of influencer marketing on social media is achieved. Table of