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When social media influencers (SMIs) describe their experiences of mental health problems, they contribute to the circulation of representations of mental health. The aim of this article is to analyse the ways of talking about mental health problems that are made accessible to a wider audience through the YouTube videos published by four Swedish female SMIs. Our analysis shows that much content related to mental health contains traces of, and contributes to discourses informed by, positive psychology. Mostly, mental health problems are represented as manageable, if only the individual assumes responsibility for her mental wellbeing, but a few videos also contain displays of negativity and resignation. In addition to avoiding association with the unattractiveness associated with negativity, the four SMIs navigate expectations placed on them to encourage confidence and self-love while at the same time expressing modesty. The result is representations of mental health that are multi-layered and complex., Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [2020-00140], Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

When social media influencers (SMIs) describe their experiences of mental health problems, they contribute to the circulation of representations of mental health. The aim of this article is to analyse the ways of talking about mental health problems that are made accessible to a wider audience through the YouTube videos published by four Swedish female SMIs. Our analysis shows that much content related to mental health contains traces of, and contributes to discourses informed by, positive psychology. Mostly, mental health problems are represented as manageable, if only the individual assumes responsibility for her mental wellbeing, but a few videos also contain displays of negativity and resignation. In addition to avoiding association with the unattractiveness associated with negativity, the four SMIs navigate expectations placed on them to encourage confidence and self-love while at the same time expressing modesty. The result is representations of mental health that are multi-layered and complex., Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [2020-00140], Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

When social media influencers (SMIs) describe their experiences of mental health problems, they contribute to the circulation of representations of mental health. The aim of this article is to analyse the ways of talking about mental health problems that are made accessible to a wider audience through the YouTube videos published by four Swedish female SMIs. Our analysis shows that much content related to mental health contains traces of, and contributes to discourses informed by, positive psychology. Mostly, mental health problems are represented as manageable, if only the individual assumes responsibility for her mental wellbeing, but a few videos also contain displays of negativity and resignation. In addition to avoiding association with the unattractiveness associated with negativity, the four SMIs navigate expectations placed on them to encourage confidence and self-love while at the same time expressing modesty. The result is representations of mental health that are multi-layered and complex., Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [2020-00140], Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

In recent years there has been an increase in the usage of social media. This trend coincided with the increase in promotion via influencers and with overall growth in public interest in health and fitness. This has led to an opportunity for new marketing strategies, namely influencer marketing. Through empirical observations we have identified early adopters of the influencer marketing strategy growing exponentially, especially in the sports wear fashion industry where relatively young companies have taken market share from bigger companies. Literature has shown influencer marketing to be beneficial to target customer segments efficiently and cheaper compared to traditional means of marketing. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine how companies in the sportswear fashion industry use influencer marketing, how influencer marketing affects the consumers buying process and post-purchase behavior. By analyzing various factors of influencer marketing and the customer journey we have gained valuable insights into the interaction dynamics between companies, influencer and consumers and into what constitutes a successful influencer marketing campaign. In order to conduct this study, a theoretical framework has been designed centered on theories about influencer marketing, consumers' journey and brands. The study has used a qualitative method where 8 semi-structured in-depth interviews with industry representatives have been carried out. The respondents come from four different sportswear fashion brands and are well versed in this subject. The authors have considered all ethical aspects and made sure that non-identifying information is included that can be traced or linked back to the respondents. The interviews were conducted via Zoom and over the phone and the authors chose to do a thematic analysis to answer the research question: How do brands use social media influencers to affect consumers' journey within the sportswear fashion? The results from this study ind

With growing social media usage, social media influencers’ (SMIs) are getting more popular within the realm of social media marketing and are widely used by brands. Previous studies have shown SMI marketing influences consumers’ impulsive buying behavior in prominent ways such as by SMI-generated content, trust in SMI and SMI credibility, SMIs’ emotional appeal, SMI visual attractiveness and SMI expertise. Thus, to further elaborate on current knowledge, the purpose of this study is to describe the influence of social media influencers’ on consumers' impulsive buying behavior. A qualitative study including features of both a cross-sectional and a case study approach was conducted. It was found that SMIs’ individual characteristics and personal connections with consumers as well as SMI-generated content and SMIs’ demonstrated knowledge enhance trust and further influence impulsive buying behavior (IBB). Further, key patterns identified the interplay between SMI appearance, inspiration and trust showing that visually attractive SMIs increase trust, thus influencing impulsive buying behavior among consumers. Findings emphasize how characteristics influence each other to influence IBB as well as, how each characteristic recognized, independently influences IBB among consumers.

Social media influencers (SMIS) are playing an increasingly dominant role in marketing, especially towards Gen Z and Gen Alpha. This study explores how these generations perceive SMIS and how it influences their consumer behavior, purchasing decisions, and lifestyle choices. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are particularly susceptible to influencer marketing due to their digital nativity and reliance on social media for information and entertainment. The study defines three key characteristics of SMIS: reach, resonance, and relevance. Reach refers to the number of people a SMI can Reach with their content. Resonance refers to the level of connection and engagement an influencer has with their audience. Relevance refers to how closely aligned a SMI content is with a brand and its target audience. The study highlights the implications of these findings for marketers, influencers, and scholars. Marketers can leverage influencer Marketing to reach their target audience and influence consumer Behavior by choosing SMIS with high reach, relevance, and resonance. Influencers can learn how to build deeper connections with their audience and create content that resonates with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Scholars can use this research to understand how generational dynamics interact with technology and inform future studies on consumer behavior and digital influence. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the growing importance of SMIS in the digital age and their impact on consumer behavior, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

