Is beauty always good? Effects of visual presentation of Influencer’s aesthetic labor on brand purchase intention

Aesthetic labor plays a crucial role in social media influencer marketing. Based on the theories of aesthetic labor and social media influencers, this study aims to identify the psychological mechanism and boundary conditions of the effects of visual presentation of influencers’ aesthetic labor on consumers’ brand purchase intention. The results of five studies indicate that the visual presentation of influencers’ aesthetic labor and consumers’ regulatory focus have an interactive effect on brand purchase intention. Specifically, promotion-focused consumers (vs. prevention-focused consumers) are more willing to purchase brands endorsed by influencers with a high-level (vs. low-level) visual presentation of aesthetic labor through para-social relationships. Furthermore, the homophily between influencers and consumers moderates this interaction effect. These findings have significant managerial implications for influencers and other retailing marketers to leverage aesthetic labor to win consumers’ purchase intention towards related brands.     

Antecedents and outcomes of digital influencer endorsement: An exploratory study

The advertising and marketing literature have established that celebrity endorsements constitute an effective way to enhance attitudes toward brands and increase purchase intents. However, there are no relevant studies on digital influencers. This study addresses the research gap by examining the effect of digital influencers' attractiveness and the effect of the congruence between a digital influencer and a brand on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. By applying structural equation modeling to a sample of 307 followers of digital influencers, a model was tested and group analysis was performed for two categories (“entertainment & video games” and “fashion & beauty”). The results show that both brand attitudes and purchase intentions are influenced by the digital influencer's attractiveness (which includes both likeability and familiarity) and by the congruence between the digital influencer and the brand. This study makes several contributions to both theory and practice, which are highlighted in this paper.     

The effects of influencer type,regulatory focus,and perceived authenticity on consumers' purchase intention

Companies often use influencers to promote their products, and many celebrities have expanded their activities on social media as influencers. In this work, we classified influencers into celebrity and noncelebrity groups and analyzed how they affect consumers' purchase intention. We also analyzed how psychological variables, such as regulatory focus and perceived authenticity affect this process. We conducted three studies with consumers in China, South Korea, and the United States who participated in each between-subjects experiment. The results showed that people have higher purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers than those recommended by celebrity influencers. We also found that regulatory focus moderates the relationship between the influencer type and consumers' purchase intention. Purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers were stronger among prevention-focused consumers. However, no significant difference in the effect of influencer type was found among promotion-focused consumers. We found that perceived authenticity mediated this moderating effect. The results of this study provide effective marketing strategies and implications for companies when they use influencers as a tool for marketing activities.     

Marketing through Instagram influencers: the impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude

ABSTRACT

Findings of two experimental studies show that Instagram influencers with high numbers of followers are found more likeable, partly because they are considered more popular. Important, only in limited cases, perceptions of popularity induced by the influencer's number of followers increase the influencer's perceived opinion leadership. However, if the influencer follows very few accounts him-/herself, this can negatively impact popular influencers’ likeability. Also, cooperating with influencers with high numbers of followers might not be the best marketing choice for promoting divergent products, as this decreases the brand's perceived uniqueness and consequently brand attitudes.     

How,why, and when disclosure type matters for influencer marketing

Consumers’ changing media consumption behaviors and skepticism toward traditional forms of advertising have prompted the growth of influencer marketing. Even as regulatory authorities call on brands and influencers to disclose the posts as advertising, no consistent guidelines exist. The distinct effects of self-generated versus platform-initiated disclosures also remain unclear, nor has research addressed the interplay of key influencer characteristics and marketing disclosures. This article reports on findings from the first academic field study of influencer marketing disclosures, as well as three experimental studies, which indicate that disclosure is a double-edged sword. When provided through a platform-initiated branded content tool, disclosure consistently exerts the strongest effect on perceptions of advertising, negatively relating to influencer trustworthiness and consumer engagement. The effects of disclosure type also depend on the number of followers and number of previously endorsed products (i.e., influencer characteristics). Yet, consumers also express appreciation for transparency when influencers disclose posts as advertising, which increases perceived trustworthiness of the influencer and engagement with the post. The implications of these findings should inform choices by public policy makers, brand managers, and influencers.     

Building influencers' credibility on Instagram: Effects on followers’ attitudes and behavioral responses toward the influencer

Collaborations between influencers and brands have become increasingly popular in recent years. Previous research has mainly focused on influencer marketing as a commercial action designed to enhance followers' perceptions and reactions toward promoted brands, ignoring the consequences of these promotional actions on influencers' credibility and their relationships with their followers. This research sheds light on the topic by exploring how influencers' promotional actions affect their credibility, and followers' attitudes and behavioral responses toward the influencer (i.e., to continue following, imitate, and recommend them to other users). A study addressed to the followers of a popular influencer was carried out to test the research model. The results showed that perceived influencer-product congruence positively affects followers' perceptions of the credibility of, and attitude toward, influencers, and negatively affects perceptions of paid communication. Followers' perceptions that influencers have been paid to take part in promotional activities harms their credibility; however, credibility is essential for generating positive attitudes toward the influencer. Finally, both perceived credibility and attitude foster positive behavioral responses toward the influencer; influencers must enhance these factors to retain their influencing capacity. This research provides managerial implications for influencers and brands that can help enhance followers’ experiences when exposed to promotions on social media.     

