Influencer marketing has a language problem. Let’s solve it together.

Amplifying influencer-created content has always been an important part of the work we do in influencer marketing. Making our client’s influencer marketing investment work harder, we can target influencer content to additional social users who match the client’s audience.

More specifically, this happens when the influencer grants permission for the brand to essentially turn their post into an ad, but maintain the “source” of the post as the influencer. You may have noticed in your own social media feed a post by an influencer you had not previously selected to follow. The post was paid for and targeted to you by the post’s sponsor, not by the influencer. This tactic is highly effective when executed well.

The industry (agencies, platforms, brands and influencers alike) has long referred to the common tactic as “whitelisting.” (And no, whitelisting is not the same as boosting, but that’s for another conversation.)

So, recently when True MOSAIC (FleishmanHillard’s diversity, equity and inclusion practice) members shared a list of outdated words and phrases used in the marketing communications industry that perpetuate bias, exclusion and inequity, “whitelisting” stood out to those of us in the influencer marketing practice.