Human vs. Virtual Influencers in the Context of Influencer Marketing: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The advent of social media has ushered in a new age of communication, information sharing and marketing. The recent phenomenon of influencers, both human and virtual, on social media has transformed our modern society. Human influencers have led the way in using their power of influence on social platforms, providing brands with a powerful way to reach their target audience in a precise, authentic and engaging way. Virtual influencers, created digitally, are also gaining prominence on online platforms, mainly on Instagram. Created for brands, these characters generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the realistic characteristics, personalities, thoughts and feelings of real human beings. This chapter explores the similarities and differences between human influencers (HI) and virtual influencers (VI) in the context of influencer marketing, in order to understand the reasons for the success of these new imaginary characters. We will present the evolution and current context of marketing, including the appearance of human influencers and then that of virtual influencers,