Antecedents and outcomes of digital influencer endorsement: An exploratory study

Abstract

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.

Social media influencers: A route to brand engagement for their followers

“…Viewers of user-generated content also perceived it to be authentic and useful; the content was described as an unbiased and objective source of information (Mir & Rehman, 2013). Beyond credibility, Torres et al (2019) determined that both the attractiveness of the SMI, and the congruence between the SMI and the brand being endorsed, influenced perceived effectiveness of the SMI as a brand endorser. Similarly, Ki and Kim (2019) found that attractive and prestigious content posted by SMIs on Instagram led to these SMIs being evaluated as taste and opinion leaders, and increased consumers' desire to mimic the SMIs.…”

“…They have established credibility with their audiences because of knowledge and expertize on a particular topic. Torres et al (2019) Digital influencers who have built sizable social networks of followers and who are on-line opinion leaders across multiple roles.…”

“…30). Although marketers have myriad different options in implementing DCM, they often turn to SMIs to build brand engagement (Ki & Kim, 2019; Torres et al, 2019; Voorveld, 2019). Because “DCM is based on the premise of a genuine, sincere desire to add value to the consumer's life in some relevant way (e.g,.…”

“…Voorveld (2019, pp. 21) asserts that “academic research is scant” and many important questions about the effectiveness of SMIs remain (Ki & Kim, 2019; Torres et al, 2019). In terms of methodological issues, Eigenraam et al (2018) note that few studies on digital engagement practices take a consumer perspective, and Voorveld (2019, pp.…”

The nurse influencer: A concept synthesis and analysis

“…For example, pharmaceutical organizations use key online influencers to build engaging content and educate followers, amplifying their brand or ideas 13 . Nurse influencers promote the profession of nursing, elevate important health topics, and dispel misinformation, 14,15 by interacting through blogging, vlogging, or sharing pictures to display accessibility and likability 16 . As such, translating personality and expertise to social media is crucial to finding success as an online nurse influencer.…”