An influencer is a person – or a company or digital avatar – who mainly uses social media to communicate with followers and who, in collaborations with brands, can influence the attitudes of that audience. That is how ICC’s marketing code defines the term, and it stresses that the definition also covers people with relatively few followers and those who call themselves creators or brand ambassadors. For a brand, an influencer is best understood as a media channel with a face: a trusted person who owns an audience.

This article defines the person and the role. For the marketing discipline itself – how campaigns are planned, run and measured – see our guide What Is Influencer Marketing?

What exactly makes someone an influencer?

There is no official threshold. Mediemyndigheten, the Swedish media authority, writes that the industry is particularly hard to map because there are no clear boundaries for who counts as an influencer, and that influencers are today also called creators. In practice, three things set an influencer apart: an audience that follows them by choice, content they create themselves, and a relationship with that audience built on trust.

For brands, this means an influencer combines three things that are otherwise bought separately: content production, media reach and a personal recommendation.

How many influencers are there in Sweden?

According to Mediemyndigheten’s report Influencers på den svenska mediemarknaden, there were an estimated 30,000 influencers in Sweden with at least 5,000 followers, based on a search in the influencer database Kolsquare. The authority points out that the real number is higher, since not all influencers are registered in the database.

The audience is large too. The same report, citing the Flash Eurobarometer survey on social media, says 43 percent of people in Sweden follow influencers. Among 15–24-year-olds the figure is 79 percent, while among those over 55 it is 15 percent. And 84 percent of the population uses social media every day. The market, Mediemyndigheten concludes, consists of a few very large and financially strong players and a large number of smaller, more niche creators.

What types of influencers are there?

• Celebrities: people known from TV, music, sport or entertainment who also have strong social channels. They bring broad recognition and trust across generations.

• Macro influencers: profiles who have built large audiences on social media itself, often within lifestyle, humour, family or fashion.

• Micro influencers: smaller audiences with a clear niche – food, training, interior design – and often a close relationship with their followers.

• Nano influencers: very small audiences, close to friends-and-community level, useful for seeding and local word of mouth.

• Creators: a term that emphasises content production. It is often used interchangeably with influencer, and ICC’s definition explicitly covers those who use another title.

• UGC creators: people who produce content for the brand’s own channels and ads, usually without posting it to their own audience. See our article on UGC creators.

Follower limits for each tier vary between platforms and agencies, so treat them as guidelines. What matters more is fit with the goal: Mediemyndigheten notes that advertisers seek both broad reach with the largest profiles and clearly defined audiences with smaller, niche influencers. Our guide Micro vs Nano vs Celebrity Influencers goes deeper into the choice.

How do influencers make money?

• Paid collaborations: according to Mediemyndigheten, sponsored collaborations are the most important source of income, especially on Instagram but also on TikTok and YouTube.

• Platform payouts: YouTube shares ad revenue with creators in its Partner Program – normally 55 percent on longer videos – and TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program requires at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the past 30 days.

• Affiliate and commission: affiliate networks track which influencer drove a click or a purchase and handle the commission, and TikTok Shop lets creators earn commission on products shown in videos.

• Own businesses: the largest influencers often run their own brands and products, production companies and appearances in traditional media.

Mediemyndigheten also cites an IRM report for IAB Sverige that estimated the Swedish influencer market at SEK 1.1 billion in 2022, of which 72 percent was sponsorship. Instagram accounted for 61 percent of sponsorship revenue, TikTok 21 percent and YouTube 14 percent. Influencers with 10,000–100,000 followers took 48 percent of sponsorship revenue and those with more than 100,000 took 44 percent. The authority notes that the figures should be read with caution because the data is not comprehensive.

How do brands work with influencers?

• Sponsored posts and campaigns: the influencer creates and publishes content about the brand on their own channels.

• Ambassadorships: long-term partnerships where the person becomes a recurring face of the brand.

• Content for the media mix: the influencer produces content that the brand also uses in ads, on its website and in other channels – which requires clearly agreed usage rights.

• Whitelisting: the brand runs ads through the influencer’s account, for example with Instagram partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads.

• Events, seeding and PR: invitations, product gifting and launches that create content and conversation.

Organic posts work well with big names, whose audiences are large and loyal. But organic reach is unpredictable, and paid media is what takes the best content further and deeper into the target group – the right age, region and interests, several times. That is why the strongest collaborations heading into 2027 plan rights and media budget from the start.

What rules apply when brands work with influencers?

Konsumentverket stresses that the company that hires an influencer has the main responsibility for the marketing, and that this responsibility cannot be contracted away. The advertising label must be understood at a quick glance, and serious violations can lead to fines of up to 4 percent of the company’s annual turnover. Under the Swedish act on names and images in advertising, a person’s name or image may not be used in marketing without their consent – which matters as soon as influencer content is reused outside the original post.

How does Collabri work with influencers?

Collabri is an influencer and talent agency in Stockholm that handles the whole chain: strategy, talent, contracts and rights, production, whitelisting and paid media, and reporting. In Coca-Cola Loves Tacos, three celebrity duos – Pernilla Wahlgren and Sofia Wistam, Carolina Gynning and Carina Berg, and Mia Skäringer and Sanna Persson – fronted a 360-degree activation that reached more than 4.5 million views and 6,300 interactions. We work across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

Key takeaways

• An influencer is someone who mainly communicates with followers on social media and can influence their attitudes – regardless of follower count or title.

• Mediemyndigheten estimates around 30,000 influencers in Sweden with at least 5,000 followers, and 43 percent of people in Sweden follow influencers.

• Types range from celebrities and macro influencers to micro, nano and UGC creators – choose by goal, not by follower count alone.

• Paid collaborations are influencers’ main source of income, alongside platform payouts, commission and own businesses.

• The brand is responsible for clear labelling, and consent is needed to use a person’s name or image in advertising.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an influencer and a creator?

Mostly emphasis. Creator puts the focus on content production, influencer on the relationship with an audience. ICC’s definition covers both, so the same rules apply whatever the title.

How many followers do you need to be an influencer?

There is no fixed limit. ICC’s definition expressly includes people with relatively few followers, and Mediemyndigheten used 5,000 followers only as a threshold for its estimate.

Is a celebrity an influencer?

When a celebrity uses social media to reach followers and collaborates with brands there, yes. Celebrities often combine broad recognition with trust built over many years.

How should a brand choose an influencer?

Start with the goal and the audience, then look at fit, credibility and how the content can be used in paid media. Our guide How to Find the Right Influencers covers the process.

Want help finding the right influencers for your brand? Contact Collabri at info@collabri.se. You can also browse our talents and client projects.

Read also

• What Is Influencer Marketing? A Complete Guide for 2027

• Social Media Agency or Influencer Agency? What Each Does and When You Need Which

• Influencers in Sweden 2027: Who Swedes Follow and How Brands Should Work With Them

Sources

• Mediemyndigheten – Influencers på den svenska mediemarknaden (2026): https://mediemyndigheten.se/rapporter-och-analyser/influencers-pa-den-svenska-mediemarknaden/

• ICC Sverige – ICC:s regler för reklam och marknadskommunikation (2024): https://iccwbo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/ICC_2024_MarketingCode_Swedish.pdf

• Konsumentverket – Influencers reklaminlägg – regler för företag: https://www.konsumentverket.se/marknadsratt-foretag/influencers-reklaminlagg-regler-for-foretag/

• Sveriges riksdag – Lag (1978:800) om namn och bild i reklam (1978): https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-1978800-om-namn-och-bild-i-reklam_sfs-1978-800/

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.