Social media influencers: The formation and effects of affective factors during online interactions

Social media influencers emerged as powerful sources in affecting and guiding consumers' purchase decisions through self-generated content and online interactions with their followers. A large number of studies have so far focused on cognitive aspects such as perceived credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise of these influencers. This study aims to further advance the existing literature on social media influencer marketing from an affective perspective, with a focus on the emotional bonds generated by online interactions between the influencer and their followers. Based on the interpersonal process model of intimacy and theories in celebrity endorsement and social media influencer marketing, it examines the impact of self-disclosure and perceived responsiveness on familiarity and intimacy, which, in turn, affect purchase decision. An online survey was conducted with 304 social media users in Mainland China who have followed social media influencers. The results highlight the formation of two affective factors, namely, familiarity and intimacy, via self-disclosure and perceived responsiveness. Theoretically, this study provides a fresh perspective to better understand the endorser effect outside the regular set of cognitive factors. Marketing practitioners and companies can follow the suggestions of this study to select more effective social media influencers for their marketing campaign, and to build closer relationships with their target customers.     

Judging a book by its cover? The role of unconventional appearance on social media influencers effectiveness

Social media influencers (SMI) have gained undeniable importance as brands endorsers. However, although their credibility can be affected by the way they look, no known studies have applied appearance stereotypes to SMI's perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, particularly when that appearance is unconventional (e.g., use of body tattoos). Therefore, building on extant endorsement research and the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), the study examines how the use of tattoos impacts SMI's credibility, attractiveness, and effectiveness. Based on a sample of 260 young adults, a 2 x 2 x 2 (SMI gender x tattoo x domain) experimental design was conducted. Results indicate a tattoo premium effect, regardless of SMI's domain. By extending the SCM framework to the influencer marketing literature, this study contributes to both research fields, while providing valuable insights to brands and SMI.     

Can you sense without being human? Comparing virtual and human influencers endorsement effectiveness

As AI increasingly permeates digital spaces, virtual influencers are operating in similar ways as human influencers. However, given their recent introduction, the effectiveness of virtual influencers is unclear, and there is limited managerial guidance regarding when and how they should be used. Across four studies, including an empirical investigation using secondary data analysis and three scenario-based experiments spanning two cultural contexts, we find that virtual influencers are less effective than human influencers as endorsers in terms of brand attitude and purchase intention. Furthermore, we identify perceived sensory capability and credibility as the serial mechanism. Lastly, we introduce the salience of sensory cues within the ad as a theoretically important and managerially relevant moderator, which attenuates the negative effect of virtual influencers. This research extends virtual influencer literature by focusing on business-related outcomes. Our theoretical model highlights essential differences in advertising outcomes between human and virtual influencers and provides important managerial implications.     

Influencers' “organic” persuasion through electronic word of mouth: A case of sincerity over brains and beauty

Despite the growing importance of influencers' word-of-mouth through audiovisual content, little is known about its effect on consumers' brand evaluation, purchase intentions, and decisions. Drawing on Ohanian's source credibility framework, we conducted two studies across different influencers, product categories, and respondents' gender and tested the hypotheses using covariance-based and partial least square structural equation modeling. Study 1 focuses on a mega-influencer of cosmetic and beauty brands and predominantly involves female respondents. The findings show that the influencer's attractiveness affects perceptions about source expertise and source trustworthiness but not brand attitude, while source expertise predicts source trustworthiness, and both mediate the effect of source attractiveness on brand attitude. In contrast, brand attitude predicts purchase intention and mediates the impact of source credibility dimensions. Study 2 focuses on various influencers of hedonic products (lifestyle, fashion, and beauty). The results confirm the influence of source attractiveness and expertise on source trustworthiness, which ultimately predicts consumer purchase decisions. This study reveals the interdependencies between different source constructs, contributing to source credibility theory. Furthermore, we show that the effect of source dimensions that are relevant in the celebrity endorsement literature, such as source attractiveness, do not directly influence consumers' intentions and decisions in the context of influencers' electronic word of mouth. Finally, the two studies confirm that only influencers perceived as honest and sincere can influence consumers' purchase decisions.     