When social media influencers (SMIs) describe their experiences of mental health problems, they contribute to the circulation of representations of mental health. The aim of this article is to analyse the ways of talking about mental health problems that are made accessible to a wider audience through the YouTube videos published by four Swedish female SMIs. Our analysis shows that much content related to mental health contains traces of, and contributes to discourses informed by, positive psychology. Mostly, mental health problems are represented as manageable, if only the individual assumes responsibility for her mental wellbeing, but a few videos also contain displays of negativity and resignation. In addition to avoiding association with the unattractiveness associated with negativity, the four SMIs navigate expectations placed on them to encourage confidence and self-love while at the same time expressing modesty. The result is representations of mental health that are multi-layered and complex., Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [2020-00140], Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

Social media influencers (SMIS) are playing an increasingly dominant role in marketing, especially towards Gen Z and Gen Alpha. This study explores how these generations perceive SMIS and how it influences their consumer behavior, purchasing decisions, and lifestyle choices. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are particularly susceptible to influencer marketing due to their digital nativity and reliance on social media for information and entertainment. The study defines three key characteristics of SMIS: reach, resonance, and relevance. Reach refers to the number of people a SMI can Reach with their content. Resonance refers to the level of connection and engagement an influencer has with their audience. Relevance refers to how closely aligned a SMI content is with a brand and its target audience. The study highlights the implications of these findings for marketers, influencers, and scholars. Marketers can leverage influencer Marketing to reach their target audience and influence consumer Behavior by choosing SMIS with high reach, relevance, and resonance. Influencers can learn how to build deeper connections with their audience and create content that resonates with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Scholars can use this research to understand how generational dynamics interact with technology and inform future studies on consumer behavior and digital influence. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the growing importance of SMIS in the digital age and their impact on consumer behavior, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

When social media influencers (SMIs) describe their experiences of mental health problems, they contribute to the circulation of representations of mental health. The aim of this article is to analyse the ways of talking about mental health problems that are made accessible to a wider audience through the YouTube videos published by four Swedish female SMIs. Our analysis shows that much content related to mental health contains traces of, and contributes to discourses informed by, positive psychology. Mostly, mental health problems are represented as manageable, if only the individual assumes responsibility for her mental wellbeing, but a few videos also contain displays of negativity and resignation. In addition to avoiding association with the unattractiveness associated with negativity, the four SMIs navigate expectations placed on them to encourage confidence and self-love while at the same time expressing modesty. The result is representations of mental health that are multi-layered and complex., Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [2020-00140], Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

In recent years there has been an increase in the usage of social media. This trend coincided with the increase in promotion via influencers and with overall growth in public interest in health and fitness. This has led to an opportunity for new marketing strategies, namely influencer marketing. Through empirical observations we have identified early adopters of the influencer marketing strategy growing exponentially, especially in the sports wear fashion industry where relatively young companies have taken market share from bigger companies. Literature has shown influencer marketing to be beneficial to target customer segments efficiently and cheaper compared to traditional means of marketing. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine how companies in the sportswear fashion industry use influencer marketing, how influencer marketing affects the consumers buying process and post-purchase behavior. By analyzing various factors of influencer marketing and the customer journey we have gained valuable insights into the interaction dynamics between companies, influencer and consumers and into what constitutes a successful influencer marketing campaign. In order to conduct this study, a theoretical framework has been designed centered on theories about influencer marketing, consumers' journey and brands. The study has used a qualitative method where 8 semi-structured in-depth interviews with industry representatives have been carried out. The respondents come from four different sportswear fashion brands and are well versed in this subject. The authors have considered all ethical aspects and made sure that non-identifying information is included that can be traced or linked back to the respondents. The interviews were conducted via Zoom and over the phone and the authors chose to do a thematic analysis to answer the research question: How do brands use social media influencers to affect consumers' journey within the sportswear fashion? The results from this study ind

With growing social media usage, social media influencers’ (SMIs) are getting more popular within the realm of social media marketing and are widely used by brands. Previous studies have shown SMI marketing influences consumers’ impulsive buying behavior in prominent ways such as by SMI-generated content, trust in SMI and SMI credibility, SMIs’ emotional appeal, SMI visual attractiveness and SMI expertise. Thus, to further elaborate on current knowledge, the purpose of this study is to describe the influence of social media influencers’ on consumers' impulsive buying behavior. A qualitative study including features of both a cross-sectional and a case study approach was conducted. It was found that SMIs’ individual characteristics and personal connections with consumers as well as SMI-generated content and SMIs’ demonstrated knowledge enhance trust and further influence impulsive buying behavior (IBB). Further, key patterns identified the interplay between SMI appearance, inspiration and trust showing that visually attractive SMIs increase trust, thus influencing impulsive buying behavior among consumers. Findings emphasize how characteristics influence each other to influence IBB as well as, how each characteristic recognized, independently influences IBB among consumers.

