Information seeking and affective relationship building in influencer marketing: the role of social media affordances

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Influencers’ persuasive power is rooted in the informational and emotional support they offer to followers through a certain form of relationship. With a focus on the role of “platforms” in the process, this study adopted the technology affordance lens and a national survey to examine how affordances of visibility and engagement affect followers’ information seeking and affective relationship-building activities in influencer marketing, and consequently contribute to purchase intention. Additionally, the differences in the patterns among three major influencer marketing platforms (i.e., Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook) were explored. Through a national online survey in the US, the results revealed that product visibility, triggered engagement, and social presence engagement were positively related to information seeking; visibility control, social presence engagement, and synchronous engagement were positively associated with affective trust development. The three platforms differed in some of the association strengths between affordances and follower activities. The study added to the literature by revealing the underexplored contextual roles of media technology affordances in influencer marketing and offering platform-specific granular insights.