Abstract
Increasing customer-brand engagement on social media has been a focus of brand success for many years. Recently, virtual influencers have gained popularity as a new way for brands to increase customer engagement, but there has been limited analysis of this new phenomenon. As such, by investigating 33 virtual influencers on Instagram, this study explored whether brands should create or collaborate with virtual influencers and how they can increase customer-brand engagement. The findings reveal that non-branded virtual influencers are more engaged than branded virtual influencers. Also, virtual influencers’ communication strategies to increase customer-brand engagement were further discussed in the study to develop a typology of virtual influencers. Thus, this study fills a theoretical gap in the limited analysis of virtual influencers in customer-brand engagement, and suggests that brands collaborate with virtual influencers rather than creating their own virtual influencers in practice.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