Social media influencers (SMIs) who publish content on mental health play a vital role in the lives of teenage girls. To examine what kind of mental health advice SMIs give, we interviewed teenage girls and identified SMIs that regularly post content on mental health. The indexing of their YouTube videos (n=234) shows that the advice includes calls to self-improvement; work on the body; and seeking help. Our analysis demonstrates that working strategically to uphold their fame, the SMIs balance the roles of expert and friend; turn consumption into mental health advice; and gain legitimacy via collaborations with health organisations. The logic specific to social media requires an additional layer in the interpretation of mental health content in SMI videos. While reciprocity and support between SMI and follower are enabled, the inclusion of such content is also strategically beneficial for the SMI as it contributes to increase her perceived authenticity., Apps and downs: Psykisk hälsa och tonårsflickors förståelse av budskapet i sociala medier

Social media use has become an integral part of adolescents’ daily lives and social routines. Along with the rise of social media use, there has also been a concurrent increase in mental health concerns among adolescent populations. Recent research and mainstream media have been concerned with the rise in self-diagnosing and the medicalization of normative behavior on social media sites, which has been of concern for adolescents particularly when the content comes from social media influencers. The current set of studies sought to examine the nature of user-generated content on social media about mental health topics and to investigate the effects of exposure to such content among at-risk adolescent populations who struggle with self-regulation and problematic social media use. Specifically, in Study 1 we conducted a content analysis of YouTube videos from social media influencers on four main mental health concerns among adolescents: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. In Study and Study 3, we conducted national surveys among adolescents ages 14 to 16 to assess their self-regulation skills, problematic social media use, frequency of social media use, exposure to mental health content, and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety, depression, and self-reported mental health). To conclude, in Study 4 we experimentally tested through an online survey experiment the immediate effects of exposure to a video on mental health produced by a social media influencer on facets of adolescent mental health. The results of our four studies revealed that adolescents with poor self-regulation and those who have higher rates of problematic social media use are more likely to experience poor mental health outcomes, particularly when they spend more time on social media and follow mental health content. Mental health content on social media tends to be produced by white females, and adolescents who identified as female demonstrated

With the emergence of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, social media influencers (SMIs) have been a growing source of information in the health and wellness industry. Through their creative, informative, and appealing content, SMIs have the innate ability to reach and attain a large following on social media platforms. The purpose of this study is to ascertain an understanding of the persuasive tactics employed by SMIs in the creation and dissemination of information in the health and wellness industry. Using the theoretical framework of Aristotle’s Rhetorical Appeals and Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm, this qualitative study seeks to examine the key persuasive tactics used by SMIs in the health and wellness industry. Using content analysis, the social media content of SMIs was collected and analyzed to find emerging themes related to the rhetorical appeals and narration. In addition, a comparative analysis of the persuasive tactics used by SMIs and subject-matter experts (SMEs) was conducted. Findings showed that SMIs rely heavily on the appeals that allowed them to present themselves as credible, relatable, and similar to their followers; SMEs rely strongly on the logos appeal using technical language, memes, and textual graphics to educate the audience. Through this study, using the findings of the content and comparative analysis, a list of best practices of key persuasive tactics has been established to enable SMEs to be more effective in encouraging online users to adopt health information.

This study examines the influence of credibility aspects, mainly social media influencers' attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, and how they affect consumers' purchasing intention and brand attitude. The primary objective of this dissertation is to ascertain how these dimensions of credibility affect purchase intention and brand attitude. The study gathered primary data through an online survey of 430 Filipino consumers who are active on influencer platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Regression analysis was employed to unravel the relationships among the variables. The study revealed that expertise emerged as the most influential factor in predicting purchase intentions, while attractiveness and trustworthiness demonstrated positive but statistically insignificant effects. Similarly, expertise and trustworthiness emerged as the most influential factors in predicting brand attitude, while attractiveness exhibited a slight negative effect that was not statistically significant. The study underscores the critical role of expertise-based and trustworthy endorsements in shaping consumer purchase decisions and brand perceptions. The findings advocate for marketers to prioritize collaborations with influencers perceived as experts and emphasize building and maintaining trustworthiness in influencer marketing campaigns. The study also revealed that attractiveness had minimal effect on consumer behavior, suggesting a shift in consumer preferences toward more substantive qualities in influencers.

Where children’s television once ruled supreme as a vehicle for sales of kids’ brands, the marketing of children’s toys now often hinges on having the right social media influencer, many of them children themselves (Verdon). As Forbes reported in 2021, the pandemic saw an increase in children spending more time online, many following their favourite influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. . . .

This study aimed to investigate content depicted by social media influencers and examine how its engagement aligns with the theoretical components of social comparison theory, providing an understanding of how adolescents view self-image. The parasocial relationships between social media influencers and adolescent followers on Instagram were investigated by exploring how the relationship dynamic is challenged with paid endorsements, envy by followers, and strategic communication. Incorporating content analysis with thematic analysis from the most popular social media influencers on Instagram, findings revealed a relationship between hashtag usage and the adolescent creation of self-image micro realities. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation between social media influencer-follower engagement, hashtag use, and self-image micro realities. Guided by the social comparison theory, it was hypothesized that content from social media influencers would depict themes that contain appearance-focused content, are congruent with an unrealistic self-image for adolescents, and use metadata tags or hashtags that directly correlate to adolescent followers and self-body images. The research found that adolescent followers create self-image micro realities because of engaging content on Instagram.

This study examines the influence of credibility aspects, mainly social media influencers' attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, and how they affect consumers' purchasing intention and brand attitude. The primary objective of this dissertation is to ascertain how these dimensions of credibility affect purchase intention and brand attitude. The study gathered primary data through an online survey of 430 Filipino consumers who are active on influencer platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Regression analysis was employed to unravel the relationships among the variables. The study revealed that expertise emerged as the most influential factor in predicting purchase intentions, while attractiveness and trustworthiness demonstrated positive but statistically insignificant effects. Similarly, expertise and trustworthiness emerged as the most influential factors in predicting brand attitude, while attractiveness exhibited a slight negative effect that was not statistically significant. The study underscores the critical role of expertise-based and trustworthy endorsements in shaping consumer purchase decisions and brand perceptions. The findings advocate for marketers to prioritize collaborations with influencers perceived as experts and emphasize building and maintaining trustworthiness in influencer marketing campaigns. The study also revealed that attractiveness had minimal effect on consumer behavior, suggesting a shift in consumer preferences toward more substantive qualities in influencers.

