Influencers are organizing for their moment in the political spotlight. A group of influencers has banded together forming a trade group called the American Influencer Council with a goal of legitimizing the influencers industry. The announcement came on the 10th anniversary of Social Media Day on June 30.

The American Influencer Council (AIC) is an invite-only, not-for-profit membership trade association that consists of the most prominent US-based social media influencers and digital content creators. The AIC will drive influencer marketing excellence through advocacy, standardization, digital economic growth, education, and goodwill trade events. The trade association is devoted to improving business dynamics within the influencer marketing industry. Its members are Instagrammers, TikTokers, YouTubers, bloggers, podcasters, photographers, illustrators, online personalities, creatives, and custom content thought leaders.

Founded by Qianna Smith Bruneteau, the AIC aims to show the world that influencers are neither a trend nor a gig, and that career influencers are leading a high-growth start-up industry. AIC members are at the forefront of their trade. The AIC and its Founding Members are committed to changing the narrative and advocating on behalf of both established and emerging creators in the US.

“Clickbait headlines claiming the age of influencers is over undermine the contributions of creators to the U.S. GDP. These digital media entrepreneurs are fueling the creative, storylines and success behind the influencer marketing industry projected to reach $15 billion by 2022,” says Qianna Smith Bruneteau. “The AIC and our Founding Members are right on time to usher in a new era of legitimacy for career influencers, who are American small business owners and media innovators.”

As the steward of the influencer marketing industry, the AIC aims to ensure that their members are being actively engaged in a two-way dialogue with the B2C/B2B brands, social media platforms, data/software companies and legislatures creating the opportunities, technology, research/tools, and regulations in which the AIC has a vested interest today and beyond.

“Social media and influencers continue to reinvent the communication landscape for businesses not only in the U.S., but globally,” confirms Chriselle Lim, the Founding Chairwoman of AIC, a pioneer of the fashion blog movement and owner of two start-ups. “I am a personal brand and a product developer managing two companies. Small businesses including creators are an anchor of the U.S. economy. The mission-critical work in motion at the AIC is only going to strengthen and further legitimize the efforts of the creator community in America. I’m honored to chair this endeavor.”

To deliver on its mission, the AIC has a five-pronged approach to develop consensus-based industry solutions:

1. Consumer Transparency: Lobby the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to cooperatively adhere, promote, and improve the FTC Endorsement Guide (after its incorporation, the AIC made a public comment to FTC on the Guides).
2. Standardization & Professional Ethics: Develop market-relevant operating standards to support innovation and ethical conduct. Enhance the co-branded content experience on social media platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitch, GIPHY, and Tumblr.
3. Data Science & Influencer Economy: Foster digital economy research and analysis and examine the contributions of career influencers to the US GDP.
4. Learning & Development: Provide the intellectual capital to advance digital marketing education at the university level and offer mentoring support for the next generation of influencers.
5. Public Goodwill: Create an innovation lab, industry-relevant public service announcements, host events to promote the influencer trade.

“Creativity doesn’t sleep. In the past decade, social media has transformed the way the world communicates and consumes information in every industry. Influencers are leading this revolution, and our goal is to empower our members with the resources they need to stay on the pulse of the ever-changing issues, trends and legislation that impact the influencer marketing industry in the U.S.,” says Aliza Licht, Board Co-Vice President and early social media maverick as the former Twitter personality DKNY PR GIRL.