Effects of human versus virtual human influencers on the appearance anxiety of social media users

The association between social media use and an individual's appearance dissatisfaction has generated broad scholarly interests. This study explored the specific appearance dissatisfaction resulting from the effects of social media influencer images on the appearance anxiety of users, in particular the differences between human influencers (HIs) and emerging virtual influencers (VIs). Women (n = 178) aged 18–35 were randomly assigned to HI images, VI images, and scenic images (control group) and were asked to answer related questionnaires. The results showed that images of both HI and VI induced significantly higher appearance anxiety than in the control group. The participants who were exposed to VI images reported significantly lower appearance anxiety than those who were exposed to HI images. Participants' state appearance comparison played a mediating role between the images of social media influencers and appearance anxiety. In addition, participants who viewed VI images reported significantly lower state appearance comparison than those who viewed HI images. Insights for influencer marketing practice were further discussed based on the results.     

Virtual influencers as an emerging marketing theory: A systematic literature review

Over the past few years, the popularity of influencers on social media (SM) has increased, and influencer marketing has become an important element in companies' marketing strategies. This has resulted in significant interest from researchers and practitioners; consequently, the number of publications devoted to the topic of influencers and influencer marketing has risen. Simultaneously, computer-generated avatars and virtual influencers (VIs), including those using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, have begun to emerge and gain popularity in the SM space. Thus far, research on these topics has been limited, with few studies examining the issue from different perspectives. Given the growing potential of VIs' inclusion in the consumer decision-making process, and this being a developing field, a comprehensive and critical review of existing research on this subject is urgently needed. In response, this study consolidates the current state of research on virtual, AI, and computer-generated influencers. A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted to identify key themes and dominant concepts. An analysis of 35 articles provides an understanding of this phenomenon, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the appeal of VIs and their role in shaping consumer attitudes and behaviors. Based on the analysis, the main thematic streams from the study are presented. Further, research gaps have been identified, and recommendations made for future research directions.     

Followers' engagement with instagram influencers: The role of influencers’ content and engagement strategy

Influencer marketing has emerged as an effective approach for brands to connect with customers through social media influencers. Although influencer marketing has attracted increased interest from marketing researchers in recent years, relatively little is known about influencers' content and engagement strategy and its links to followers' engagement behavior. The present study addresses this gap by examining how measures of influencers' content and engagement strategy (i.e., follower count, followee count, content volume, and domains of interest) are associated with followers' engagement behavior on Instagram both independently and interactively. The study leverages a unique dataset of Instagram influencers compiled by scraping an online influencer database to test its hypotheses. The findings indicate that follower count and content volume are negatively associated with follower engagement, while followee count is positively associated with follower engagement. However, these main effects are modified by influencers' domains of interest. The findings contribute to the literature by illuminating how elements of influencers' content and engagement strategy contribute to followers’ engagement behavior on Instagram.     

Role of customer perceived brand ethicality in inducing engagement in online brand communities

In recent times, ethical consumerism has motivated firms to behave ethically to garner various benefits for their brands. More specifically, firms have become more conscious of consumers' perceptions of brand ethicality. Thus, recent research on this topic attempts to explore the factors that can lead to the formation of perceptions of brand ethicality and its favorable outcomes for the brand. This research contributes to the existing literature on brand ethicality by examining the role of perceived brand marketing communications in engendering perceptions of brand ethicality among consumers. Further, this research explores online brand community engagement as the outcome of perceived brand ethicality. The study's results based on the analysis of 397 responses exhibit that various elements of brand communications tend to generate favorable perceptions of brand ethicality. Such perceptions of the brand ethicality further induce an inclination towards engaging with online communities of such brands. The study offers specific implications for academicians and practitioners.     

Prepurchase Determinants of Brand Avoidance: The Moderating Role of Country-of-Origin Familiarity

ABSTRACT

This report provides an overview of the concept of prepurchase brand avoidance, by identifying the motivating factors in a developing nation. Additionally, the authors aim to explain the negative effect of country-of-origin familiarity leading to brand avoidance. Relationships between constructs (undesired self, negative social influence, perceived animosity, and perceived risk) were hypothesized and data were collected via an online survey, where 286 respondents provided an evaluation for the brands they avoided. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling via AMOS. To date, anti-consumption studies have taken place in developed countries where high agency and abundant choice enable brand avoidance to occur; the authors find that brand avoidance also exists in developing countries, and for all categories of brands, undesired self-congruence is the key determinant for prepurchase brand avoidance. The study did not use any particular product categories. Results need to be expanded and confirmed with other product categories in other emergent markets. Developing nations constitute the fastest growing markets in the world, and knowledge of the factors motivating brand avoidance in these contexts are a competitive advantage (e.g., undesired self is one important variable to focus on to make brands acceptable in such markets). This report provides new insights into consumer judgments of prepurchase brand avoidance in an emerging market.     