With the number of digital display advertisements increasing, consumers have become accustomed to ignoring or skipping internet ads. Previous research has investigated the use of different types of human images (like celebrities and social media influencers) in advertising to improve advertising effectiveness. However, existing studies neglect the role of normal people and examine the presence of human images in advertising in general. This study aims to contribute new knowledge about marketing communication. Using the AIDA model and the theory of planned behaviour, the study proposes a new model to explore factors that could influence consumers’ purchase intention. The analysis confirms that there is a significant interaction effect between ‘attention’, ‘interest’, ‘attitude’, and ‘social norm’ with purchase intention. Additionally, an AB testing experiment approach is applied to test the effect of human images on consumers' purchase intention. The experiment suggests that human images appearing in advertising will positively influence the above four factors as well as consumers’ purchase intention. The result from the experiment also provides evidence that for consumers who can identify the social media influencer shown in the ad, ads that include social media influencer images could lead consumers to generate higher purchase intent than ads that include normal human images.

Background: Social media has become a big part of our society. One platform that has had remarkable growth in popularity is Instagram. In Sweden, Instagram had 5.75 million users in 2021. The evolution of Instagram created an opportunity for people to establish new careers as social media influencers (SMIs). Today, SMIs are professional content marketers who monetize their large following making them dependent on being able to influence their followers. Purpose: This paper aims to explore how SMIs can influence their followers on Instagram. A macro and micro perspective will be combined to create a broad and holistic understanding of the phenomenon. The study leverages on two theories; institutional theory and relationship marketing. Furthermore, the empirical context of this study is the SMI Bianca Ingrosso. Together, the theories and empirical data will address the research question. Method: This is qualitative research that includes a netnography and 12 semi-structured interviews. The findings are analyzed with a thematic analysis approach. Conclusion: Based on the frame of reference and empirical findings, a conceptual framework has been developed that gives a clear overview of the research subject. The authors have identified that SMIs can influence followers by acting according to Instagram’s logic, and they can exploit their legitimacy to increase their influence. Furthermore, SMIs make sure to maintain and build on their relationship with their followers by engaging in relationship marketing.

Background: Social media marketing has grown rapidly in recent years and has become a standard tool for marketers. As a result, companies use social media influencers (SMIs) to reach their target audiences. One important aspect of influencer marketing is the relational aspect. Followers who exert parasocial relationship (PSR) with SMIs are more prone to respond positively to influencer marketing and the persuasion tactics put forward by companies and SMIs. It has therefore become crucial to understand how PSR and followers' persuasion knowledge affect followers' perception of transparency in sponsored posts. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore parasocial relationships and persuasion knowledge impact on followers’ perceived transparency of social media influencers. Methodology: This abductive thesis used a qualitative strategy for the collection of empirical data. A combination of four focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used, leading to a total of 17 participants. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis, resulting in three major themes and nine sub-themes. Findings: We found that followers’ perceived transparency has direct relationships with PSR and persuasion knowledge, respectively. However, there was no direct link between PSR and persuasion knowledge. Instead, this relationship was indirect through perceived transparency. Furthermore, how these concepts affect each other determines how followers perceive and respond to sponsored content. Value: This thesis demonstrates the effectiveness perceived transparency has in SMIs sponsored content. Furthermore, we also extend the view and the meaning of PSR and persuasion knowledge, in response to perceived transparency. Lastly, this thesis illustrates PSR and persuasion knowledge’s effect on perceived transparency and how this ends in followers' perception of sponsored content.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the effects of social media influencers' credibilitydimensions (attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise) on consumer behavior (purchase intention and attitude towards the brand) while considering the followers' loyalty as the mediating variable in the fashion industry.Theoretical approach: The proposed conceptual model of the study is based on assumptions of source credibility theory and theoretical reasonings provided in the previous literature related to social media influencer marketing.Design/methodology: Quantitative research design is used and data is collected through selfreported questionnaires. The population of the study consists of social media users who follow social media influencers on different social media platforms. Findings – Based on data collection from 225 Pakistani respondents, the analysis of the study indicates a positive impact of the three social media influencer credibility dimensions on the purchase intention, and followers’ attitude towards the endorsed brands. Moreover, influencers’ credibility positively impacts followers’ loyalty to the influencers. In addition to the direct effects, followers’ loyalty towards the influencers partially mediated (1) the relationship between influencers’ credibility and purchase intention, as well as (2) the relationship betweeninfluencers’ credibility and followers’ attitude towards the brand. Practical implications – The findings of the thesis provide implications for businesses and marketers to understand the role of credible social media influencers in shaping consumer behavior and it also answers the question of how they influence it.Originality/value – This study adds to the influencer marketing literature by investigating the mediating role of followers’ loyalty in between the relationship of influencer’s credibility and purchase intention of followers as well as their attitude towards the brand.

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an important part of consumers' lives leading marketing research to extensively study their effectiveness as marketing tool. Unfortunately, SMI’s practice is often regarded negatively as SMIs tend to depict an idealized life that psycho-socially affects followers. Therefore, studies that analyse the factors that could reconcile social and commercial concerns are needed. This research investigates further SMIs’ impact on consumers’ well-being. Relying on two studies, we demonstrate that an SMI’s genuine visual presentation in posts may increase followers’ well-being more than a non-genuine presentation, without affecting SMI’s commercial influence. We then explain the process through social comparisons. Last, we investigate the role of gender in the process. As such, we offer theoretical, managerial, and societal contributions that could accord commercial and societal perspectives of the influencer marketing practice.

