Social Media Influencers (SMIs) in Context: A Literature Review (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Psychology
Children nowadays spend many hours online watching YouTube videos in which their favorite vloggers are playing games, unboxing toys, reviewing products, making jokes or just going about their daily activities. These vloggers regularly post attractive and entertaining content in the hope of building a large follower base. Although many of these vloggers are adults, the number of child vloggers is flourishing. The famous child vlogger Ryan of Ryan's World, for instance, has more than 19 million viewers and he is (at age seven) a social media influencer. The popularity of these vloggers incited advertisers to include them as a new marketing communication tool, also referred to as influencer marketing, in their marketing strategy. Accordingly, many influential vloggers now receive free products from brands in return for a mention in one of their videos and their other social media (e.g., TikTok or Instagram) and some are even paid to create a sponsored post or video and distribute it to their followers. This sponsored content appears to be highly influential and may affect young children's brand preferences. Given the limited advertising literacy skills (i.e., knowledge of advertising and skills to critically reflect on this advertising) of children under age 12, they are a vulnerable target group when it comes to persuasion. Therefore, caution is needed when implementing this marketing tactic to target them. However, research on how influencer marketing affects young children (under 12) is scarce and it is unclear how these young children can be empowered to critically cope with this fairly new form of persuasion. This paper therefore aims to shed light on why and how social media influencers have persuasive power over their young followers. The paper starts with providing insights into how and why social media influencers became a new source in advertising. We then discuss the few studies that have been conducted on influencer marketing among young children (under 12), based on a systematic literature review, and take these findings to formulate societal and policy implications and develop a future research agenda.
Impact of Influencer Marketing on Millennials: A study
2020
Over the years due to the growth of social media, people are more influenced by what they see in social media platforms, especially in fashion industry. With the help of platforms like Instagram, people are becoming their own magazine editors, sharing their personal style with millions of users over the internet. In the last few years there has been a huge growth in influencer marketing, with 94% of marketers believing in it’s effectiveness.Around 71% of the marketers believe that collaboration with the influencers is the most effective form, unlike other marketing techniques. The popularity of influencers is continuous and does not have a limited window of influence. The paper emphasizes on the impact of influencer marketing on millennials with special reference to fashion industry. Therefore, the research “Influencer Marketing and its impact on millennials: A study on Fashion Industry” is based on an exploratory study with the purpose of gaining an in-depth understanding of what f...
Instagram influencers and brand awareness: the impact on the youth followers in Singapore
Global Advances in Business Studies
Due to the proliferation of social media, such as Instagram and its influencers, brands have begun to leverage on the latter’s large following to generate brand awareness for their products. The objective of this study was to conduct an exploratory research to examine if Instagram influencers have any impact on brand awareness. The study employed the use of focus groups and online questionnaires to gather primary data about the users’ motivations behind following such influencers. Multiple regression techniques were used to calculate the significance of the independent variables of the study. It was found that followers were more likely to have a negative opinion of influencers, as compared to a positive opinion. Despite this, it was also found that they continue to follow them on Instagram due to the three main themes that were identified: an attractive influencer, a high number of followers, and nicely taken pictures. In addition, it was observed that the brand awareness that foll...
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION: RABINDRA BHARATI UNIVERSITY, 2023
In recent years, marketing trends have seen a significant rise in the use of influencers as an extension of word of mouth campaigns. With consumers increasingly turning to social media platforms, organizations are recognizing the power of influencers in shaping their purchase decisions. This study sheds light on various aspects of influencer marketing that impact consumer behaviour, using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and social learning theory by Bandura and Walters as part of a qualitative research approach. The study found that two key factors, namely attitude towards influencers and perceived behaviour control that allows for an increase in domain knowledge, had a positive impact on consumer behaviour. Interestingly, the influence of peers had no effect on consumer behaviour. In addition, other constructs such as personal relevance, inspiration, and trust also had a positive impact on behaviour, while perceived risk did not have any effect. The study also revealed that product influencer fitment was a critical criterion for consumers, as they followed specific types of influencers for different product categories. Depending on the posts shared by influencers, consumers are impacted at four levels: increase in brand awareness, subject matter expertise, brand preference, and preference. Successful influencer marketing involves identifying the right type of influencer who can offer curated advice, stories, and suggestions to create engagement with the audience. In conclusion, influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for organizations to connect with their target audiences. By understanding the key factors that impact consumer behaviour, businesses can create effective influencer marketing campaigns that drive brand awareness, preference, and loyalty. With social media platforms continuing to grow in popularity, influencer marketing is likely to become an even more significant part of the marketing landscape in the coming years.
The Role of Influencers in Adolescents' Consumer Decision-Making Process: A Sustainability Approach
The Role of Influencers in Adolescents' Consumer Decision-Making Process: A Sustainability Approach, 2022
This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of social media influencers (SMIs), namely their impact on adolescents' lives from a consumer behaviour perspective. Therefore, the main objective of this review is to present valuable information regarding social media influencers as critical players in influencing young people during their purchase decisionmaking process. The major finding is that marketers must consider online marketing strategies using social media influencers as crucial components to reach the attention of younger generations, such as generation Z. Moreover, research suggests that social media influencers have been efficiently promoting both brands and products, using target audiences to effectively enhance communication among peers. In addition, this review offers insights on the importance of encouraging SMIs to promote environmentally friendly products to reduce waste and pollution, as well as to seek to promote awareness to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, helping to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals, and in particular SDG-13, as per the 2030 climate action agenda.
