Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

An interview with author Danny Brown about the rise, and future, of influence marketing. Trust continues to be a serious issue, and deficiency, for brands of all categories. The 2013 edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer notes that, while trust in business has risen slightly, it is still at a lowly 58%. Globally, trust in business leaders, the traditional top-down influencers, is much lower among the general population – just 18%. Edelman attributes this partly to profound and repeated ethical and moral lapses in business, but also to the rise of other influencers – employees, activists and everyday people – empowered a the multitude of social media and technological opportunities. They describe it as a new “Diamond of influence.” The business of selling brands is starting to refer to it as Influencer Marketing....