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an important part of consumers' lives leading marketing research to extensively study their effectiveness as marketing tool. Unfortunately, SMI’s practice is often regarded negatively as SMIs tend to depict an idealized life that psycho-socially affects followers. Therefore, studies that analyse the factors that could reconcile social and commercial concerns are needed. This research investigates further SMIs’ impact on consumers’ well-being. Relying on two studies, we demonstrate that an SMI’s genuine visual presentation in posts may increase followers’ well-being more than a non-genuine presentation, without affecting SMI’s commercial influence. We then explain the process through social comparisons. Last, we investigate the role of gender in the process. As such, we offer theoretical, managerial, and societal contributions that could accord commercial and societal perspectives of the influencer marketing practice.

This research aims to investigate the impact of social media influencer’s credibility dimensions (Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, and Expertise), in shaping consumer's behaviour (Purchasing intention of customers and customer's attitude towards the brand). This proposed theoretical framework is based on social learning theory and the theoretical implications of the previous literature which is related to social media influencer marketing. For this empirical study, the data has been collected from Pakistani consumers who are following social media influencers who share and endorse products related to the fashion industry. Data is collected from 149 individuals out of which 135 were valid respondents. Results reveal that social media influencer's credibility dimension (Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, and Expertise) positively influence the customer’s attitude towards the brands as well as the purchase intentions of the customers. In addition, the study has significance for social media influencers in the fashion and style sector in terms of understanding the factors of followers' devotion to them and the noticeable effects of followers' allegiance on their behaviour. This study adds to the literature on social media influencer marketing by demonstrating the importance of follower’s perspective towards the social media influencers. Previous studies lack in providing the Pakistan perspective related to social media influencermarketing and this research attempts to fulfill that gap. Another important aspect of this study is that the pictures of influencers have been used to conduct this research.

Social media has become one of the primary modes of communication throughout the world, especially in developed countries. Nearly every user of social media in its various forms or applications has an audience he or she can influence and a set of influencers from which he or she receives information. U.S. Psychological Operations (PSYOP) personnel focus on influencing foreign target audiences in their audience’s own language but have been slow to adapt to the use of social media as a means of influence. Drawing from principles used in influencer marketing, we ask, How can U.S. PSYOP forces and their partners best identify social media influencers with whom they can partner in their effort to change the behavior of foreign target audiences? Through this study, we identified the main factors for influence on social media using both quantitative and qualitative analysis and developed a decision-making tool to identify the key communicators, in particular social media influencers, who can elicit the desired behavioral change in a target audience. The seven-category influencer scorecard we created provides a low-tech, situationally adaptable method for identifying influencers with whom U.S. PSYOP can partner to execute a PSYOP series., Major, United States Army, Major, United States Army, Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

This research aims to investigate the impact of social media influencer’s credibility dimensions (Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, and Expertise), in shaping consumer's behaviour (Purchasing intention of customers and customer's attitude towards the brand). This proposed theoretical framework is based on social learning theory and the theoretical implications of the previous literature which is related to social media influencer marketing. For this empirical study, the data has been collected from Pakistani consumers who are following social media influencers who share and endorse products related to the fashion industry. Data is collected from 149 individuals out of which 135 were valid respondents. Results reveal that social media influencer's credibility dimension (Trustworthiness, Attractiveness, and Expertise) positively influence the customer’s attitude towards the brands as well as the purchase intentions of the customers. In addition, the study has significance for social media influencers in the fashion and style sector in terms of understanding the factors of followers' devotion to them and the noticeable effects of followers' allegiance on their behaviour. This study adds to the literature on social media influencer marketing by demonstrating the importance of follower’s perspective towards the social media influencers. Previous studies lack in providing the Pakistan perspective related to social media influencermarketing and this research attempts to fulfill that gap. Another important aspect of this study is that the pictures of influencers have been used to conduct this research.

Background: Social media has become a big part of our society. One platform that has had remarkable growth in popularity is Instagram. In Sweden, Instagram had 5.75 million users in 2021. The evolution of Instagram created an opportunity for people to establish new careers as social media influencers (SMIs). Today, SMIs are professional content marketers who monetize their large following making them dependent on being able to influence their followers. Purpose: This paper aims to explore how SMIs can influence their followers on Instagram. A macro and micro perspective will be combined to create a broad and holistic understanding of the phenomenon. The study leverages on two theories; institutional theory and relationship marketing. Furthermore, the empirical context of this study is the SMI Bianca Ingrosso. Together, the theories and empirical data will address the research question. Method: This is qualitative research that includes a netnography and 12 semi-structured interviews. The findings are analyzed with a thematic analysis approach. Conclusion: Based on the frame of reference and empirical findings, a conceptual framework has been developed that gives a clear overview of the research subject. The authors have identified that SMIs can influence followers by acting according to Instagram’s logic, and they can exploit their legitimacy to increase their influence. Furthermore, SMIs make sure to maintain and build on their relationship with their followers by engaging in relationship marketing.