Disclosure of Vlog Advertising Targeted to Children

Influencers can disclose vlog advertising by implementing a platform-generated disclosure or by generating their own disclosure. This study aims to investigate whether and how these two types of disclosures differentially affect children's responses toward the sponsored content and the influencer. To do so, a two (platform-generated [PG] disclosure: no PG disclosure versus PG disclosure) by three (influencer-generated [IG] disclosure: no IG disclosure versus no commercial interference disclosure versus commercial interference disclosure) between-subjects experimental study was conducted among 190 children (aged ten to twelve). The results show that both types of disclosures increased children's recognition of vlog advertising; however, children's advertising literacy (i.e. their understanding of influencer marketing and skepticism toward the ad) was less activated when the influencer specifically indicated that there was no commercial interference of the brand. In addition, besides being more beneficial for influencers (by not negatively affecting children's evaluations of the influencer), an IG disclosure also showed to be more favorable for brands, as it increased brand effects among children, whereas a PG disclosure decreased these brand effects.     

Response to social media influencers: Consumer dispositions as drivers

Brand managers use social media influencers (SMIs) to influence consumers' attitudes and intentions. However, there is still ambiguity about the mechanisms by which SMIs influence their followers, as well as the metrics by which their performance can be evaluated. The existing literature has restricted itself to consumers' purchase intentions in order to evaluate SMIs influence and is silent on the role of the consumers' individual characteristics in SMIs influence mechanisms. Based on these research gaps and to provide a clearer picture of the SMI influence mechanism to practitioners, the present study assesses the role of consumer characteristics such as their social media attachment (SMA), parasocial relationships with social media influencer (PSR-SMIs), and susceptibility to SMIs influence (SSMII) in driving consumer response to SMIs influence through SMI compliance intentions. Study 1 found the sequential mediational role of PSR-SMIs and SSMII in the SMA-SMI compliance intentions relationship. Study 2 found the same sequential mediation and demonstrated how SMI skepticism negatively moderates the relationship between PSR-SMIs and SMI compliance intentions. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that this skepticism variable is being explored in the SMI literature.     

International Advertising Strategies by NIC Multinationals: The Case of a Korean Firm

Managers of new brands seek to leverage positive WOM and establish a critical mass of consumers who interact with their brands on social network sites (SNSs). Effective selection of ‘seeds’, or influencers, on SNSs, who will recommend the product and leverage the power of their social networks to influence other consumers is key to organic growth. This research examines the role of an influencer’s activity on a social network website (network size, membership duration, share-of-posts), brand message source (marketergenerated versus member-generated), and recipient type (SNS member versus nonmember) on an influencer’s decision to recommend a new brand and the recipient’s decision to make a referral visit. Empirical analyses of clickstream data from SNSs at a commercial website show that marketer- and consumer-generated brand ads differ in their impact on recommending propensity for high share-of-posts and long-term influencers, and for member and non-member recipients, which has implications for referral management.     

Antecedents and consequences of brand attachment: A literature review and research agenda

Consumers develop powerful connections with brands and they feel a strong bond or attachment to favourite brands that can lead to re-purchase behaviour, reduced price sensitivity and increased customer loyalty. Gaining greater in-depth knowledge of brand attachment offers a powerful means of understanding and facilitates modelling the mechanisms for achieving greater profitability and increased revenue for firms. The purpose of this paper is first to map the antecedents, mediators and consequences of brand attachment; second to provide scholars with a map of prior research as a starting point for future research; and third to offer insights to extend understanding of how consumers relate to and engage with brands. The antecedents to brand attachment are categorized under five headings: brand-related concepts; self-brand connection and connection; congruence and the self; emotional drivers of brand attachment; and service-related concepts. The consequences of brand attachment are categorized as: brand loyalty and switching resistance; purchase intentions and willingness to pay; and word of mouth. The review and future research agenda utilize the Theory, Context, Characteristics, Methodology structure: (T) theory and concepts; (C) context and industry sectors; (C) characteristics (antecedents, mediators and consequences); (M) methods used in prior research. Recommendations focus on: social media marketing; social media marketing influencers and psychological ownership.     

Anti-consumption and brand avoidance

This article focuses on a particular form of anti-consumption; brand avoidance. Specifically, it explores why people may avoid some brands, even when their financial circumstances allow them the option to purchase. The authors use qualitative data to develop a conceptual framework that helps clarify why consumers avoid certain brands. This study reveals three types of brand avoidance: experiential, identity and moral brand avoidance. Experiential brand avoidance occurs because of negative first hand consumption experiences that lead to unmet expectations. Identity avoidance develops when the brand image is symbolically incongruent with the individual's identity. Moral avoidance arises when the consumer's ideological beliefs clash with certain brand values or associations, particularly when the consumer is concerned about the negative impact of a brand on society. Finally, this study highlights potential strategies that managers could implement to deal with brand avoidance.