International Journal of Management, Public Policy and Research
A prominent, non-commercial source of information and influence on consumers has been opinion leaders. Modern-day influencers are opinion leaders having a substantial social base and following. Influencer marketing as a term and strategy gained prominence with the advent and growth of social media marketing. Influencers exert their influence on the citizens / netizens of social platforms. Two-thirds of consumers use ad blockers but are easily amenable to accepting advice from influencers1. An attempt has been made through this research work to gain and provide insights into existing research works exploring the strategic use of social media influencers. Many studies were empirical and used survey research, an experimental or observational design, content analysis or interview methodology.A few studies examined how the influencers lead to behavioural changes in customers and viewers. Most studies prominently addressed influencers as a part of commercial marketing strategy. Different ...
Influencers Marketing: A Dart on the Psychology of Consumers Through Social Media
What is Marketing? Previous research scholars have described marketing in several ways. Marketing is the process of scheduling and performing the ideation, valuing, advancement and circulation of concepts, products, and services to generate interactions that gratify personal and organisational aims. (Cronje, et al 2007:283, Bennett, 1995).To meet the varying needs and satisfy consumer's interests associated with the products and services, several executional tasks and decisions are associated with promotional decisions, in a volatile business environment Abstract This chapter is designed to help marketers broaden their horizons to attract customers through influencer marketing. The literature incorporated in the chapterprovide information about consumer buying behaviour through inspiration from different people i.e., Influencers. The chapter followed qualitative investigation with the support of content analysis and systematic literature review. Protocol based questions were created around the following social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Quora. The information in this chapter will help marketers gain exposure on specific social media platforms based on the industry or market in which they operate or market. To reach the right consumers in the right places, it is critical to use the right platform. Understanding this aspect will help marketers generate leads by creating low-cost campaigns.
Influencer Marketing and Behavioral Outcomes in Social Media: Systematic Literature Review
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, 2022
Influencer Marketing (also called Influence Marketing) is a communication method responding to major issues that brands and communication agencies encounter when communicating with their targets on social networks. Given the continual change in communication methods, brands must be creative in developing effective processes capable of reaching consumers who are averse to intrusive advertisements. Going through an influencer gives the campaign credibility with a more authentic and closer message, relayed by an opinion leader. The purpose of this paper is to review the academic literature on influencer marketing and its behavioral outcomes on social media to highlight the current state of the art, the key research themes and the implications for management research and practice. A systematic literature review of academic research on social media influencer marketing has been conducted to gather, examine and synthesize studies related to behavioral outcomes that result from thesis communication methods. By following a review protocol based on both automatic and manual search for the Scopus and Web of science database, all relevant studies on influencer marketing were identified and analyzed. Following the results identified by a critical conceptualization of the concept of influence marketing. The main key research topics covered were categorized and divided into four main areas which were further analyzed: The influence of SMIs communication strategy on user/consumer behavior; Influencer-Follower interpersonal relationship; Social media endorsements and the perception of SMIs as human brands; Celebrity level of SMIs and their congruence with brand endorsements are the main themes that have been mostly identified and discussed in our study.
From Influencer to Brand : How Social Media Influencers Become Brands
2020
The purpose of this research was to examine how influencers build brands using their social media following. The research also gives an understanding of marketing, social media marketing, targeting audience, influencers and finally branding. Academic sources were used in gathering information in the beforementioned fields. Social media has been a powerful tool for various brands. By collaborating with influencers who have thousands or even millions of followers on their social media accounts brands can reach their target market easily. Influencer marketing has become a very popular strategy especially for cosmetics brands. Over the course of the years, influencers have started to develop their own brand. This thesis is a descriptive marketing research study whereby the researcher explored the thesis question through a case study of a cosmetics company founded by a social media influencer as well as an in-depth interview of a micro influencer. The conclusion of this research relied on the case study and the results section, comparing the two. The case company's journey is compared with a model created by Sonali K. Shah and Mary Tripsas that demonstrates how end-users become entrepreneurs. Another core finding that became evident during research was the similarity in mannerisms of influencers' interaction with their followers. Comparing several case companies founded by influencers and identifying if there is a reoccurring pattern is a recommendation for further research on the topic. Keywords social media, influencer, influencer marketing, branding Contents 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Marketing 2.1.1 Marketing Process 2.2 Social Media Marketing 2.2.1 To Listen is to Learn 2.2.2 Strategy and Plan 2.2.3 Goals and Objectives 2.2.4 Measuring Success 2.3 Targeting Audience 2.3.1 Consumer Behavior 2.3.2 The Data 2.3.3 Targeting in social media marketing 2.4 Influencer 2.4.1 Influencer Marketing 2.4.2 User-generated Content 2.4.3 Instagram 2.5 Branding 2.5.1 Branding Defined 2.5.2 Branding in a Digital Age 2.5.3 Personal Branding 2.5.4 User-Generated Branding 2.5.5 Creating a Brand 3 Methodology 3.1.1 Research Methods 3.1.2 Research Design 3.1.3 Limitations 4 Case Study 4.1.1 History and Overview 4.1.2 Growing Huda Beauty 4.1.3 Building the Brand 4.1.4 Maintaining the Brand 5 Results 5.1 Respondent's Background 5.2 Journey as an influencer 5.3 Growing and Audience 5.4 Observation 5.5 Delivering the Brand 6 Conclusion References Appendices Appendix 1. Thesis Interview Questions