Background: Social media marketing has grown rapidly in recent years and has become a standard tool for marketers. As a result, companies use social media influencers (SMIs) to reach their target audiences. One important aspect of influencer marketing is the relational aspect. Followers who exert parasocial relationship (PSR) with SMIs are more prone to respond positively to influencer marketing and the persuasion tactics put forward by companies and SMIs. It has therefore become crucial to understand how PSR and followers' persuasion knowledge affect followers' perception of transparency in sponsored posts. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore parasocial relationships and persuasion knowledge impact on followers’ perceived transparency of social media influencers. Methodology: This abductive thesis used a qualitative strategy for the collection of empirical data. A combination of four focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used, leading to a total of 17 participants. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis, resulting in three major themes and nine sub-themes. Findings: We found that followers’ perceived transparency has direct relationships with PSR and persuasion knowledge, respectively. However, there was no direct link between PSR and persuasion knowledge. Instead, this relationship was indirect through perceived transparency. Furthermore, how these concepts affect each other determines how followers perceive and respond to sponsored content. Value: This thesis demonstrates the effectiveness perceived transparency has in SMIs sponsored content. Furthermore, we also extend the view and the meaning of PSR and persuasion knowledge, in response to perceived transparency. Lastly, this thesis illustrates PSR and persuasion knowledge’s effect on perceived transparency and how this ends in followers' perception of sponsored content.

With the number of digital display advertisements increasing, consumers have become accustomed to ignoring or skipping internet ads. Previous research has investigated the use of different types of human images (like celebrities and social media influencers) in advertising to improve advertising effectiveness. However, existing studies neglect the role of normal people and examine the presence of human images in advertising in general. This study aims to contribute new knowledge about marketing communication. Using the AIDA model and the theory of planned behaviour, the study proposes a new model to explore factors that could influence consumers’ purchase intention. The analysis confirms that there is a significant interaction effect between ‘attention’, ‘interest’, ‘attitude’, and ‘social norm’ with purchase intention. Additionally, an AB testing experiment approach is applied to test the effect of human images on consumers' purchase intention. The experiment suggests that human images appearing in advertising will positively influence the above four factors as well as consumers’ purchase intention. The result from the experiment also provides evidence that for consumers who can identify the social media influencer shown in the ad, ads that include social media influencer images could lead consumers to generate higher purchase intent than ads that include normal human images.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the effects of social media influencers' credibilitydimensions (attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise) on consumer behavior (purchase intention and attitude towards the brand) while considering the followers' loyalty as the mediating variable in the fashion industry.Theoretical approach: The proposed conceptual model of the study is based on assumptions of source credibility theory and theoretical reasonings provided in the previous literature related to social media influencer marketing.Design/methodology: Quantitative research design is used and data is collected through selfreported questionnaires. The population of the study consists of social media users who follow social media influencers on different social media platforms. Findings – Based on data collection from 225 Pakistani respondents, the analysis of the study indicates a positive impact of the three social media influencer credibility dimensions on the purchase intention, and followers’ attitude towards the endorsed brands. Moreover, influencers’ credibility positively impacts followers’ loyalty to the influencers. In addition to the direct effects, followers’ loyalty towards the influencers partially mediated (1) the relationship between influencers’ credibility and purchase intention, as well as (2) the relationship betweeninfluencers’ credibility and followers’ attitude towards the brand. Practical implications – The findings of the thesis provide implications for businesses and marketers to understand the role of credible social media influencers in shaping consumer behavior and it also answers the question of how they influence it.Originality/value – This study adds to the influencer marketing literature by investigating the mediating role of followers’ loyalty in between the relationship of influencer’s credibility and purchase intention of followers as well as their attitude towards the brand.

More and more companies have started to use influencers on social media platforms for promoting their product or service, in exchange for a compensation. While this has enabled reach for a low cost, it is the nature of the authentic endorsement that has made the marketing channel so efficient. This thesis seeks to investigate how different collaboration types, depending on size and length, impacts the financial performance of Instagram influencer collaborations. In addition, it investigates what underlying factors that might be prevalent in impacting these collaboration types. The thesis is conducted as a mixed method descriptive single case study, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data. To understand the financial performance of influencer collaborations, data from three consecutive years from the case company are presented and analyzed. To understand what characteristics that impacts this outcome, interviews with marketing professionals are used together with relevant previous literature in the field of influencer marketing. It is found that long-term collaborations have a higher return compared to short-term, along with other useful advantages of collaborating long-term. Additionally, it was found that influencers with more followers tend to have a lower financial return, but can be more efficient in other aspects, such as promoting the brand. Lastly, contributions based on the findings for both theory and practice are presented., Fler och fler företag har börjat att använda sig av influencers på sociala medieplattformar för att lyfta fram deras produkt eller tjänst i utbyte för kompensation, kallat influencer marketing. Medan det här har möjliggjort räckvidd för en låg kostnad, är det naturen av den autentiska ”omfamningen” av varumärket som gjort marknadsföringskanalen effektiv. Den här uppsatsen söker att förklara hur olika samarbetstyper, beroende på antalet följare som influencern har samt längden på samarbetet, påverkar det finansiella resultatet av influencersamarbeten på Instagram. Därtill, så undersökes vilka underliggande faktorer som ytterligare kan påverka utgången av de olika samarbetstyperna. Fallstudien genomfördes med en blandad metodologi, baserat på både kvantitativ och kvalitativ data. I ett försök att kunna förstå det finansiella resultatet av influencersamarbeten, används data från tre påföljande år som presenteras och analyseras. För att förstå vilka attribut som påverkar utfallet av det finansiella resultatet, intervjuas marknadsförare för deras professionella insikt. Upptäckterna visade att långsiktiga samarbeten med influencers har en högre avkastning jämfört med korta, tillsammans med andra fördelar med lånsiktiga samarbeten. Utöver det upptäcktes det att influencers med fler följare tenderar att ha en lägre avkastning men kan vara användbara på andra sätt, exempelvis för att främja varumärket. Till sist, så beskrivs bidrag för både forskning och praktik baserat på uppsatsens upptäckter.

