THE ROLE OF DIGITAL INFLUENCERS IN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/revgeov17n1-078Keywords:
Integrated Marketing Communication, Digital Influencers, Influencer Marketing, Strategic CommunicationAbstract
The growth of influencer marketing has transformed contemporary brand communication strategies, expanding the role of digital influencers as mediators in the relationships between organizations and consumers. Simultaneously, Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) has consolidated itself as a strategic approach oriented towards the coherence, consistency, and integration of messages across different points of contact with the public. Despite the practical relevance of this intersection, it is observed that the scientific literature still lacks a theoretical systematization that explicitly articulates the role of digital influencers within IMC. Given this scenario, this study aims to analyze how academic production has addressed the relationship between digital influencers and Integrated Marketing Communication, through a systematic literature review. The research was conducted in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, following the PRISMA protocol guidelines. After applying the refinement criteria and content analysis, the final corpus consisted of three studies that explicitly address the integration between digital influencers and IMC. The results highlight a historical scarcity of research on the topic and indicate that, although influencers are widely used in practice, their conceptual incorporation into Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) still occurs in a fragmented and predominantly instrumental way. However, the recent emergence of more strategic approaches stands out, especially the proposition of frameworks that position influencers as central actors in the integrated communication system. This study contributes to theoretical advancement by systematizing existing knowledge and pointing to directions for future research on the strategic integration of influencer marketing into Integrated Marketing Communication.
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