Do fake followers mitigate influencers’ perceived influencing power on social media platforms? The mere number effect and boundary conditions

Abstract

The rapid advancement of influencer marketing in today’s digitalization era has led to marketers partnering with social media influencers to seed information and influence consumer opinions. This is usually done by identifying influencers with large follower numbers, wide reach, and capacity to influence. Influencers, in response, purchase fake followers to present themselves as highly influential. Conventional wisdom assumes that fake followers typically do not affect the influencer’s account, and are therefore counterintuitive as said practice ultimately hurts influencer credibility. The current study, however, follows four extant studies to provide competing evidence revealing the number of followers to be positively associated with perceptions of influencing power, even when consumers recognize the existence of fake followers. Influencer expertise and existing popularity were also found to negate the mere number effect. Systematical support for these effects were found using both real-world data analysis and controlled experiments across different populations and contexts. Implications for brands’ social media marketing and influencer marketing are then discussed herein.