Social media influencers (SMIs), particularly effective at endorsing products and brands, have become an essential tool in many marketers’ strategy. This research investigates further the factors explaining their effectiveness. Relying on two experiments, we first study the special relationship SMIs develop with their followers, related to the concept of parasocial interaction (Sokolova & Kefi, 2019) and confirm that a high level of para-social interaction positively impacts attitude towards the SMI and purchase intentions of the endorsed product. Second, we study the role of consumers’ perceptions of SMIs’ motivations to endorse products (i.e., altruistic or individualistic) and demonstrate that perceived altruistic motivations positively mediate the relation between para-social interaction and consumers’ responses. Third, considering the emergence of virtual SMIs, we question further the role of para-social relationships and perceived motivations.

More and more companies have started to use influencers on social media platforms for promoting their product or service, in exchange for a compensation. While this has enabled reach for a low cost, it is the nature of the authentic endorsement that has made the marketing channel so efficient. This thesis seeks to investigate how different collaboration types, depending on size and length, impacts the financial performance of Instagram influencer collaborations. In addition, it investigates what underlying factors that might be prevalent in impacting these collaboration types. The thesis is conducted as a mixed method descriptive single case study, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data. To understand the financial performance of influencer collaborations, data from three consecutive years from the case company are presented and analyzed. To understand what characteristics that impacts this outcome, interviews with marketing professionals are used together with relevant previous literature in the field of influencer marketing. It is found that long-term collaborations have a higher return compared to short-term, along with other useful advantages of collaborating long-term. Additionally, it was found that influencers with more followers tend to have a lower financial return, but can be more efficient in other aspects, such as promoting the brand. Lastly, contributions based on the findings for both theory and practice are presented., Fler och fler företag har börjat att använda sig av influencers på sociala medieplattformar för att lyfta fram deras produkt eller tjänst i utbyte för kompensation, kallat influencer marketing. Medan det här har möjliggjort räckvidd för en låg kostnad, är det naturen av den autentiska ”omfamningen” av varumärket som gjort marknadsföringskanalen effektiv. Den här uppsatsen söker att förklara hur olika samarbetstyper, beroende på antalet följare som influencern har samt längden på samarbetet, påverkar det finansiella resultatet av influencersamarbeten på Instagram. Därtill, så undersökes vilka underliggande faktorer som ytterligare kan påverka utgången av de olika samarbetstyperna. Fallstudien genomfördes med en blandad metodologi, baserat på både kvantitativ och kvalitativ data. I ett försök att kunna förstå det finansiella resultatet av influencersamarbeten, används data från tre påföljande år som presenteras och analyseras. För att förstå vilka attribut som påverkar utfallet av det finansiella resultatet, intervjuas marknadsförare för deras professionella insikt. Upptäckterna visade att långsiktiga samarbeten med influencers har en högre avkastning jämfört med korta, tillsammans med andra fördelar med lånsiktiga samarbeten. Utöver det upptäcktes det att influencers med fler följare tenderar att ha en lägre avkastning men kan vara användbara på andra sätt, exempelvis för att främja varumärket. Till sist, så beskrivs bidrag för både forskning och praktik baserat på uppsatsens upptäckter.

This study considers how the relationships between social media influencers, brands and individuals are intertwined on social media and analyses the spill-over effects of feelings of betrayal. An experimental design with two transgression scenarios (influencer vs. brand) was created, and 250 individuals were recruited to participate in the study. The results show that a perceived betrayal by a brand can negatively affect the perceived coolness of the social media influencer that has endorsed the brand, as well as the parasocial relationships that followers have with the influencer. Accordingly, a perceived betrayal by a social media influencer can negatively affect attitudes, trust and purchase intentions toward a brand that the influencer has endorsed. The current research helps in understanding brand and influencer transgressions and highlights the fact that both influencers and brands should have a sense of collaboration responsibility. It also introduces the concept of influencer coolness, understood here as a desirable success factor for social media influencers, which partly explains their desirability and influence, and a feature that can be endangered through both influencer and brand betrayals.

Over the past years vlogs rapidly have become an attractive platform for food industries, sponsoring social media influencers to promote their products. As with more traditional media, social media influencers predominantly promote unhealthy drinks and foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt – consumption of which may increase the risk of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. The aim of the current Brief Research Report is to examine the impact of vlogs on children’s unhealthy dietary behaviors. Drawing on longitudinal survey data from 453 8- to 12-year-old children, we analyzed the longitudinal relations between children’s frequency of watching vlogs and their consumption of unhealthy beverages and snacks. Structural path modeling analyses of three waves of data with 1-year intervals showed that children’s self-reported frequency of watching vlogs influenced consumption of unhealthy beverages 2 years later. The analyses did not yield significant relati

Research questions: How do social media influencers affect fashion purchase intent? How is slow fashion behavior affected by social media influencers? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible effects that social media influencers have on slow fashion behavior, in addition to explore the effects of social media influencers on fashion purchase intent. Method: This research was conducted through a quantitative study and the data was collected using an online survey. The survey was constructed and distributed in collaboration with a research group at Mälardalen University. Conclusion: This study confirms that influencers have the possibility to influence consumers’ behavior and provides initial insight into how their communities can affect consumers. The study concludes that influencers can persuade consumers to purchase fashion products online. However, there is ambiguity into how much influencers affect consumers. The study showed that the relationship between influencers and their communities is not clear, and especially how the two concepts interact in the way they influence consumers to behave more sustainably. Despite the complex relationship, both have the capability to positively and negatively affect consumers’ slow fashion behavior. While consumers may not employ all behaviors favorable in the slow fashion movement, any positive behavior will make a difference.

Research Questions: How does influencer marketing affect online purchase intent? How do social media influencers’ trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness affect online purchase intent? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between online purchase intent and social media influencers, as well as how their attributes affect this relationship. Method: This empirical study consists of a quantitative online survey with 476 respondents. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that social media influencers have a positive impact on online purchase intent. Furthermore, the collected data could confirm that trustworthiness has a clear impact on online purchase intent, while expertise and attractiveness showed no significant impact.

A general idea about the internet is that the online world could be more individual and free from gender standards. But previous studies have shown that the online world is more gendered than the physical world. The purpose of this study is to examine which ideas about gender occur on Instagram from a critical perspective. This is executed through a multimodal critical discourse analysis where we study what is communicated about gender on pictures and text publications on three Instagram accounts during 2019. The conclusion of the analysis is that traditional expectations of women are reproduced widely. The traditional ideas of women were the most apparent in commercial publications. Ideas and expectations such as women being well-kept, attractive and family oriented were found in the publications. Some ideas were more defiant against traditional ideas but were less visible in the study. This study contributes with an indication of how influencers on Instagram portray gender norms in their publications., Internet har ibland framställts som ett mer individualiserat forum som är fritt från könsnormer. Tidigare studier visar dock att könsnormer ofta förstärks online jämfört med i vardagslivet. Syftet med denna studie är att utifrån ett kritiskt perspektiv undersöka föreställningar om kön på sociala medier. Detta utförs genom en multimodal kritisk diskursanalys där vi studerar vad som kommuniceras om kön i texter och bilder från tre Instagramkonton. Studien baseras på bilder med tillhörande textinlägg som delades av tre Social Media Influencers under 2019. Analysen av materialet visar att traditionella könsnormer för kvinnor reproduceras i stor utsträckning på sociala medier plattformen Instagram. Föreställningar om kvinnor som är grundade i traditionella normer var som allra tydligast i annonsinlägg i betalda samarbeten med företag. Idéer och förväntningar på kvinnor som exempelvis välvårdade, attraktiva och familjeorienterade återfanns i inläggen. I deras flöden förekom dock även utmaningar av dessa förväntningar, men det visade sig vara i mindre utsträckning än de som reproducerade normerna. Studien bidrar med en indikation på hur influencers på Instagram visar upp och porträtterar könsnormer i sina inlägg.

Given the task of finding influencers of a given domain (i.e. banking) in a social network, in this paper we investigate (i) the importance of characterizing followers for the automatic detection of influencers; (ii) the most effective way to combine signals obtained from followers and from the main profiles for the automatic detection of influencers. In this work, we have modeled the discourse used in two domains, banking and automotive, as well as the language used by the influencers in such domains and by their followers, and used these Language Models to estimate the probability of being influencer. Our most remarkable finding is that influencers not only depend on their expertise on the domain but also on that of their followers, so that the more knowledge and number of experts among their followers, the more probability of being influencer a profile has., Dada la tarea de encontrar influencers en un dominio dado (i.e. banking) en una red social, en este artículo investigamos (i) la importancia de caracterizar a los seguidores para la detección automática de influencers; (ii) la manera más efectiva de combinar señales obtenidas de los seguidores y de los perfiles principales para la detección automática de influencers. En este trabajo, hemos modelado el discurso usado por los usuarios en dos dominios, automotive y banking, así como el lenguaje utilizado por los influencers en dichos dominios y por sus seguidores, y utilizamos estos Modelos de Lenguaje para estimar la probabilidad de ser un influencer. Nuestro mayor descubrimiento es que los influencers no sólo dependen de su conocimiento sobre el dominio sino del de sus seguidores; por lo tanto, cuanto mayor conocimiento y número de expertos haya entre sus seguidores, mayor será la probabilidad que el perfil sea de un influencer.

Given the task of finding influencers of a given domain (i.e. banking) in a social network, in this paper we investigate (i) the importance of characterizing followers for the automatic detection of influencers; (ii) the most effective way to combine signals obtained from followers and from the main profiles for the automatic detection of influencers. In this work, we have modeled the discourse used in two domains, banking and automotive, as well as the language used by the influencers in such domains and by their followers, and used these Language Models to estimate the probability of being influencer. Our most remarkable finding is that influencers not only depend on their expertise on the domain but also on that of their followers, so that the more knowledge and number of experts among their followers, the more probability of being influencer a profile has., Dada la tarea de encontrar influencers en un dominio dado (i.e. banking) en una red social, en este artículo investigamos (i) la importancia de caracterizar a los seguidores para la detección automática de influencers; (ii) la manera más efectiva de combinar señales obtenidas de los seguidores y de los perfiles principales para la detección automática de influencers. En este trabajo, hemos modelado el discurso usado por los usuarios en dos dominios, automotive y banking, así como el lenguaje utilizado por los influencers en dichos dominios y por sus seguidores, y utilizamos estos Modelos de Lenguaje para estimar la probabilidad de ser un influencer. Nuestro mayor descubrimiento es que los influencers no sólo dependen de su conocimiento sobre el dominio sino del de sus seguidores; por lo tanto, cuanto mayor conocimiento y número de expertos haya entre sus seguidores, mayor será la probabilidad que el perfil sea de un influencer.